[URL]http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=17729[/URL]
[QUOTE]Apple's takes secrecy to an extreme even for the guarded electronics industry
Apple's policy of secrecy has often led to criticism. Apple once sued and eventually killed one of its biggest fan sites, Think Secret, for refusing to name the source of their leaks. Last year this secrecy came under sharp criticism when an employee working at parts supplier Foxconn International was beaten and died under questionable circumstances that were ruled a suicide, after losing a fourth generation iPhone prototype.
Since it has been revealed that Apple has an army of secret police that monitor its employees and report potential leakers, which are then reportedly brought in for interrogation. However, that may be mild to the virtual fortress-like security that Apple maintains in China.
In China, Apple primarily prototypes and assembles its electronics inside walled cities. Those entering or exiting are searched and have to go through fingerprint scanners. Inside the city are traditional businesses -- stores, restaurants, and banks. One such city is the South China city of Longhua, run by Foxconn.
A worker inside the city comments, "Security is tight everywhere inside the factories. They use metal detectors and search us. If you have any metal objects on you when you leave, they just call the police."
Company officials refused to comment on the remarks. However, a Chinese industry insider anonymously stated that it was well known that Apple went to "extreme lengths" to preserve secrecy.
Much like Apple reportedly gives U.S. employees fake information to ferret out leaks, sources say that Apple gives some manufacturers prototypes to make sure they're staying in the circle of trust. If the units leak, Apple will punish the suppliers, often times terminating contracts.
A senior official at Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese conglomerate that owns Foxconn, comments, "This ensures that the only people who have all the secrets to any Apple product is Apple itself. Other tech companies will also look for their own sources of components to compare, but none of them do as many things in-house as Apple does."
The workers on assembly lines don't even know what they're assembling in Apple's case. Describes one supplier, "The typical production line worker will not see the product until the very last minute when actual production takes place. It's all concentrated in the hands of a few product development teams."
-Beat up news starts here-
During a recent investigative report a correspondent traveling to Foxconn's Guanlan plant was dragged away by two guards at the plant and beaten when he tried to escape. The police officer who arrived on scene was unsympathetic, stating, "You're free to do what you want. But this is Foxconn and they have a special status here. Please understand."
Foxconn has since apologized for the assault.
How far would Apple go to preserve that security? The recent suicide of the Foxconn worker, which some claim was a murder, certainly raises that question. However, for Apple secrecy, quite unlike anything else seen in the industry, is a way of life. Describes a former U.S. Apple employee who worked at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., "I didn't even talk about [the Apple work] with my wife. It's a culture of silence and it's just accepted. You get used to not talking about your work, it becomes normal because everybody is doing the same thing."[/QUOTE]
Hmm. Ironic considering the Big brother ad they did back then.
Holy shit Apple :geno:
I know someone who works for Apple and this article is completely exaggerated beyond belief.
DID APPLE KILL TO COVER THEIR SECRETS? WE'RE AREN'T SAYING THEY DID, BUT DID THEY?
They're afraid that people will steal their shitty technology and make it better, thus putting apple out of business.
Looks like apple is the [B]bad apple[/B] of the electronics industry.
I really don't like Apple or Steve Jobs. Even though Microsoft is an asshole, this makes their stuff look like child's play.
I love how you guys are blaming this on Apple. They don't supply just for Apple mind you. I highly doubt Apple really has anything to do with this other than that it was the company that supplies things for Apple products.
[QUOTE=ifaux;20298873]I love how you guys are blaming this on Apple. They don't supply just for Apple mind you. I highly doubt Apple really has anything to do with this other than that it was the company that supplies things for Apple products.[/QUOTE]
Well if it is a part of apple policy it is partly their fault.
[QUOTE=thisispain;20298777]I know someone who works for Apple and this article is completely exaggerated beyond belief.
DID APPLE KILL TO COVER THEIR SECRETS? WE'RE AREN'T SAYING THEY DID, BUT DID THEY?[/QUOTE]
do you know someone that works at the apple suppliers or just the apple in San fransico?
[QUOTE=MR-X;20298900]Well if it is a part of apple policy it is partly there fault.[/QUOTE]
It's a bad decision on the employee's part. No way in hell is it policy to assault anyone who takes pictures, you're simply supposed to dismiss them. You can't take pictures in a Victoria's Secret ffs.
[QUOTE=Wii60;20298917]do you know someone that works at the apple suppliers or just the apple in San fransico?[/QUOTE]
Works for Apple in Cupertino.
[quote][i]Make computers, install a shitty OS on it, then lastly slap a $500+ tax on it[/i][/quote]
There, I found out Apple's biggest trade secret.
But seriously, what does Foxconn have to do with Apple, apart from they supplying shit to Apple? It could be just them having their own trade secrets.
Apple reminds me of the Mafia in this article, but their secrecy is absurd.
Foxconn also supplies for Intel, Nvidia, ATI, Palm, HP, Sony, Motorola, Microsoft, Nintendo, Amazon, Dell, and Cisco.
Apple is like Darth Vader. Was a rebel, now evil.
I'm not sure who I hate more, Apple for thinking their secrets are so important that "extreme lengths" are justified, or China for making practices like that both possible and commonplace.
Look at the comments.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;20301082]Look at the comments.[/QUOTE]
It's a massive fanboy war comparing specs and jizzing over announcements. What the fuck.
I think this is less Apple and more China. Fuck, it could have been making fucking Twinkies as they would have been just as vicious.
They need to be secretive lest Microsoft discover their secrets of making things really white and shiny.
Foxconn Ramped up security so they don't lose their apple contract.
I doubt Apple is that vicious, as Steve Jobs is a Zen Buddhist and doubt he would allow that in his company.
[QUOTE=codenamecueball;20301237]Foxconn Ramped up security so they don't lose their apple contract.
I doubt Apple is that vicious, as Steve Jobs is a Zen Buddhist and doubt he would allow that in his company.[/QUOTE]
He rakes his zen garden with the bones of those who oppose him.
[QUOTE=zombiefreak;20301082]Look at the comments.[/QUOTE]
[quote]Could you please explain how does 1.66 GHz Nehalem "significantly outclass" 2.66 GHz Penryn? And how does Mobility Radeon 5730 "significantly outclass" a pair of nVidia 9400 + 9600GT?[/quote]
:downs:
I wonder if apple teamed up with the church of $cientology.
or the fact that some testing employees have to wear a black sheet over them so no one can see what they are working on.
[QUOTE=thisispain;20298777]I know someone who works for Apple and this article is completely exaggerated beyond belief.
DID APPLE KILL TO COVER THEIR SECRETS? WE'RE AREN'T SAYING THEY DID, BUT DID THEY?[/QUOTE]
They're mainly talking about China, where most of it is actually assembled and therefore is where detailed designs would be handed over.
