Comments on: Think Secret -- Possible Scenarios

Think Secret announced its closing today after settling with Apple. And although no one knows what really went down, Don Reisinger offers some ideas of how it might have happened.

[Renegade Knight]

Apple was in a lose lose situation. If they won. the would have crushed a fan under their heals. Apple needs their fans becasue their products are overpriced and often lacking in features when compared to the competition. If they lost they lose face and some of their credablity in making the deals Apple is known for.

I'd say your #1 is more accurate. Ciarelli was on the winnnig side of the argument. He didn't sign any agreements with apple and the people he spoke with probably didn't say "these are apple trade secrets". If he was on the losing side he would have quit the case 2 years ago under a different settlement. Apple had the resources to keep the case alive but perhaps finally got the brains to ask themselves "what happens if we chase this case down to the end? If they win they crush a fan, if they lost (and they were going to lose based on Ciarelli's staying power) they lose face with the other companies like AT&T who they need to have a leg up on.

It would have been well worth Apple to never have take up the case, but once done the best outcome was a non disclosure agreement and a lot of money and/or other compensation thrown Ciarelli's way to keep a smile on his face and his lips shut.
I've noticed that trade secretes are an excuse in many things anyway. (eBay said they would not give me the email they recieved from Microsoft asking for a DCMA take down of an auction for some unused & unisntalled software I had for sale because of "trade secrets")

[aztec92154]

[Apple Spoiler Journalism]

Apple wanted a rumor website shut down. It happened. How did it happen? We don't know, but we do know that the rumor sites writer is pleased with the "amicable settlement" they arrived at. So, does that mean that other rumor sites will reach a pleasing and amicable settlement with Apple? There certainly seems to be an incentive to do so. Whats going to stop rumor sites writers from cashing in on this by selling out? How much is Apple willing to invest to quiet the key players?

[mcooper13]

I think Apple threatened to kill him and everybody in his family if he did not shut down the site. That would fit Apple's modus operandi lately.

Seriously though, Apple is far worse than MS ever was.

[ShawnKing]

" If they win they crush a fan..." Apple has plenty of fans. "Crushing" one is not a big deal.

And to Mr Reisinger, you twice mention "dangerous precedents". What would those be?

"Apple can go to any rumors site it wants and bully them into closing." Apple has done that in the past, long before this case and will undoubtedly do so in the future. This case hasn't closed the loop on that issue.

--
Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

[lkrupp]

"Apple needs their fans becasue their products are overpriced and often lacking in features when compared to the competition. I"

Ah yes, the quintessential Windows fanboy fantasy. Give us a break will you. This case was not about "news", first amendment rights or anything else. The guy was offering STOLEN property to the public. If it had been an automobile he'd already be in jail. Possession of stolen property (in this case corporate trade secrets) is a crime in most states.

Dangerous precedent? Only in your self-important "journalist" mind.

[lituus]

Think back to July of this year.

The NY Times and the Toronto Star published "reviews" of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a couple of days before the trade embargo was lifted. They claimed it was a privilege of the media and that as journalists they were allowed to protect the identity of their "sources". At a time when even the "dirty" U.K. tabloids shut their mouths out of respect for their readers (a large part of whom are Potter fans as well), the Times chose cheap publicity over character and restraint. On receiving a large number of written complaints about this from readers, the Times posted a generic and rather RUDE answer. Something that basically said, "Screw You".

The "Rowling conglomerate" didn't pursue this much further as publication was a few days away, suing would mean confirming the Times' "revelations" held some truth, and the fact that readers would still buy the book.

Of course, the "conglomerate" had previously gone after individuals who had accidentally been sold copies before the embargo was lifted. They had even obtained a "John/Jane Doe" injunction against "revelations/spoilers". Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that they were dealing with the Times, they'd have sued the **** out of someone.

How did this not involve revealing "trade secrets"?

[mcooper13]

@Ikrupp:

For the same features and specifications MacBooks are $800-$1000 more expensive than PCs. My $3500 MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM, 200GB HD, and 2.6GHz Core 2 Due is great. I'm very happy with it. But it is overpriced. My wife's Lenovo ThinkPad T61 is just as good but is much cheaper. So be it.

Just because Apple can do something doesn't mean that it should. Maybe they should figure out how to plug their own leaks before going after a fanboy. Jobs ought to be happy that people are so interested in what Apple has in the pipeline. It sets a bad precedent and actually is rewarding the behavior they allegedly want to stop.

[ShawnKing]

"Maybe they should figure out how to plug their own leaks before going after a fanboy."

That's exactly what Apple was doing - going after leaks. As to "fanboy", someone who sells ads on their web site, has millions of hits per month and makes thousands of dollars per month from the information people sent him is hardly a fanboy. At the very least, Nick was a business man.

"It sets a bad precedent..."

I keep seeing people say that - where's the precedent? What precedent is being set?

"and actually is rewarding the behavior they allegedly want to stop." How is Apple rewarding bad behaviors by suing/shutting down web sites?

Shawn King
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

[mcooper13]

You don't think handing over a bunch of cash (a likely scenario according to this column) is rewarding the bad behavior they want to stop?

Sounds like a get rich quick scheme: set up a web site to **** off Apple and get them to take you down with a major cash incentive.

Think Secret only published leaks given to it - most likely by Apple employees.. Apple needs to go after these internal leaks or it will have many more Think Secrets to deal with.