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Apple has killed the Think Secret site, following long legal negotiations. The site says:
Quote:
As part of the confidential settlement, no sources wererevealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli,Think Secret's publisher, said "I'm pleased to have reached thisamicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with mycollege studies and broader journalistic pursuits."
The student-run site published information about unannounced products,which Apple doesn't think qualifies as journalism: it's"misappropriating trade secrets". The rich and secretive Americanmegacorporation attacked Think Secret after it scooped everybody on theMac Mini with a post that began:
Quote:
December 28, 2004 - With iPod-savvy Windows users clearlyin its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-basediMac without a display at Macworld Expo on January 11 that will retailfor $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret.
The new Mac, code-named Q88, will be part of the iMac family and isexpected to sport a PowerPC G4 processor at a speed around 1.25GHz. Thenew Mac is said to be incredibly small and will be housed in a flatenclosure with a height similar to the 1.73 inches of Apple's Xserve.Its size benefits will include the ability to stand the Mac on its sideor put it below a display or monitor.
Shocking stuff. No wonder Apple wanted it closed down. Apple only likeshighly-controlled leaks, whereby it gives "exclusives" to a handful ofcompliant publications, such as Newsweek.
After a brief stint at a different domain, Think Secret wasofficially launched on May 3, 1999 by Nick dePlume (a.k.a. NickCiarelli) at the tender young age of 13. When he was sued, he was stilla teenager, aged 19, attending Harvard, a fact that added to Apple'simage of being a bully for pursuing the case. Until that time, fewrealized that the one of the most highly regarded "Mac rumor sites" onthe Internet was published by such a young person.
Update: TechDirtcomments: "It's really a shame that Apple even decided to pursue thisvendetta, and the fact that it ends with Think Secret being shut downcompletely is a travesty."
Acclaimed Apple news site Think Secret is to close, following the settlement of a lawsuit from Apple.
The site's proprietor, 22-year-old Harvard student Nick Ciarelli, said in a short statement:
"Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching anagreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As partof the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and ThinkSecret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret'spublisher, said 'I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement,and will now be able to move forward with my college studies andbroader journalistic pursuits.'"
Apple sued Think Secret almost three years ago, alleging that it leaked trade secrets.
In a parallel legal action Apple sued two other news sites,O'Grady's Power Page and AppleInsider. It later emerged that Apple hadissued the lawsuits before conducting a thorough internal investigation.
Co-founder Steve Wozniak urged Apple to call off the dogs- arguing that it damaged the reputation of the company. Apple has yetto sue a professional news organisation for publishing similar stories.
Whatever happened to any publicity is good publicity?
Last edited by Editorial Team on Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
A Computerworld article provides reaction from ThinkSecret's lawyer on today's announcement that ThinkSecret had settled with Apple and would no longer be published.
Terry Gross of Gross & Belsky LLP told Computerworld,"The First Amendment has prevailed and every Internet journalist shouldfeel some strength from what's happened", claiming that it was clearthat Apple was going to lose if they continued to pursue the case.Gross goes on to state that it was settled because Nick Ciarelli wasready to move on to other projects after running ThinkSecret for the past 9 years, since age 13.
Gross challenges that he "would have loved for Apple to go forward on this" and that "Apple would have caved."
In an earlier statement to MacRumors, Ciarelli had said "I'm very satisfied with the settlement".
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