Teen Web Editor Drives Apple to Court Action

Sites like his "are good for Apple," says Harvard student Nicholas Ciarelli. (Jonathan Finer -- The Washington Post)

The response has been more forthcoming on dozens of Apple and technology-related Internet sites, where discussion of the case has raged for days.

"I fear this is just an attempt by a big business to spread fear and intimidate Web sites," said a correspondent on O'Grady's PowerPage.

ThinkSecret.com, which is a takeoff on Apple's former marketing slogan "Think Different," has a stripped-down, mostly text-based design; it features a number of advertisements placed by technology companies.

The ads "pay for the Web hosting and have helped with a little of my tuition," Ciarelli said.

A visitor who clicks on a box labeled "Got Dirt?" is taken to an e-mail form, below a note that reads in part, "Think Secret appreciates your news tips and insider information." There is also a phone number listed for tips.

Tim Bajarin, president of the Silicon Valley high-tech research and consulting firm Creative Strategies, said the real target of the suit is whoever has been breaking non-disclosure agreements by leaking information.

"Apple is after the source," Bajarin said.

On that subject, Ciarelli is circumspect, though he denies speculation that a friend or family member works for Apple.

"I employ the same legal techniques as other journalists," he said.