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Think Secret's Nick dePlume Revealed

Posted by timothy on from the why-isn't-apple-paying-him-instead? dept.

Nick dePlume has a name, after all. Apple filed a lawsuit against the pseudonymous founder and editor of Think Secret, who correctly predicted two just-announced Apple products and has been the subject of several cease-and-desist letters from Apple in the past; dePlume's identity has now been revealed. Reader willibeast writes "The Harvard Crimson reports that 'Apple Computer, Inc. is suing a Harvard undergraduate who runs a popular Mac information website for disclosing details about unreleased Apple products, including two unveiled at this week's Macworld conference. Nineteen-year-old Nicholas M. Ciarelli '08, known on the internet as Nick dePlume, has run the site, thinksecret.com, since age 13.'"

6 of 621 comments (clear)

  1. Widely known by BWJones · · Score: 4, Informative


    Aw, come on now. I was under the impression that Nick's identity has been widely known and documented over the years as Nick Ciarelli. After all, even in 2003, eweek had stories co-authored by Nick Ciarelli and Matthew Rothenburg.

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  2. Re:Why Nick and not the informant? by rmccann · · Score: 3, Informative

    The threat of a big lawsuit can make one forget how much one cares about the anonymity of submitters.

  3. Re:Why Nick and not the informant? by Ironsides · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's probably what they are trying to do. Only they basically need this guy to tell them who is supplying him with information and/or his server logs. Seeing as how he says he will offer complete anonymity, i don't think he will tell apple willingly. Thus, their only real chance is to sue him to get a court order ordering him to turn over the names of the people violating the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)

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  4. Re:NDA - Bzzzt by HogGeek · · Score: 4, Informative
    FTFA -

    ""California is one of approximately 44 or 45 states that have adopted [the] Uniform Trade Secrets Act. That statute makes it wrongful to acquire or publish without authorization information you know or have a reasonable basis to know is a trade secret of another," Milgrim said."

  5. Not quite accurate? by PCM2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The article says Apple is suing 19-year-old Nick Ciarelli. But surely they are actually suing The DePlume Organization, LLC, the limited-liability corporation that claims copyright to everything on the site? It seems unlikely that Ciarelli himself will suffer financial liability for this.

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  6. Re:Mac the knife by MatthewRothenberg · · Score: 5, Informative
    >> (It was a whole bunch of people on the Mac Week staff.)

    Actually, no. "A whole bunch" is a major overstatement.

    Just saying ...

    Matthew Rothenberg
    Executive editor
    Ziff Davis Internet
    MacWEEK alum 1989-2000