The long-running Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) fan site Think Secret is being shut down after almost three years of litigation and a confidential settlement. Nicholas Ciarelli, a 22- year-old Harvard student has been running the site since he was thirteen years old.Think Secret's claim to fame was publishing top-secret information about upcoming Apple products before it was supposed to be made public. Apple unveils new products every January at its Macworld conference, and the race is always on in December to scoop Steve Jobs on his company's offerings.
And Think Secret apparently did an excellent job of tipping everyone off on Apple's secret plans. Apple filed suit to try to get the names of Ciarelli's sources.
At one point it seemed as if Ciarelli had the upper hand in the litigation. Apple filed suit on the basis that ThinkSecret was publishing trade secrets about Apple's strategic plans. Ciarelli's attorney, Terry Gross, filed a motion to dismiss the suit, citing First Amendment rights. Apple essentially stopped litigating at that point.
Think Secret, one of many ubiquitous Apple rumor sites online, has a strong exclusive story indicating 
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