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Think Secret's Nick dePlume Revealed
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.'"
[sarcasm]Dang, if only that had sued him 2 years earlier he'd still be a minor and wouldn't be responsible....[/sarcasm]
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
Nick DePlume, like nom de plume but for nerds...I get it!
"Me? Lady, I'm your worst nightmare -- a pumpkin with a gun."
ok... now what?
Not exactly news- but it is cool he began at 13! What would interest someone to host a mac rumor site at 13 !?
Please stop trying to restrict free speech. No bottom line is worth it. You used to be the cool, hip computer company that produced not just great hardware, but a vision of a better world. At the forefront of that better world was the right to a free press and the empowering notion of a single person, their computer and the truth. Now I can't help but feel that you're trying to crush that vision. For shame.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I'm a little stunned by this revelation, but here's the real issue. Someone is feeding this kid. Someone who doesn't like Apple.
All of Think Secret's commentary seems to be negative spins on Apple and Apple financials.
I would not be surprised if we find out this guy's father was a fired Apple employee or someone involved in this reseller lawsuit. Nick DePlume just seems to know this infomation to intimately.
There has to be some sort of bribery or maliciousness here, because I would consider Macrumors more of a premeir rumor site with MUCH wider base of followers and info providers.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Honestly seems that apple is just try to creatte more buzz about their products. Banning distribution of Jobs speech, subpoenas against unnamed individual who leaked the information .. it's all the same, and the press eats it up. Yeah, they might have kept the secret for like 5 days longer but that really is going to have no affect to their sales nor will they get any money from these fools . my new chick roommate works at apple store and she knew about some of the stuff before think secret , it just gets around..
i'm not a big apple fan, too expensive, but this new 500 pc has me rethinking, but prob not because no upgradabilty =p.
Shut the fuck up.
Obviously a 13 year old wasn't working at Apple, in any capacity in which he'd have access to their trade secrets.
This kid didn't commit any offenses against Apple. He's being sued because of what his readers/informers said.
Apple are as ignorant, greedy, and willing to manipulate the courts as any other corporation.
HEY! Let's announce Apple secrets on Slashdot, and put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
IANAJ, but does his capacity as publisher of ThinkSecret confer upon him the status of member of the press, and the "anonymous" tipsters then function as his sources?
Normall, the penalty for failing to reveal your sources is usually a contempt charge and 6 months in jail.
But since he doesn't know his informants, does this
1) create a loophole or
2) exclude him from asserting his status as a journalist
I have a plan. Using mainly spoons, we'll tunnel our way out of the city...
Ahh yes.. Mac the Knife... and his lesser known cohort The Mouseketeer.
Once upon a time (gather round kiddies) Mr Mouseketeer used to publish a hardcopy newsletter. It would appear infrequently, mailed from various locations, and usually poke fun at Apple during the days of King Steve I... Then one day I get this fat envelop from MrMouse. Inside was the usual newsletter along with a yamalka, a small piece of black plastic, some felt and the instructions on how to cut and glue this all together to make your very own Mouseketeer Cap.
Ahhh.. those were the days of big time fun !
This msg is brought to you by the letter 'W'.. for Worthless Wuss
Tell me, Apple (or rather article author even). You're worried about market advantage 'being measured in nanoseconds'.
Everyone knows that if Microsoft finds out about a Mac OS X Tiger feature they will have a legion of flat-food-only-eating coders implement it in Longhorn within nanoseconds.
Share and Enjoy!
Why is that?
Mike Rowe attracted the wrath of Microsoft due to his parents giving him that name. He wasn't spreading secrets about the new products from Microsoft, he was simply trying to run a business.
If Mike Rowe had been running a website displaying unreleased Microsoft-products then yes, I could see some kind of connection. Seeing as he wasn't, then I don't really see any connection other than the parallell of a huge corporation stepping on some guy (which isn't exactly unique)
I enjoy large posteriors and I cannot prevaricate.
What Apple needs to do is execute a Canary Trap. They probably have made a list of who could have leaked the mini Mac info. Then they should separate those people into groups and give each group a credible but different "rumor" of new products. When the rumor shows up in print, they know which group leaked and are much further down the path of finding out who it was. This is assuming they _want_ to stop the leaks!
The info below applies to government officials, but I would guess that it might apply to anyone who would ever be required to produce an email for a legal (lawsuit?) issue:
---------------
The Governor of Utah has been sued by news organizations for deleting his email. Apparently, he deletes all of his email after three days. The news organizations say that he is destroying public records. The legal issue is really whether email is a document or a transient conversation like a telephone call. This, of course, is the same reason why President Bush had to stop using email entirely.
Sorry for the failure to properly articulate my point. I was referring to Apple's corporate phone logs, if the particular tipster was dumb enough to call from work (which many of them are - I forget the company, but a while back a guy was calling the NY Times from his office and was caught at it)
Right.
We have this guy who is now *famous* for leaking trade secrets and you think he's going to get a job?
Sure.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.