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Dec 20, 07 - 08:23 am Comment from: stormy

RIP Think Secret

Apple getting what they want and TS getting shut down is "a positive solution for both sides"?

Dec 20, 07 - 08:25 am Comment from: ron

RIP 'RICH' Think Secret.

they were pretty much always wrong over the last couple of years anyway, 9to5mac seems to have the closest rumors these days

What serves Apple better? Rumors that are false but raise the expectations or rumors that are accurate? Positive for Apple is the surprise momentum if Steve shows something that nobody expected and wasn't talked about. Negative if the expectations are too high and people are disappointed. Or, if nobody cares anymore.

Dec 20, 07 - 08:42 am Comment from: Shogun

On the advice of my lawyers I have no comment.

Dec 20, 07 - 08:47 am Comment from: John Gee

The publisher is from Central New York. That's a secret.

Dec 20, 07 - 08:51 am Comment from: Arnold Ziffel

Losing TS is not a loss at all. I hadn't read his stuff in at least a year. With RoughlyDrafted and thesmallwave around, there's plenty of interesting reading available.

Dec 20, 07 - 08:55 am Comment from: TowerTone

Well, I'm looking forward to "Think Outloud".

The positive solution for the TS side is that he has probably got the rest of his college fund. Cheap result for Apple as a full trial would have only made the lawyers rich. Given that an earlier judge ruled bloggers protected by the US Constitution, I think it is a result.

Well this sucks. Think Secret was the most reliable Mac rumour site and it was well written. What am I supposed to read now, Mac OS Rumors?

Dec 20, 07 - 09:05 am Comment from: kirkgray

Good for Think Secret for not revealing their sources!

Bod for Apple for shutting them down!

The secrecy behind Apple and the rumor mill they allow (if not foster) is part of Apple/Mac culture. The rumor mill has generated millions of dollars worth of free advertising for Apple. But when they are too close or too right, they get slapped down like this? Poor form Apple!

It's positive because they didn't have to reveal their sources.

It sets a dangerous journalistic precedent if the accusing party can intimidate a publisher into closing down on the strength of a mostly true story.

I will miss Think Secret. Godspeed Nick De Plume.

Good riddance to old trash. They were unreliable and making crap up ever since the lawsuit. They lost their inside sources.

Too bad.. ;(

Think Secret was always the silent rumor-site, which only spoke up, when it knew something.

Dec 20, 07 - 09:47 am Comment from: Petey

Rofl! - "I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits."

So, he is happy that Apple has pulled the plug on his mac news wedbsite??

Talk about spin!

They guy must be a moron to think that this was settled amicably, lets face it, he HAD NO CHOICE. He was revealing secrets that he had no legal right to reveal.

Reading between the lines of his "happy statement", I get the impression he is trying to save face and in reality he is deeply upset that his 'little website' has been closed down by Apple.

The term 'bullshit' comes to mind...

Dec 20, 07 - 09:50 am Comment from: Petey

He will go back to college and join the 'real' world, best thing for him imo - get an education, training and a job and be a respectable member of the US economy.

Apple did him a favor.

What is it about this that we don't know? Will we ever know?

I smell payola. Big payola. As in Steve's bank balance is lower today that it was yesterday.

Facing the Constitution in front of a jury of free Americans was not something his Steveness wanted to risk.

I believe in Free Speech. Unfortunately, when it comes to the law and rights, "might" usually rules. The loss of any provider of information to help the little guy make better informed decisions is to be regretted. Thanks, Nick, though I hardly read ya.

Dec 20, 07 - 09:59 am Comment from: DRM sucks

"They guy must be a moron to think that this was settled amicably..."

Why are you under the impression that anything in a press release is anything other than spin?

"He will go back to college and join the 'real' world, best thing for him imo..."

Why are you under the impression that you know anything about what is good for his life? Do you know whether maintaining thinksecret.com detracted from his studies or ability to do other work after college?

As the Economy Churns...

Hahaha... of course the guy is happy. He could probably retire from the payout.

He deserves it. The website is very well done and the information is usually pretty awesome.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:16 am Comment from: Ampar

The CDC's "Think Secretion" has much juicier rumors. It's a bit too graphic though.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:26 am Comment from: Ampar

Meanwhile, Clarence Beeks is wearing a trenchcoat and dark glasses, hiding in the shadows on the third floor of a Philadelphia parking lot, holding an envelope containing the secret new Apple products to be announced at Macworld and freezing his ass off while swearing vengeance on Nick if he doesn't show up.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:26 am Comment from: Mr. Peabody

So is Mr. Ciarelli a student of journalism? Is this a good thing? Do we now have yet another Apple hating journalist waiting in the wings, ready to right crap for the highest bidder? (Which in the computing industry means MS.)

Hope it was worth it in the long run Apple.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:28 am Comment from: Mr. Peabody

... ready to write crap ...

This has nothing to do with Apple's secrecy, it is called the rule of law.

And in this country, you can get as much justice as you can afford.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:33 am Comment from: Ferf Muckmeyer

This is one of those things that makes me pissed at Apple. Think Secret was a decent site. I don't believe this was an amicable "solution". Basically Apple got what they wanted, and what did Nick get? Did he get a payout? Or did he just agree to close the site? Regardless, as someone stated above, it sets a dangerous precedent.

If he got a decent payout, good for him. Still, bad for us because we lost a decent site. Not great, but still interesting to peruse.

Dec 20, 07 - 10:34 am Comment from: Basil Ganglia

I think Apple's attack on tiny Think Secret only enhanced their reputation as a major bully. Hard to see a benefit to Apple commensurate with the damage caused. It's like when Apple's lawyers attacked 9 year old Shea Gorman who thoughtfully sent a letter to Steve Jobs offering suggestions for how to improve the iPod. Apple's legal counsel responds with a letter that the company doesn't accept unsolicited ideas and don't send any more. Who are these idiots in Apple's legal office?! Does anyone in that office consult with anyone else in the company who happens to have more than one functioning neuron before they do several million dollars worth of damage to the company's public image? I don't care if these things make legal sense. They are not the kinds of things that people with any COMMON SENSE do. And they make Apple look like Microsoft to people who are outside the tech sphere. Really, really stupid.

LOL at the Clarence Beeks reference.

Apple used their corporate muscle to pressure a poor young college student to fix something that is seriously wrong in Cupertino itself.

I see Mac OS X code has gotten worse, iMac's have display issues, there are more security issues than XP and Vista combined.

Apple has turned on itself and the employees are fighting back by making crap, breaking into Apple warehouses, ripping off the iPhone rebates.

The only thing keeping Apple alive is Steve Jobs and the ability to farm out all the work to the Chinese.

it's sad for Apple fans. i found that site a pleasure to read, more professional journalism than fanboyism. but the truth of the matter is that publication of leaks really hurts Apple, which relies on stealth to completely surprise consumer and the industry with finished products. so it turns out Ciarelli was a college journalism major. I'd say the kid's got a future.

I agree with Teflon Don. Why is everyone on here so quick to defend Apple? If this is M$ we'd all scream what an injustice this is. First TS, is MDN next? Then individual Mac Fanboys?

I think it is a sad day and a poor use of a company's resources when they set out to destroy the efforts of one of its greatest cheerleaders and promoter's of its products.

Couldn't Apple be using these resources to add copy/paste, mms, & video recording to the iPhone. Why pay lawyer's tens of thousands of dollars to go after some poor college student who's only crime was zealousy promoting Apple's products.

STUPID!

OK lets say, u r right Apple is getting too fat and almighty - just another MS.

Personally I do not agree.

However, what and where should you take your purchases.

I shall stick with the Apple Brand.



Just like you stick with Brun, Nike, Bell, Rogers, Microsoft - as tarnished things get... the competition usually is in the same boat.

So

Make your choice. Express rational reasons why u prefer the one brand over the other and let it be.

Teflon causes cancer Don.
Hope you are not waring Teflon wrinkle-free pants.
Or cooking with pans that don't stick.

doogie

Dec 20, 07 - 11:05 am Comment from: Logan

I find this surprising.

I never read ThinkSecret anyway, but it's crazy that Apple is shutting it down. I read http://www.macrumors.com and find them extremely reliable.

Dec 20, 07 - 11:11 am Comment from: Ampar

Mac_Atty:

Are you offering opinions without knowing the details of the lawsuit? Or even a disclaimer? Or were you there?
Was your law degree a correspondence course that came with a inkjet printed degree and a set of steak knives?

Dec 20, 07 - 11:14 am Comment from: Ampar

Logan: The only rumors site you can trust with certainty is http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/.

Whenever you publish confidential information there will be consequences. Apple has a right to do everything they can to protect their trade secrets and purge the rats who leak them.

I believe Think Secret didn't know at the tiime they were publishing information Apple considered sensitive. But the Apple employees knew. So when TS found out the information was sensitive, they should have come clean.

R U next MDN??????

ThinkSecret was just the reporter - not the insiders snitch.

People came to ThinkSecret with info.

It would be like the NYTimes publishing some news about Apple it got from inside sources then Apple sued and made them fold the newspaper.

Not good.

Remember.
Al Gore.
Nobe Peace Prize winner
Apple board member

Dec 20, 07 - 11:51 am Comment from: Luke Skywalker

Yeah!!!! Way to go AppleSoft!!! Bill Jobs is such a wonderful guy - he's doing all the right things to, er, uh, I mean *for* the Apple Community. Bill Jobs for President!!!!!!

Dec 20, 07 - 11:55 am Comment from: Ampar

You remembered the farce, Luke. Good for you.

if apple used this money to add those "features" like copy/paste to the iPhone, they wouldn't have "revolutionary" new features like "touch-enabled copy/paste" to offer on the next version of the iPhone.

And they definitely wouldn't be able to offer "iPhone Video" on v 3.0

Sometimes, the way Apple makes some of these things "new features" is, to say it bluntly, dishonest.

Dec 20, 07 - 12:50 pm Comment from: LordRobin

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as much of a loss. The little incident with Apple effectively castrated ThinkSecret. I remember being stunned when Apple actually did release a touchscreen device, because ThinkSecret had been predicting a "touchscreen iPod" since forever, and I had gotten into the habit of discounting anything they said, because they were so consistently wrong. Even then, they missed that the device was a phone.

I'm trying to think of any other new product since the incident that ThinkSecret was able to scoop, and I'm not coming up with anything.

------RM

Dec 20, 07 - 01:00 pm Comment from: Mr. Peabody

As we continue this discussion let's try and not get too far from reality:

1) This does look uncomfortably like a relatively big guy bullying a little guy. A little guy that not only illegally shared trade secrets with the rest of us without permission, but also helped promote using the Macintosh and other Apple products.

2) While Apple's conduct in this instance may be reprehensible (ethically speaking), and somewhat Microsoftian in nature, Apple has got a really helluva long way to go before they are actually anywhere near as big (literally speaking) as MS. Apple may be much more popular than they were ten years ago, but MS they ain't - size wise.

Okay, recommence Apple bashing.

Dec 20, 07 - 01:05 pm Comment from: Micro Me

Like other posters, I admit to some ambivalence on this one. Apple have the right to protect trade secrets, and some of Nick Ciarelli's revelations were, at best, unethical.

Nevertheless, although Apple might have won the case, they came out of this looking like a bully for beating up a friend and supporter. It would have been simpler to get Ballmer to throw a chair at them.

It's sad to lose a good rumour site, although Think Secret's stories were largely watered down after they were sued. But, I guess Mr Ciarelli can now move on with his future career in journalism enhanced by the reputation of protecting his sources, at considerable cost.

Pretty appalling if you ask me. Makes one not want to buy Apple products.

On May 26, 2006 the California court of Appeals gave Apple a tongue lashing for their strong armed tactics in the similar case against appleinsider and Powerpage. I use Apple products and like them but lets be perfectly clear that Apple is a mean spirited company that will stomp on people to get its way. I find it shamefull that so many apple fans will applaud apple for anything they do.

Dec 20, 07 - 01:45 pm Comment from: LorD1776

I guess not all companies can be as nice as Disney was under Michael Eisner.