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RIP Think Secret

by Erica Sadun Dec 20th 2007 at 1:15AM

Always provocative, sometimes right, often wrong, Think Secret was our scandalous favorite rumors site and now it is gone. According to the Settlement page listed at their site, Apple and Think Secret have ended their lawsuit and Nick Ciarelli has shut down the site.

Goodbye Think Secret, we'll miss you.

Thanks everyone who sent this in.



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Always provocative, sometimes right, often wrong, Think Secret was our scandalous favorite rumors site and now it is gone. According to the...
 

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eric f

Um, you guys need to read the NY Times Article. Apple did not win any kind of court judgement to get the site shut down. Nick agreed to shut it down, and it's "strongly" suggested that he was offered a sweet chunk of change to do it. Apple was apparently losing the case, and spending tons of money already to do it.

December 21 2007 at 9:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to eric f's comment
jamiek8

Apple should hang its head in shame.

December 20 2007 at 9:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
digitalsedition

That's too bad, I really enjoyed reading that site from time to time.

December 20 2007 at 5:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
badtzmaru

How is this settlement positive for both sides when it requires the site to shut down? That's ridiculous.

December 20 2007 at 2:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jorge Hellmer

Hasn't this site posted pictures of yet to be released info found in the patent office? How is relaying info turned in to disclosing corporate information. Also if Apple employees are relaying info on a site or to a site. Should apple go after there own employees who sign a NDA.

Just because some bloke says there is a new apple tablet coming out here does not mean he is disclosing company secrets. Whether or not a tablet is coming out.

I think it will be a Imac touchscreen, and the mini will be canceled. Am i an insider? who knows? I guess Apple should shut down this site now. Maybe i disclosed inside info?

December 20 2007 at 1:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jorge Hellmer's comment
gdr

@ G

you didn't disclose confidential info because you don't have any. Apple was arguing that in the case of Think Secret, there was an informant revealing what was confidential information.

Presumably, Apple had substantiated reason to believe that this was an actionable leak otherwise the case would never have gotten as far as it did.

re patent info: patent applications are generally published and open to the public 18 months after their filing date. once published, this info is not confidential. this is the policy trade-off: disclosure for limited right to exclude others
I don't think TUAW has ever published patent info prior to its publication by the patent office.

December 20 2007 at 7:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Robb

Didn't the suit relate to published information that was a violation of NDA?

December 20 2007 at 11:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Koji Kuramura

I wonder why apple even bothered to shut it down. That site was hardly updated. I really won't be missing it that much. There are many better, other sites out there. including this one.

December 20 2007 at 10:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gene

Hmm. My opinion here is wildly different: Think Secret has been pretty much irrelevant over the last year, posting almost no rumors or "secrets" but instead giving us regurgitation of press releases on new products and the kind of speculation that anyone reading Time Magazine might have insight on. Since the lawsuit, there has been no real reason to read Think Secret, and I would think that enough sources had been scared off by it to make the whole site worthless. I'd say that this was just the excuse/opportunity they needed to shut it down and move on with their lives -- they couldn't have shut it down earlier because of the principles involved.
Think Secret had its day and we'll miss it -- but that day has passed.

December 20 2007 at 10:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Gene's comment
digitalsedition

Well clearly he struck a nerve by being correct about something in development that was covered heavily by NDA because in order for Apple to shut him down they would have had to come seeking damages that they could prove/show which means he disclosed something that was tangibly correct and had a trail back to some people whom Nick solicited information from. After that, I'm sure Apple was able to get a large enough 'possible' judgement that it was just good sense to shutter the site rather than put up the 'good fight' and end up in court and owing 10's of thousands of dollars.

December 20 2007 at 5:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pangelav

Apple has become The Man.

December 20 2007 at 10:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
frank d

So, who's next on the hit list?
Who will Apple shut down next?

I did not and do not see any harm in the ThinkSecret website. They try to gather some tidbits of information, post news and promote Apple more than anything.

December 20 2007 at 9:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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