'At Apple, 'they' really are after you': One insider's view of life in Cupertino

All high-tech companies profess their belief in noble ideals like worker advancement, teamwork, and 'transparency' - but on the ground, there can be major differences in culture. Take, for example, the differences between Intel and Apple, according to Ariel Maislos, former CEO of Israel's Anobit: "They say that Intel is full of paranoids, but at Apple, 'they' really are after you."

Maislos is in a unique position to know about what goes on inside Apple: he worked for the company for about a year, after Apple acquired Anobit in December 2011 for a reported $390m. Last month, Maislos left Apple for what were said to be personal reasons - although the rumour is that he is planning a new start-up.

While he would never have discussed the company when he was still working there, Maislos is no longer an Apple employee, meaning that he is free to discuss the life at Apple, if not the technology he and the Anobit team were working on after the acquisition. Maislos shared some of his experiences with a rapt Tel Aviv audience recently at an event sponsored by the Israel Semiconductor Club.