I think Gruber remains independent from Apple.
It would be too conspiracy theory for Gruber/Daring Fireball to be a secret PR mouthpiece for Apple.
More likely Apple reaches out to him because he is by far the most influential Apple website outside of Apple (MacRumors is a distant 2nd in my opinion).
They don't have to pay Gruber anything; the increased ad revenue from being a member of the elite The Deck should more than compensate.
More likely Apple reaches out to him because he is by far the most influential Apple website outside of Apple
I also think he is one of the most levelheaded apple-centric websites out there. Gruber talks a lot about premium products (not just apple) and their success in various markets -- DF is like a premium tech/apple/good taste blogzine and I imagine that his style appeals to a lot of people at Apple, whether they reach out to him or not (and "legally" or not)
Gruber is fantastic when he's not in "scandal" mode.
The site quality degrades significantly, however, when he latches onto a "scandal", whether it be about stolen iphones or illegitimate wi-fi security claims.
With his recent ad nauseum stolen phone coverage, DF has felt more like an overwrought Entertainment Tonight scandal episode.
I've found the best Gruber reading algorithm is:
if (post < 2 paragraphs) { worth bookmarking } else { mark as read }
