When I asked a former Apple hand what this was all about, the exec confessed surprise. This person suggested that CEO Steve Jobs is manic about maintaining a cloak of secrecy. Even in the PR department, they don't know about products until a few days before announcement. You can play the role of control freak only so far before it becomes counter-productive. Some of the postings on Internet bulletin boards criticizing the latest turn of events suggest that Apple itself has had a hand in seeding Mac rumor sites when it suited the company's purposes.
Politicians regularly send up trial balloons to policy proposals they're thinking about springing.
Over the years Apple wouldn't be alone among computer companies that have orchestrated leaks to gauge the public's reaction to planned features in forthcoming products. Apple execs may express outrage over the unauthorized publication of top-secret information. But the displays of high dudgeon notwithstanding, it's all part of the game. The problem is that Apple is making up special rules as it goes along. Don't think so.