View this article at: http://dev.macnn.com/articles/06/04/17/apple.makes.girl.cry
Monday, Apr 17, 2006 8:15am
Apple letter breaks little ...
Apple's corporate policy for dealing with unsolicited ideas may be changing. The company held a special meeting to discuss ways to improve its cold-hearted, boiler-plate response to any unsolicited improvements or suggestions submitted to the company, after it found out that it shattered a nine-year girl's heart. According to CBS 5 News, 9-year-old Shea O'Gorman wrote to Apple CEO Steve Jobs as her class was learning about writing business and formal letters. The third-grader wrote Jobs to offer suggestions on improving her iPod nano, such as adding song lyrics so listeners can sing along to their tunes. Although it took three months, the company finally responded to her letter--although it was not what O'Gorman and her family were expecting. Instead of a polite response from Jobs, the girl received a cold, stern letter from Apple's legal counsel telling her that the company didn't accept unsolicited ideas and that she should not send any suggestions to the company.

Apple's full legal policy, designed to protect itself from protracted legal battles about royalties and licensing from submitted ideas, was available online, according to the letter received and read by both O'Gorman and her family. "She was very upset, and kinda threw the letter up in the air and ran in her room and slammed her door," the girl's mother told CBS 5 News. Although Apple declined to comment on the story, a company representative reportedly called the girl to offer an apology (following an inquiry by CBS 5 News); in addition, the report says that Apple held a special meeting last week to discuss ways in which it could improve its corporate policy when dealing with children.