Judge Finds For Apple in ThinkSecret Case

An anonymous reader writes: "In a case with implications for the freedom to blog, a San Jose judge tentatively ruled Thursday that Apple Computer can force three online publishers to surrender the names of confidential sources who disclosed information about the company's upcoming products. The San Jose news piece has the most detail on the ruling while Mac Daily News has some background on the case, and Gizmodo vociferously expresses an opinion on the lawsuit. We've covered the case in the past as well.

ok guys you know the routine

[ralinx]

Apple Good, Microsoft Bad,
OS X Good, Windows Bad,
PowerPC Good, Intel Bad

everybody clear on this?

If Microsoft is a Virus, Apple is a Tumor

[Lemurmania]

This sort of behavior has a lot to do with why I never moaned about Microsoft taking over the desktop. As a longtime Mac user, I've seen Apple's weird paternalistic culture close-up for a couple of decades.

Microsoft wants to infiltrate every device bigger than a toothbrush, agreed. But how much worse would it be if Apple took over? (I realize this is verging way out into hypothetical land.) In Bizzarro Apple Land, only rich, Blaupunkt-owning, BMW-driving hipsters would be allowed to compute. Your Mac could be taken away by armed fashionistas roaming the streets. Every PC would cost at least $5,000 and developers would be expected to grovel for the supreme privilege of creating apps for the One True Operating System. Businesses in non-sexy segments would be denied licenses, and instead use elaborate abaci manned by legions of idiot savants.

At least, that's what Mistress Cleo says.

Uhh...

[macemoneta]

Ok, I'll talk. I got a call from a guy who said his name was Steve Jobs, and he told me all this stuff. He sent me an email (see, the "From:" line says "[e-mail]"!) with the pictures and stuff. I figured he should know, right? What? The headers say the email comes from an anonymizer in the Netherlands? Sorry, I don't know what that means.

Re:Bad news for Apple

[TheViffer]

Don't think so. Apple has actually won a case.

Re:Journalists' Sources, are, of course, Protected

[Anonymous Coward]

journalist

n.

1. One whose occupation is journalism.
2. One who keeps a journal.

journal

n.

1.
1. A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary.
2. An official record of daily proceedings, as of a legislative body.
3. Nautical. A ship's log.
2. Accounting.
1. A daybook.
2. A book of original entry in a double-entry system, listing all transactions and indicating the accounts to which they belong.
3. A newspaper.
4. A periodical presenting articles on a particular subject: a medical journal.
5. The part of a machine shaft or axle supported by a bearing.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Further reports...

[gt_swagger]

The news came as a letdown for those running ThinkSecret, but their spirits were picked up when Apple served their final notice on nice metallic gray paper, in a design that could only be called "compact, simple, elegant, and effective."

Re:Dangerous precedent

[rokzy]

>It scares me a lot as it could easily be abused to restrict free speach online.

you can have it back when you learn to spell it*.

*and the answer isn't "I-T"

Re:Journalists' Sources, are, of course, Protected

[Anonymous Coward]

If you do not fact check and post everything you get, then you are a bad journalist

No, you are a Slashdot Editor.

Sorry, that was cheap. Still true though...

Re:Hmmm...

[ABaumann]

Apple sued to subpoena. They're not trying to make the guys broke. They're just trying to find out who leaked this information so that they can find the individual(s) that broke the NDA and fire them... out of a cannon ...into the sun.

the other way around ...

[da5idnetlimit.com]

The consequence for a court giving an order violating a state law is contempt....