More from Jon_P:

To infer from what I read on one of the now-absent pages in the
SpecOps website which had technical details, Caslon _is_ the guy who
was responsible for the breakthrough innovation that underpins David
and differentiates it from WINE. I've since forgotten what exactly
that supposed innovation is, and since SpecOps is not even bothering
to explain it today, I don't know why they deserve the media mileage
they are getting with their extravagant, unsubstantiated claims (i.e.
the stuff that gets reported in Erwin Oliva's columns like).

David smells to me like Freedows redux, except on a bigger scale and
with commercial vendors sucked in by the hype.

The media have been too kind to SpecOps, but I'm glad that Chin
Wong and other writers don't just publish the company's press
releases but also report the other side of the story.

You know, one of the things I would _definitely_ like to read—would
even pay a reasonable price for—would be an account of what's
_really_ going on at SpecOps. How long are NDAs binding? When can
a journalist get in there and crack this case wide open? Do you think
any whistleblowers will come forth? I can smell a nice business book
coming out of all of this; heck, even a documentary like the one on
Enron… Heck, I'd be really amused by even a hype-laden
we-are-the-best book or press release.

Seeing a company spiral into the depths is strangely fascinating.
Their last-ditch attempts remind me of someone grasping at straws.
They complained about the lack of talent in the Philippines and made
some noises about outsourcing, then they showed up at LinuxWorld
Philippines soliciting random people for cold interviews. They've even tried
appealing to people's greed with an unrealistic contest.

When the company dissolves and the NDAs are no longer in force, I want
to find out the whole story. I want to piece together exactly what
happened. I want to see what's on the other side. I want to know why
they're doing this, what pressures they're facing. I want to be able
to say I understand both sides. I would _love_ to talk to their HR
person after all of this is over. Wow, what a challenge. What a tough
job. And oh, what lessons we could learn from all of this.

No, it's not crab mentality. We're not trying to prevent them from
succeeding. We just won't take BS from them.

You know what could save them at this point?

A confession. An apology. A much more realistic and humble plan to
make things work.

I don't think they're going to do that any time soon, so pass me the
popcorn. We'll sit back and watch the Titanic sink. And then we'll wait for the book.

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