In the end, all it took to pierce Apple’s much-vaunted veil of secrecy was a group of fly-by-night web sites. The $26-billion computer manufacturer slapped a lawsuit on thinksecret.com, a Mac rumor web site that had predicted the launch of a sub-$500 iMac desktop. The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court at Santa Clara, California, claims postings on Think Secret contain Apple trade secrets. Industry observers say the suit means the rumors are probably true, underscoring the fact that Apple is no longer the impenetrable fortress of secrecy it once claimed to be, and potentially damaging the key element in Apple’s marketing magic: surprise.
On December 28, Think Secret, under the headline “Apple to drop sub-$500 Mac bomb at expo,” claimed that the company was about to release “a bare-bones, G4-based iMac without a display” at the January 10-14 Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The unit would retail for $499. The post cited “highly reliable sources.”
This was not the first time Think Secret had broken the news of a new product. In October, it had preempted Apple’s release of its color iPod, and on December 20, it was one of three web sites the Santa Clara court allowed Apple to serve subpoenas to in relation to leaking news of a new audio hardware product titled Asteroid. PowerPage.com and Appleinsider.com were the other two. Apple has also sued two men for distributing prerelease versions of Tiger, the most recent Macintosh operating system.
The owner of Think Secret, who operates out of northern Washington and goes by the nom de plume Nick dePlume, said he is “confident that Think Secret’s reporting is consistent with the rights protected by the First Amendment,” but declined further comment. “[Apple’s] actions appear to be a desperate attempt to control the marketplace and silence journalists,” said Kasper Jade, editor-in-chief of AppleInsider.com. Gene Munster, analyst with equity research firm Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, said the lawsuit was a reaction from Apple as part of its obsessive quest for secrecy. “Apple strategy is not to reveal upcoming products too early,” he said. “They would take the attention away from the existing products.”
Mr. Munster said that of all the Mac rumor sites on the Internet, Think Secret was one of the most credible, and with the lawsuit, the site had been vindicated. “If Apple took the time and the effort to sue it, I suppose it must be true,” he said. He also said that it was likely the leaks were coming from the suppliers of Apple’s products and not its employees. “I think Steve Jobs has put the fear of God in his employees,” he said.
In a prepared statement, Apple said it believed the site had stolen “Apple’s trade secrets” about unreleased company products from “individuals who violated their confidentiality agreements with Apple by providing details that were later posted on the Internet.” The company declined further comment.
Believe at your own risk: the Think Secret web site has also claimed that Apple’s long-rumored flash-based iPod will be introduced at the Macworld Expo in 1GB and 2GB versions. According to the site, the former will retail at $149, and the latter at $199.