By silicon.com, 7 January 2005 12:40
On hearing news that a large computer manufacturer is suing a gossip site for leaking product specs, most people's initial reaction might be to assume it's one of perhaps HP, Dell or IBM.
Free from suspicion would have been Apple who has long relied - albeit unofficially - on the power of gossip to create hype around its product launches.
For the company's legion of fanatics second guessing Steve Jobs' next announcement is practically an Olympic sport. Will it be an 80GB iPod or will it be a Headless Mac? Will it be a video iPod or will it be the Apple home entertainment centre? (Take our poll on this very subject.)
It's long been assumed that Apple deliberately drip-feeds certain details to kick-start the rumour mill. In the past it has also 'accidentally' published product specs online ahead of an official launch, quickly taking them down once they realised 'their mistake' - though not before whetting the appetites of the Mac community.
Rumours have been good to Jobs and Co.
But now it appears the rumour mill has got out of control and Apple is unhappy about the level of detail revealed when the Think Secret website spilled the beans about a variety of pipeline products.
Apple should probably have realised that after years of 'nudge, nudge, wink, wink, we'd hate it if this got leaked' spin doctoring somebody was either going to misread the signals or take a mile having been given an inch.
And perhaps it does. After all, the old leaks were getting a little predictable. A week or so before the Macworld Expo you could guarantee something would find its way into the mainstream so Apple needed to raise its game. Cynics might suggest the court case is creating just the right level of hype - they might also suggest it will be settled quietly once the damage is done.
Certainly launching such a lawsuit for breach of trade secrets has had the effect of legitimising the claims made by Think Secret.
But the lawsuit has also had the effect of raising criticism of some hypocrisy on Apple's part.
As with any company Apple has the right to protect its product designs and to keep its cards close to its chest - but it can't have it both ways. It either stops flirting with the rumour mill or it accepts that a little more detail may leak out now and again than it is happy with.
Comments
There are 15 comments. Join the discussion
1. Nick
This article is totally off base. Apple has not had a "nudge nudge wink wink" attitude towards leaks since Steve Jobs' return. It has always actively pursued them and the latest lawsuits are just a continuation of this policy.
It's also not clear that leaks help Apple. They are often incorrect and unrealistic on matters such as pricing, making new products disappoint rather than delight customers. Think about it: if you told a kid they were getting the best toy ever for Christmas and they only got the second best toy ever, they would be disappointed. If the gift was kept a surprise, they may actually be quite happy with it.
2. clone
I disagree with you. I don't think you can discount how private a company Apple is. It may SEEM like the rumors have helped them. But I think they like to create buzz their way on their terms. No one can doubt the diappointment Macs fans feel when an announced product does not match up to the rumoured specs or when the dream gadget never shows up at all.
3. Scott Ellsworth
Apple has never loved leaks. They were at best tolerated.
From the first, Steve Jobs has aggressively controlled information releases from Apple. Consider how ATI video cards were removed from early PowerMacs when ATI issued a press release before the keynote that described the new products. At Apple itself, access to new products is strictly controlled - even senior people I know do not get to see new hardware.
On the developer connection website, they threaten people who leak Tiger betas with revocation of their ADC memberships. This is not encouraging leaks.
Apple is being consistent, not hypocritical. Every action they take tries to reduce, not encourage, leaks of proprietary information.
4. Jon
you mis-interpreted what is going on... by about as far away from reality as one can get...
Apple doesn't flirt with rumors, it never "accidently" gives info on purpose....
hypocritical, the way you are using it is an out right fallacy... Apple always always protects it's secrets. never purposely giving out info.
Apple has always sued sites leaking info, not just now, but ALWAYS, mainly to find the employee violating their NDAs.
and then promptly firing them.
this isn't a recent phenomenon. it happens all the time at Apple.
5. Laff the Trickster
You may have a point that at times Apple has benefited from certain leaks. However there is also the point that at times Apple has been hurt from "over blown expectations" from other leaks as well.
In general I think at best Apple has tolerated leaks but has NEVER had a like or love for them and has over the years tried to put a stop to them in many a fashion.
6. Fabio Amodeo
As a member of the media community and as an Apple consumer, I find amusing and/or offending that Apple uses its money to enrich lawyers pointlessly. Apple is not a secret nuclear project, and its new products are not affecting anybody security. It can make its own rules inside the firm, but it cannot avoid people discussing projects outside. By the way, good PR people know how to steer rumours, not how to prosecute them.
7. anonymous
What is the author's evidence that Apple has "relied upon" rumors to generate hype rather than merely tolerated them up to this point? While conjecture can certainly whet the public's appetite prior to a scheduled event, it is really Apple's ability to spring beautifully realized products, seemingly pulling them fully-formed out of thin air, that generates the lion's share of press attention. Steve Jobs isnt' everybody's cup of tea, but its hard to deny that he understands the marketing show better than just about anyone in the tech sector today. Secrecy is one of the prime tenets of Apple's creed, and they are perfectly in their rights to defend it.
Put another way - are the famous beholden to their fans even when those fans turn stalker?
8. Janet Tokerud
I agree with Nice. There is no nudge, nudge, wink, wink behavior from Apple that I know of. This is BS. Steve likes for there to be a big surprise when he makes his announcements and that is understandable.
9. anonymous
Do you have any evidence whatsoever that Apple has deliberately leaked stuff in the past or is it pure speculation on your part? Steve likes to make the biggest bang possible in his keynotes. The simplest expanation for leaks is that the information spreads to more and more people as the release date approaches and the demand for this information from fans approaches fever pitch. The temptation becomes too much for some - even if they have signed confidentiality agreements.
10. Bark Siglovski
Apple has always hated rumors. No change. They love rabid fans, and they hate leaked info.
11. anonymous
Oh, hogwash that Apple cannot have it both ways. You are right that Apple benefits much from the rumour sites. It would happen anyway, given the favour in which Apple is held by so many of its users.
But, a little leak is one thing, and if it is true that Apple has taken its NDAs seriously, which you may believe that it does, then a lawsuit can be understood, in that Apple does not want all of its secrets just poured out on to the street.
We will see how it all pans out with Mr. de Plume and company, whether there is any real bite taken out of them.
I like the rumour sites. If Apple really has a low end Mac, then this will have served to raise some interest. If it is not yet ready to come out, then Apple could be hurt, as it would be promised(by the sites) and yet if it takes time, then it would look bad for Apple.
12. Tim
Totally wrong. This column hasn't given any proof that Apple really feeds these rumor sites. And there is plenty of facts that say otherwise.
The fact is that Apple doesn't need the extra publicity and they don't need the media setting the wrong expectations. Last year this same rumor site was saying that the iPod mini would be sold for $100. And when it ended up costing more lots of people were outraged at the jump in price. So lets not pretend that Apple likes getting this kind of negative publicity.
13. B.M.
No way! Apple computers would never do that!... ummm its impossible to ever know for sure actually. I would be naive to assume they are above it. They are a company out to make a buck, far from the ideal community so many sheep would love to believe. The term "Think different" vs the reality of the product speaks for itself. Borg mentality assimilation.. Choice is good, computer colonialism is not. It is impossible to have proof (baring being an apple executive employee) of leak behaviour. You just have to "Trust" or not trust.
Apple in my mind is more guilty of inflating performance capability, dirt slinging and gross overpricing than hypocrisy. The hypocrisy is bred amongst apple users not executives. Business is business. If people want to believe that the rock star steve jobs advertising execs paid millions of dollars to to push there products will make there computers faster or easier to use in the new pink or strawberry flavoured laptop then so be it. That is not Steve Jobs fault. Consumers act like consumers. Leaders lead followers follow.
14. Simon
Whatever the arguments over the leaks, Apple are very hypocritical over many things - in fact I sometimes wonder if they are trying to out-microsoft Microsoft ! For all the spouting about using open standards, being open, promoting freedom etc - consider how closed they are being with all sorts of things - song downloads that can't be played on anything but Apple stuff, all the iLife apps that don't work with third party apps (and if a third party works out how to do it they simply move the goalposts).
Yep, they have certainly been learning from the MS way of controlling competition !
15. anonymous
One other point: Apple is a public company with a legal obligation to their shareholders. They HAVE to take action to protect shareholder value; where the rumour sites are promising something (and there's a long list of occasions where they've suggested things that didn't happen), Apple's sales can, and have, taken a hammering if the rumour is untrue. This in turn, affects their stock price. Apple would be open to action from shareholders if they didn't do everything in their power to prevent this. I'm an Apple shareholder (for pure financial reasons - their stock's done very well in the last year), I'm pleased to see that they are taking this action.
NB This is no different a requirement to any other company. It's just that Apple is more prone to rumour and speculation for a variety of reasons.