On NDA's and the NSA

I have a friend who now works for the NSA. Years ago I was in San Diego at the Joint Math Meetings and this friend asked me to stop at the NSA table and ask them about working for their facility in xxx (a certain location in the continental U.S.). My friend had a friend working for them there.

So I said ok and I went up to the booth and asked them the question for my friend and the lady working behind the booth asked me, "what makes you think we have a facility in xxx." And then she leaned forward to read my name off of my badge and she wrote it down on a piece of paper.

I went back to Case and told Bruce this story.

"Oh that's nothing," he said. "I have a friend working at the NSA and I saw him at last year's Math Meetings. I asked him what he was working on."

"I can't tell you," the friend said.

"Well, how's it going?" Bruce asked.

"I can't tell you that either."

And that's about how I feel with the iPhone NDA. The Prags have this book on the iPhone ready to go beta at any moment. When can we release this book?

I can't tell you.

Will we ever be able to release this book?

I can't tell you that either.

As one of the authors recently pointed out to me, Apple hasn't told us whether they are discussing when the NDA will be lifted or if they are discussing if the NDA will be lifted.