Apple’s Secrecy on Products and Top Executives

I won't speak to Jobs' health issues, but with respect to the insane amount of secrecy involving product launches, I really hope Apple keeps it this way...

...just makes it a whole lot more fun. We all need some intrigue in our lives, even if it's just from a company that sells plastic gizmos.

"“In this environment, where transparency is critical, the more information you give the marketplace the better,” said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. “For a technology company that views itself as innovative, it’s a little odd that they are getting a reputation for lack of transparency.”

I would have liked more detail on why this is so. Why should a non-government organization have transparency one-inch beyond what is needed by its shareholders? Why is more transparency _always_ better? Seems like Apple is perfectly happy without having any.

What I don't understand is if Microsoft was this draconian and paranoid about controlling the spin on new products, people would be up in arms about how evil the company is. But, since it's Apple, people shrug, and say, "Yeah, but they build great products."

Deliberately misleading the public about the health of the company's CEO (if this is the case) is not ok, but the process of using selective and isolated disinformation to track down leaks is quite brilliant in my mind.

Secrecy is a part of Apple's marketing mix, and a competitive advantage over much larger companies.

The New York Times sure is ticked at Apple for leaking Jobs' liver story to the WSJ. Guess we know which is the paper of record, eh?