wprice

What's more important than disclosure to the public after something has gone wrong, is disclosure to the customers (e.g. NASA) and future astronauts ahead of time if something has been identified as a potential problem before launch. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred because managers failed to acknowledge the warnings of engineers, who recommended postponing the launch due to cold weather which could prevent some O-rings from functioning properly. Having the ability to acknowledge and correct problems ahead of time, even if it means a launch delay and potentially some lost profits, will ultimately pave the path for a sustainable private space industry.

But I think that SpaceX understands that NASA is funded by the public and it will be easier to get the support of NASA if they have the support of the public. I would suspect that for this reason they will continue a decent amount of public disclosure.

My main concern with Apple is not that it will lose the ability to release revolutionary products, but that it may lose the confidence to eliminate all superfluous features and make them "just work". There were tablets before the iPad, and smart(ish) phones before the iPhone, but the Apple products were the first that were not only useful, but a pleasure to use. Jobs was well known for his stubbornness and knack for saying "no". I'm concerned that without his almost dictator-like control over product direction, Apple may begin to release compromised products that don't deliver on their values of creating a simplified and effortless user experience.