Give me a break, Steve! Talk about genius marketing...

...at ThinkSecret's expense.

http://news.com.com/Apple+suit+foreshadows+coming+products/2100-1047_3-5513582.html?tag=st.prev

You know, at first I was going to comment on Steve Jobs' insecurity. It's well known that he has a pretty good ego, and that insecurity usually follows a pretty good ego...but then I got to thinking. This is genius! I mean, how many people have already changed their PC purchasing plans pending this new Mac? I know I'm sure thinking about it...Macs are phenomenal machines! And to be able to get one with OSX for around $500? Unheard of! I'll be eagerly watching the market to see what develops.

So, why sue? Well, it's a way of turning trials into gold, literally. Granted, leaked trade secrets can be a bad thing. On the other hand, if you leak just enough...then the anticipation will draw even more attention. I remember when things started leaking out of pa1mOne last year about the new PalmOS handhelds...there was a lot of anticipation. Unfortunately, this was followed by disappointment for many of us. I guess that could be the big downfall of this whole thing--that the product flops because the market got it's hopes up too high. Anyway...by sueing, a few things happen:

1. Apple makes a move to protect it's valuable IP and trade secrets. This is important.
2. Since the cat's already out of the bag, why not feed it a little more? The lawsuits confirm that these rumors are, at least in-part, correct. So...let's feed the anticipation a bit!

So, it's not so bad. The only loser could be ThinkSecret. I hope Apple drops the suit or at least doesn't receive a judgement against ThinkSecret. It would be a shame that they'd have to pay for a few Apple employees' loose lips. Would we sue ABC or USAToday if they talked about this?