Mac rumors community

In recent years, a subculture has developed around rumors about new products and services from Apple Computer. Apple Computer enjoys a cult-like following for its Macintosh platform. This combined with a very tight-lipped corporate policy about future products has fostered this interest in the company's every move.

One of the earliest Mac Rumor publications came in the form of a regular magazine column called "Mac The Knife" in the now defunct MacWeek magazine. Following this was an independant internet publication called Mac OS Rumors which drew much fan-interest in the late 1990s. As Mac OS Rumors grew, they obtained their own domain name. Over the years, however, the quality of updates has deteriorated significantly with evidence that reports are more likley to be fabricated than from any actual source — and, while the site still exists, it is largely discounted and ignored by the active Mac Rumor community.

Other rumor sites have come and gone. Macinsider.com existed for a time in the early days but was later shut down. It was believed that MacInsider.com was run by an existing Apple reseller, and was threatened by Apple.

Appleinsider first appeared as an offshoot of Mac News site MacNN. Originally named "Reality", it eventually came to its own with legitimate reports. For many years, however, the site layed dormant, without updates. Only in recent years has Appleinsider returned to activity and some notoriety by being named in recent suits by Apple Computer.

Think Secret appeared in 1999 and has recently been a reliable source of Mac related rumors. So much so, that Apple has specifically filed suit against the rumor site to prevent it from divulging future trade secrets. This lawsuit is ongoing.

In 2000, MacRumors.com appeared as aggregator of Mac related rumors and reports around the Mac web. By consolidating reports and cross referencing claims, Mac Rumors attempts to keep track of the flourishing mac rumor community.

Apple's official stance on the Mac rumor scene has been one of disapproval. Cease and desist orders were not uncommon when rumor site were able to accurately report product images or documents. Historically, however, Apple has primarily pursued the leakers of information rather than the rumor sites themselves. Apple's most recent suit against Think Secret, however, is targetting whether or not these sites have the right to knowingly publish this protected information.

External links

• Think Secret
• Appleinsider
• Mac Rumors.com
• Crazy Apple Rumors Site — a parody of other rumors sites
• Dell Rumors.com — a parody of both Mac rumors sites and Dell Computer's staid image
• Mac OS Rumors