Apple shuts Think Secret website in legal settlement

Apple and ThinkSecret.com have reached an agreement to shut down the the popular Mac enthusiast web site, the PC World reported.

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

Apple sued the web site in 2005 for disclosing trade secrets, which published company secrets about the maker of the Mac computer, the iPhone and the iPod.

Think Secret's rise to fame took a major leap in December 2004 when it accurately predicted the release of the Mac Mini, iPod Shuffle, and iWork productivity suite that were unveiled at the MacWorld Expo that following January.

It was quickly apparent to Apple that Think Secret's editor, Nicholas Ciarelli, who used the pen name Nick dePlume, had insider contacts and Apple slapped a lawsuit on ThinkSecret claiming a violation of trade secrets.

The website publisher Nicholas M. Ciarelli said in a statement that he was glad to have the legal wrangling behind him. "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."

In Ciarelli's court filings, Ciarelli claimed that Think Secret received an average of 2.5 million page views a month. After the lawsuit was filed, the number of page views jumped to 5 million, according to the filings.