Nick DePlume Resurfaces, Says Apple's Gone Soft on Rumors
Nick DePlume Resurfaces, Says Apple's Gone Soft on Rumors
by , 12:50 PM EDT, October 6th, 2008
Nick Ciarelli, who formerly ran the Think Secret Website as Nick DePlume, thinks that Apple has thrown in the towel when it comes to fighting leaks. Apple's lawyers have suddenly become silent on the issue, Mr. Ciarelli wrote for the new publication, The Daily Beast on Sunday.
Mr. Ciarelli noticed the trend in his communications with several publishers. Jeremy Horwitz, editor in chief of iLounge, told the author in an email that Apple has changed: "Probably due to the awful PR its prior lawsuits generated, and because cease-and-desist letters only confirm leaks, Apple has wisely stopped going after the people who generate its 'buzz.'"
The author gave examples of Apple's tough approach in the past, including his own unhappy experience of being sued by Apple when he was a freshman in college for leaking details of the Mac mini two weeks before it was released.
Nowadays, the tenor of Apple seems to have changed. "It may have something to do with the fact that Apple leaks have shifted from scrappy fan sites into the mainstream. These days, Mac rumors are regularly published by technology news powerhouses like Engadget, which is owned by AOL, while the spy photos of the new iPod nano this summer were first published on the personal blog of Kevin Rose, the founder of the popular social news web site Digg," Mr. Ciarelli wrote.
The author noted that when Apple threatens its biggest fans, the negative PR tarnishes Apple's brand. Arnold Kim, the owner of MacRumors.com agreed, noting that rumors keep a lot of attention focused on Apple.
"Apple's apparent shift marks the end of a self-defeating war," Mr. Ciarelli concluded. Probably with a sigh and some mixed emotions.
Observer Comments
This has a different sort of twist to it. Some websites are saying that Apple's not going after mainstream media because they're less likely to backdown.
But I proffer a different explanation. Apple's not going after mainstream media because they are less likely to be trafficking in stolen information....whether as the beneficiary of someone else's wrongdoing, or their own.
The whole Steve Jobs heart attack story should send a clear and strong message to such sleazy websites...be careful what you print. You may end up in SERIOUS legal trouble. And in this case, it's not even Apple going after them. It's the SEC. But the principle is sound. If it's "news", you still have to verify your sources, and you still have to be ready for the consequences of publishing it. Information is power. Misusing it can be criminal.
Or maybe there just hasn't been anything lately as blatantly egregious as what has happened in the past, with employees and others breaking NDA and other contracts willy nilly. Or, maybe, the more recent leaks have been Apple's own doing.
Or maybe ___fill in the blank with wild speculation about why Apple is doing or not doing something___
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