Ever wondered what it’d be like to get hold of an early Apple prototype with Apple’s sanction? The hoops you have to jump through are… unusual.
Business Insider reports on an unnamed iPad developer who reckons he was “probably the sixth person to get an iPad”. That’s an impressive claim in itself; after Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Jonathan Ive and (probably) Steve Wozniak, there’s only one other person in the chain ahead of him…
Anyway, the developer had two iPads flown out by Apple, but they were held under rather more stringent security than you might expect. Sure, Apple’s a little bit cautious when it comes to product leaks, but this?
The criteria was that we had to have a room with no windows. They changed the locks on the door.”
Apple needed to be able to drill a hole in the desk and chain the devices to desk. They used those bicycle cables.”
They had these custom frames built around them so we couldn’t even tell what the iPads looked like. We could plug into them so we could code to them and we could touch the screen and play with that, but we couldn’t see the form factor.”
Then they took pictures of the wood grain. If any pictures leaked out, they could trace it back to which desk they came from.”
That’s pretty extreme. Although it will give me pause for thought the next time I see a purported “leaked” Apple product picture. After all, if it’s too good and too well exposed, it’s probably a fake… [Business Insider via MacRumors]
Peter
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:05 AMApple is insane.
Therese
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:37 PMIf you had a product that was going to get a priceless amount of marketing exposure by keeping it’s design secret until you revealed it, why wouldn’t you take measures to ensure that it stayed secret?
Sounds pretty sane to me =)
Steve
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 3:20 PMI still don’t get why they have to be bolted down so securely. I’m sure they have dozens of security hanging around and it’s not like someone’s going to shove one down their trousers and do a runner.
olearymo
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 2:39 PMinsane, and LOADED WITH MONEY. How do you think they got it? :P
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:12 AMI’m starting to see similarities to “Kim Jong-il” hear!! Maybe we should consider putting a wall around them, armed by anti fanboy guns! #]
samantha
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:23 AM‘here’
The Joker
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 12:51 PMKim Jong-il wouldn’t actually have something new or innovative, just a bunch of unsubstantiated claims that his country has the best thing since sliced bread….and if you secretly take pictures of it he’ll have you tortured and killed.
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:12 PMWhat’s your point? #]
Hamish
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 4:53 PMKim Jong Il is the worst. I think that might have been the point. Also, I think comparing a company which is trying to protect its products to a deluded, negligent despot who has destroyed the lives of his people is not very witty / astute / appropriate.
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5:19 PMDude you need to get a life, I mean really, Apple is not the be all and end all of your life! Look around find a girlfriend, something!
Isaac
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 8:30 PMThis coming for them one who comments on every single apple related article on this website? Pot, kettle.
Otacon
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 12:12 AMAnd every article.
EckyThump
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 7:29 AMSeems only Apple fanboys make these childish comments, like I’ve said before, I comment on maybe ten or fifteen percent of the articles, only fanboys whine about it because they don’t like having their God’s product put in it’s place!!
EckyThump
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 7:25 AMI’ve have a well established view on Apple! You reckon you’ve seen them, then you should know what to expect! If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!!
Isaac
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 12:07 AMJust because someone doesn’t agree with what you say doesn’t make them a fan boy, you are the only one here acting like a rabid fanboy. Neither of the people who responded to you gave any indication as to what they thought of apple or apple products, you just assumed. Take a good hard look at your self in the mirror.
Stewart Walker
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:14 AMGoes to show why they should fail.
The interesting thing is that you could take photos and photoshop them so that you couldn’t trace them back.
For an apparently tech savvy company, Apple really has some stupid ideas on how to secure a device.
Joel
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:24 AMThey should fail because they don’t want anybody to see their own product before it’s announced?
Pretty sure they’re entitled to do whatever the hell they want with their own product.
wsDK_II
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:33 AMThis comment has been deemed inappropriate and has been deleted
Joel
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:43 AMlol
wsDK_II
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:57 AM:)
Max
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:15 PMWell, the jerk store called, and they’re running out of YOU!
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 12:51 PMI’m guessing you are a fanboy! Don’t worry someone’s bound to find a cure eventually! #]
Joel
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:49 PMWas this directed at me?
This has nothing to do with being a fanboy. Any company has the right to treat their products how they want pre-release. It makes zero difference to anything. Do you think Google or Microsoft flaunt their new products around before they’re announced?
It’s the Apple haters that are often the blind ones, not the Apple fanboys.
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 3:08 PMI think you’ll find the consensus is that Apple is just holding Samsung back until it can release it’s own product! That my friend is not fair practice… legal, maybe.. fair, NO
Joel
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 3:23 PMWell that has nothing to do with this whole article or anything I was discussing /facepalm
*walks out of comment section*
EckyThump
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 4:01 PMThat’s OK mate, you have your way of looking at it, I have mine, I just get the feeling looking at your comment, that you thought Apple didn’t come off quite dickish (new word, I just made it up) I They could of got this done without all the childish carry on! That’s how I feel about it!
Nick
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5:27 PM>>> http://gizmodo.com/5838803/whats-your-internet-dick-level
Have a read.
EckyThump
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 7:25 AMDefe Fanboy huh!!
Hiro
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:37 AMAnd here I am sitting here wondering how silly you guys look posting about prototypes being left in a bar.
Do you feel used ?
ozoneocean
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 12:04 PMYou’re making an incorrect assumption there man… The prototypes were allegedly left by Apple engineers in both cases whereas THIS story talks about an external developer.
That’s a big difference, and the stories about how they handle security to try and clean up the mistakes of one of their own are perfectly consistent with the draconian approach in dealing with the external developer.
iNiff
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 12:04 PMThat 5th guy must be the one leaving them in bars.
tsengan
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 9:14 PMYeah, the only real security Apple should enforce is a list of acceptable bars that the user can go to.
Robert
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 12:08 PMParanoid much?
Anyway.. it’s analogous of the entire ecosystem. I’m surprised they don’t have someone follow you when you buy one. Permanantly watching your every move through a sniper scope trained on your head… it’s as if they’re tracking everything you do both virtually and physically.. oh wait.
Andre Wolokita
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:00 PMI don’t see how this is “insane” or any other extreme adjective used to describe the security measures put in place to make sure a product doesn’t get leaked. If I was developing a product, I too would want consumers to only see the finished product, in a controlled way, on MY terms and at the time I choose, not some leaked blurry half finished product.
Apple has every right to enforce whatever security protocols they want, like Joel said above, it’s THEIR product, they can do whatever they want with it.
Drew
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:10 PMUnfortunately Apple still seem to think that it’s ‘their’ product even after someone buys it from them.
Andre Wolokita
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:12 PMYeah that I don’t agree with.
Andre Wolokita
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:14 PM*Apple, not your comment Drew :)
Andrew Lim
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 1:17 PMThis was already covered back in March 2010.. though not in as much detail, and the wood grain thing seems new.
(Google “iPad Kept In A Dark and Isolated Room With Developers” since this won’t let me post links …)
I read elsewhere before that they had some sort of 24-hour surveillance as well.
Antonia
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:23 PMI’d say that the security is only so that Apple can bolster any case it makes when it claims its designs have been copied. Apple: “Your honour, our design is so good, true, and beautiful that this is the extent to which we go to to try to protect it. Please hang Sammy out to dry” :-(
Therese
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:40 PMWell either that, or because if its keep secret until a specific point of their choosing, then it massively increases the amount of free exposure it gets on sites like this one. Before when it’s launched AND before AND after. Like now!
Ozoneocean
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5:10 PMExcellent point!
Aaron
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:27 PMMaybe it’s to mirror the circumstances in which the iPad was put together at Foxcom, chains, no windows, tiny rooms, so the iPad feels more at home.
haha
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:35 PMhaha this made my day
Therese
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:43 PMGizmodo article: Company makes logical business decision.
is company Apple/Microsoft/Samsung/Sony/Nintendo?
if yes, then proceed to stupid comments.
Hamish
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5:00 PMI agree, though I think most of the inane “I HATE I HATE I HATE” sentiment actually comes from the people who comment on the posts.
Hamish
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5:01 PMI agree, though I think most of the inane “I HATE” sentiment actually comes from the people who comment on the posts.
Cest Moi
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 6:38 PMAnd yet they just lost a prototype iPhone 5? Are they really serious or slack..or is it just a 2011 repeat of 2010′s advertising scam?
Jonathan
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 7:21 PMTwo words: Self Importance!
Luigi
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 9:36 PMLol, After leaving two phones at a bar…they are still called “Serious”. Gizmodo, get your head out of your arse. Apple are just a bunch of panzies.
Craig
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 6:11 AMApple could simply require that all external developers fly to North Korea to access iPad prototypes.
Security problem solved.