Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate
Apple: Paranoid
Do you remember the teaser ads for the iPhone 3G? Two uniformed guards carried a locked metal crate through a labyrinth of secure tunnels, keycard points at every door, and monitored by security cameras? Turns out the real Apple isn't too far from that, according to Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance at the New York Times.
They cite former employees and analysts who all agree that Apple, as Gene Munster put it, "a total black box." Apple, in an effort to guard their company's secrets until the day they're launched have instituted a culture of fear among employees: Loose lips sink ships.
Apple's campus is, according to the article, "a maze of security doors" where employees must swipe their badges and enter codes on numeric keypads -- presumably not only to restrict access, but to serve as a record of who was where if any information does leak out. Many work areas are monitored by closed-circuit TV. According to one unnamed employee, "workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful."
I've worked in high-security areas before for the U.S. military, and the big difference between the military and Apple is fear. Lots of fear. A secure military workspace is comfortable, but formal: If you catch a glimpse of something you shouldn't, it's not a big deal, just forget what you saw. Apple employees on the other hand, according to the article, are petrified of losing their job, being sued, or both.
In Apple's quiver is another piercing arrow: Misinformation. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster relates a story of how a high-ranking Apple executive lied to his face about having "no interest in developing a cheap iPod with no screen." Cut to a few weeks later, and Apple releases the iPod shuffle. Lying business executives are nothing new, and shouldn't be surprising in the least. But while many companies cultivate productive relationships with the media, Apple's is mostly antagonistic. "They don't communicate," Munster said.
Why bother? The thrill. Sure, they're protecting their intellectual property, but it's all about the thrill. They can create these spectacles where they literally unveil a new product in front of a salivating audience -- including Apple employees -- who have never seen anything like it before. It's thrilling. Apple's business hinges on creating products that excite and creating that excitement surrounding them.
They've found a secret formula that works. In the words of Steve Jobs, "there is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets."
"The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets."
Get a WordPress.com Blog
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Howie Isaacks said 1:25PM on 6-23-2009
Considering that Apple has been the victim of having ideas stolen and copied from them (Windows), I can't say that I blame them. While working for Apple, I visited the Cupertino campus for training. The atmosphere was very relaxed. I'm sure my employee badge was programmed to restrict access to areas where I wasn't supposed to be.
Reply
Simon said 2:38PM on 6-23-2009
.. or your memory was selectively erased on leaving the campus. .
shaunisadirty said 3:34PM on 6-23-2009
Orrr you could admit that Microsoft "copied" Apple with Windows as much as Apple has "copied" Microsft with OSX.
alf said 9:52AM on 6-24-2009
@shaunisadirty:
don't you mean linux??? why would ANYONE copy MicroShit® for any reason when they can't even pump out an OS after 10 yrs of working on it [think longhorn.....i mean vista]?
I worked the MS shows up until a couple of years ago, and they're nothing but jealous and pissy about apple pumping out a new os every 12-18 mos and cisco buying linksys out from under them back in 02. their goal was/is to dominate the home from wireless to xbox to routers, et al. they've also been spending over $100M/yr to try to keep up with google too, so....
Level 5 said 1:25PM on 6-23-2009
So? Lots of companies do this. Why rip Apple, on an Apple blog no less when countless businesses in countless fields do the same thing? Apple has mastered generating hype about their products, and this works for them, making the company millions more than it would had normally. But see that's the "fan's" answer. It makes more sense in more fields than just Apple or computers.
Look at almost EVERY car manufacturer. All of them test their vehicles masked for the same purpose, even crappy cars like a Chrysler Sebring (don't give me shit about this comment, I own one) don't go out during testing without camo.
It makes alot of sense to do this. What if a company released preliminary images, and then decides to change them? What if the product is scrapped totally, garnering dissapointment amongst consumer and stockholder alike? What if the spied product is a mule like a car, looking nothing like the final, causing confusion. I mean I could go on all day with this...
Reply
Aaron said 3:19PM on 6-23-2009
You're exactly right. Look what happened with the Chevy Volt? The prototype was great! Everyone thought it looked like a futuristic Camaro. Then the production-ready car was unveiled, and it looks like a somewhat modernized Chevy Lumina, and the excitement was gone.
Had Chevy kept their prototype under wraps, the public wouldn't have gotten their hopes up, only to be let down. Apple doesn't want this to happen to their products, hence the security.
I've almost gotten to the point myself that I don't want to read the rumor sites. I like the surprise of a new Apple product.
amatecha said 11:04PM on 6-23-2009
Well, actually, I don't really see this article as "ripping on" Apple whatsoever. In fact I found it a really interesting insight into their secrecy and so on. It was pretty factual and informative, with pretty minimal judgementality in the wording etc. ;)
Miles said 1:26PM on 6-23-2009
Wasn't visicalc developed by someone who kept sneaking into Apple?
Reply
badweasel said 1:29PM on 6-23-2009
I think it's becoming impossible for Apple to keep secrets any more. Every new feature of the iPhone 3GS was known before launch. (was voice dialing?) So their big announcement "one more thing"-thing doesn't work any more. I don't think it's hurting them too much...
Reply
PSM said 2:00PM on 6-23-2009
We did know about all the features, but I recall that for every real feature there were at least as many that were seriously reported that turned out not to be true (front-facing camera, 5MP rear camera, light-up Apple, FM radio, etc.), so it's not as much of a surprise that some of them were correct.
Also, the 3GS is an incremental upgrade to an existing product. People who like to snoop around know what to look for -- what kind of processors, RAM and screen purchases they should be looking for from major vendors to indicate Apple is gearing up for production. If Apple were to unleash something completely new and super-secret, that kind of evidence would be harder to identify.
And maybe it's just me, but working on a product so cool that it had to be kept under black covers and red warning lights sounds pretty awesome. So long as they're not firing people without reason, of course.
badweasel said 2:14PM on 6-23-2009
@PSM.. right so probably their new tactic is to toss out a bunch of fluff as well, and then based on who they give each fluff feature to they can sort of track back to see who's leaking. Seems like a lot of work.
My point is that it will be harder and harder to keep the secrets. And since, like you said, that all these extra things come out, in the end I just get disappointed with the real release. Had there been no leaks I would have been stoked about the video and the voice control. Instead I was bummed that there was no front facing camera and that the design was the same. Those rumors of the black bevel and the rubberbacked matte case had me hopeful.
Still I bought one! So..
PSM said 4:01PM on 6-23-2009
Yeah, I think out of all of it, the lack of soft-touch paint is the one that had me most disappointed! I was looking forward to using it case-free.
kakapo said 1:36PM on 6-23-2009
I own an RD&D company and we are just as strict with all of our employees.
And I happily put the fear of termination and jail and lawsuits in there beating hearts.
We spend millions on research, development and demonstration of a technology. I am not about let some scumbag thief walk away with any of our work.
Have we had to enforce our legal rights? YES. Is the person still in a world of poo (technical term for - well, you know). Very much so.
I have several different types of NDAs with Apple and I am happy to keep all of them.
BTW, I do not think Apple is being denigrated here. Maybe I am reading it wrong. It is 03:36 Am... :)
Cheers.
Reply
mabhatter said 10:43PM on 6-23-2009
remember too, the US government secrecy reserves the right to have "men in black" take you out back and simply kill you without trial should you violate certain secrets... other times they make a very public display of a trial and firing squad and black-hole-ing all your families assets.
Corporations have limited ability to only use civil and normal criminal law which is expensive and not nearly as dramatic when multi billion dollar companies beat up a "poor little guy" that blows a big sale to a competitor it just doesn't have quite the same effect on the public (usually against the company) versus the government putting somebody against the wall for "national security"
Doctor said 1:39PM on 6-23-2009
What's with the multiple-blog attack on Apple's security policies? It was in the New York Times (not a blog), TUAW, Gizmodo, and probably other blogs. Who cares what their security policies are, and if they fire employees who break their NDAs or leak information (even information that's been planted). Until their product suffers as a result, let them be! And the way it looks...new MacBooks, the 3GS, and Steve Jobs back on campus...there doesn't seem to be a risk of Apple losing its momentum any time soon! Is this an attempt to get open access to the R&D labs at Apple? That isn't going to happen at Apple or any other manufacturer. In fact, I own a Victory motorcycle, and have visited the assembly plant in Spirit Lake, Iowa. If you visit at this time of year, where they are usually preparing to release a new model of motorcycle, they won't let you go in certain areas. Where's the blog angst in that? UNFAIR!!! (Just kidding, of course, just pointing out that this security issue happens throughout industry).
Reply
Hobbes said 1:41PM on 6-23-2009
I think this is super cool. It shows the power of word-of-mouth marketing. The downside is that it sometimes may hurt customers. If you're unaware of Apple's release cycles you may end up buying a new product only weeks or days ahead of the next version being released, which happens in the tech world all the time anyway, not only with Apple products.
It also hurts bloggers as the majority of articles written between product releases are either rumours or "creative" news.
Personally I would love to see the bloggers' focus shift to more product reviews, tutorials, hints, etc., rather than reporting on no-news stories.
Reply
MikeWard1701 said 2:20PM on 6-23-2009
That's usually the good thing about Apple, their release cycles are pretty regular. MacWorld, WWDC etc. Same goes for promos.
If someone mentions they're in the market for computer/laptop/mobile and it's December/January or May/June I advise them to hold off for a while to see what Apple unveil. I've lost count of the number of comments I've read sine WWDC from people who'd bought a unibody MacBook days/weeks before.
Occasionally though, they pull a surprise one on us, like the "Spotlight turns to Notebooks" in October last year.
It's for this reason and the return of Steve Jobs, that I'm holding off buying the 13" MBP for a few months.
lloyd said 2:03PM on 6-23-2009
lol @ comparing to a military facility. If a person working for our military releases private info its possible that it could actually compromise our nations safety. You shouldn't have to put some sort of fear into that person not to release critical info.
Whereas if someone works for apple releases private info at worst apple loses a little money. So yea, I have no issues with apple threatening lawsuit or termination for releasing private info. The reprecusions are near as serious in the eyes of the person releasing the info to the public.
dunno if that makes sense but it does in my head.
Reply
Unknown said 2:18PM on 6-23-2009
I remember when we got our ID badges at Genius training in CA. We were warned not to see what doors it would open for us. Story goes that a couple guys in training went snooping around to see where they could get with their new cards. After trying several in different buildings on campus, they were tracked down and promptly told to pack their bags. That was enough for me to hear.
Reply
Nick said 2:26PM on 6-23-2009
This article also adds to the paranoia that sites like Mac Rumors and Apple Insider are inside jobs meant to help prop up the stock price. If development so secret, how does so much get out?
Reply