Apple makes some beautiful products like its new iPod Nano, but its behavior can be ugly. Thanks to the efforts of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, we can now see documents that pertain to Apple's legal crusade to find out who leaked its alleged trade secrets.

Judging by the documents, Apple appears to be more interested in intimidating reporters than in identifying the person or persons responsible for spilling its supposed secrets.

Robin Zonic, the senior manager of investigations in the corporate security department at Apple, testified that he and a colleague interviewed 25 people who had received a computer file believed to be the source of the information. That's not exactly casting a wide net -- the company has more than 13,000 employees. As the EFF notes, "It never took depositions, never issued subpoenas (other than to the journalists), and never asked for signed declarations or information under oath from its own employees."

This is significant because the law requires that Apple conduct an exhaustive search before trying to subpoena journalists.

Perhaps it's naive to expect better behavior from a company that once urged its users to "Think Different." But wouldn't it be something if businesses lived up to their friendly, feel-good marketing messages?