This story is very sensational and pretty wildly inaccurate. Like many companies, your experience at Apple will vary based on which group you join. I wouldn't call my series of interviews more daunting than any other major Silicon Valley company, and there's no "sneaky effect" of having you set up your machine. I had someone help me set up all the software I needed.

These types of articles that synthesize a few anecdotes from a particular group into a grand vision of the inner workings of the company are getting pretty tired. Apple is a great company, but the day-to-day really doesn't differ that much from most other companies.