Popular Apple rumor Web site to shut down

ThinkSecret.com will shut down as part of a settlement with Apple, which sued the rumor site for leaking early product details three years ago.

Reuters

See full bio

Jan. 19, 2008 4:00 a.m. PT

Apple and a popular Web site that published company secrets about the maker of the Mac computer, the iPhone, and the iPod have reached a settlement that calls for the site to shut down.

Apple and the site, ThinkSecret.com, settled the suit, which Apple filed in January 2005, and no sources were revealed, Apple and ThinkSecret said in statements.

College student Nick Ciarelli, ThinkSecret's publisher, said he plans to move on. He started the site at the age of 13.

"I'm pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits," he said in his statement.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple filed its suit after ThinkSecret published details of a stripped-down Macintosh computer called the Mac Mini two weeks before the product was launched formally.

"We are pleased to have reached this amicable settlement and happy to have this behind us," an Apple spokesman said.