Apple's BluePrint For Genius

Handling its own design work is one reason for best-sellers like the iPod and Shuffle. Steve Jobs is the other

"Designed by Apple in California."

The words are printed in such small type on the back of Apple's (AAPL ) tiny new iPod Shuffle MP3 player that you have to squint to read them. But they speak volumes about why Apple is standing so far out from the crowd these days. At a time when rivals are outsourcing as much design as possible to cut costs, Apple remains at its core a product company -- one that would never give up control of how those products are created.

Full Story At [Business Week]