It does prove that it was worth a try, if anything... He even got some free publicity out of this.
But as much as I think this is a dumb move by Apple, I think it’s also a dumb name. I personally would have just used it as an opportunity to rebrand with some free marketing thrown in with the anti-Apple furore.
Is it? I know a lot of HN thinks in terms of stocks, options, VC rounds etc. but time and energy is not 'free' either and is exactly what the author had to spend.