Remember in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when the industrial espionage got so bad that Willy Wonka kicked out all the human workers and brought in Oompa Loompas instead?

It’s a bit the same for Apple.

Secrecy is more than a gentleman’s agreement and the odd confidentiality agreement when you are working with these guys. It’s a culture that borders on paranoid (until you remember the lengths people will go to to get a sneak peek at a new release). Apple execs get used to not talking about work outside of work. Ever. Not even with spouses.

Potential manufacturers are put through a hazard course of false products, partial manufacturing (so they have no idea what the final product will look like) and security that Obama would be proud of. Or not so proud, if the Chinese reports are anything to go by. A reporter was assaulted by Foxconn guards (Apple partners) for taking photos of a manufactur’s building; A worker threw himself out a window after being interrogated by his bosses after being suspected of the theft of an iPhone prototype he was responsible for. He died. And last but not least, Apple sued reporters who broke the story of sub-standard working conditions in the Chines factories contracted by the company – Personally I think this last one was a combination of corporate bullying and sheer frustration at the constant assaults on the company’s professional privacy.

Although Steve Jobs was, in fact, battling pancreatic cancer last year (thank Jobs he’s back safe and sound), during his absence it occurred to me if he had actually disappeared on an expedition to track down a few willing Oompa Loompas to come and take over the design and production at Apple. Considering that Apple-mania is as big as Harry Potter, it must have been pretty tempting.

Ok, it can’t be easy being one of the greatest commercial innovators since the Industrial Revolution. It’s lonely at the top and everyone likes to take a shot at you. But… Is it just me or has there been a well-disguised lack of real customer-love by Apple these last couple of years, as well as a lack of innovation?

‘Borrowing’ ideas:
Before the iPod Touch, there was the HTC Touch. Apple couldn’t even be bothered changing the name of the rival product.

Before the Nano with camera, there was the Cisco Flip and the (better) Kodak Zi8.
Before the Wi-Fi enabled iPod, there was… um…. Zune. In fact that little sparkler was out for a whole year before the WiFiPod hit the shelves.

Being tight with easy requests:
iTunes 9 kinda-sorta included the feature that users have been screaming for: A way for new files on your hard drive to be automatically added to iTunes when it starts up. iTunes 9 has seen the quiet (almost covert) addition of an Automatically Add to iTunes folder. In true Apple style, this is not what the users wanted (i.e. the ability to point iTunes to the folder/folders of the users choosing for automatic updating) but its a little closer. Now you just have to choose between duplicating everything to the Automatically Add To folder, or risk keeping ALL of your movies and music in an iTunes-associated area. Call me superstitious, but there is something about storing all my goodies in a folder tied to the eternally clunky and couterintuitive iTunes that makes me want to throw salt over my shoulder and knock on wood.

The iPhone 3GS was one of the few products that actually seemed to have heard its buyers – more stability, a better camera and the ability to cut/copy/paste as well as use the keyboard in landscape mode. If only the First Else phone weren’t doing it all so much better. Unveiled a few days ago in Barcelona, the First Else is the first touch-phone designed for one-handed navigation. Finally, the thumb is back in the game. Did anyone else just hear angels begin to sing? Or was it only us right-handers?

Still avoiding true convergence
Yes, the iPod Touch now comes with 64Gig of memory. No, the iPhone does not, unless jailbroken and jury-rigged. Yes, the Nano now has a camera. Ditto the iPhone. No, the iPod touch does not. Does Apple really think we haven’t noticed that we are buying three products when one could do it all? It’s not like they’d lose money – Apple fans are not known for being tight with their cash, or for being late adopters! Sell me one unit and charge me a fortune for it. No problem, that’s what being an Apple fan is all about. Just don’t try to fool me, please.

Come on Steve, show us the love.

The following is an article from our friends at moneysupermarket.com

So, you’ve decided you want a Mac. Maybe you’ve used a friend’s and got hooked, or perhaps you’ve heard that Macs suffer from fewer viruses and are easier to use – Whatever the reason is, you’ll obviously want to pay the best price possible, and also get the machine most suitable to you. This short guide, brought to you by Moneysupermarket.com, aims to give Mac buyers just that information, arming them with knowledge for when the day to buy the machine comes.

iMac

The iMac is Apple’s general use machine – It’s not going to set the world on fire with its technical specifications, but at the same time, you won’t have to shell out anywhere near as much as you would for some of the top-end systems. The iMac is certainly a good looking machine – All of the components are hidden behind the screen in an almost impossibly slim case, and as a result there are very few wires or cables sticking out of the back. The iMac comes in a number of different configurations and setups, and as such is probably the best choice for an every day, run-of-the-mill user.

Mac Pro

There’s a reason why these machines come with the ‘pro’ name – Quite often they’re hefty machines that come with a high price tag to match their technical abilities; unless you’re in a job that requires a particularly powerful system (Music production or video editing, for example) you’ll probably find that you won’t use it to it’s full potential.

MacBook

MacBook is now somewhat of a generic term, as there are three separate products that use the name: The MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook air: – Built for all round use, processing power and ultra-light portability respectively. Obviously which of the three you buy is entirely dependant on your needs, but if you’re unsure the standard MacBook isn’t exactly a slouch in the processing department, nor is it a struggle to carry around – Should you need more power or more portability consider the Pro or the air, but for day-to-day use, the standard MacBook should do you proud.

Mac Mini

The Mac mini is somewhat of a curio – It is tiny, and designed in a partisan way, but is a desktop machine. The Mini is the lowest spec of Apple’s desktops, and is designed for “switchers” (Those who already have a keyboard, mouse and monitor, who are likely moving from a Windows machine), or for those who want a simple multimedia library in their front room.

At Moneysupermarket.com, we understand that although you want the best computer technology there is, you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it – And that’s why we offer a price comparison site that can help you find the best deal in moments.

A Technology Article, written by the Desktop Computers team at Moneysupermarket.com

Ok, conspiracy theory? Not really, but it made for a good title, haha. Here’s what I think…

The iPad (the January demo) isn’t meant for us everyday consumers at all. It’s targeted at schools. I read this blog post today from TUAW and it kind of sealed my theories that I was developing in my absent mind. We have all been asking three major questions about the iPad, right?

1. Why no iSight?
2. Why no Multitasking?
3. Why no Flash?

I will attempt to answer 2 out of three of these questions (cuz flash just needs to go anyway IMHO). If you were Apple, you might think that you need to sell as many iPads a humanly possible even before they are released. You might also think that the one by one sales market, although lucrative, probably isn’t the lowest hanging fruit. You may also think that if you could build a product that an institution of hundreds, if not thousands of people could sign on for a big multi-iPad deal, that’s a better route to cashing in on your nifty ideas. Then you look through your ideas and find this iPad and think, “What would these Colleges want?” …

I’ll tell you what they WOULDN’T want… Video chat, music, video or anything going on during a lesson. Books on a tablet are awesome and makes for a win in so many ways but allowing these young people with ways to talk to each other or get distracted during MY lesson isn’t interesting at all. So… Let’s release a perfect device for the lowest hanging fruit, make them happy, sell them all out and re-invent for round 2. Then we can sell to the regular public.

I submit there will be several iPad options (and VERY soon). iPad for Education, iPad for People, and iPad for Geeks

More thoughts to come later. Like I said this is just a theory. What do you think?