The quotes say no such thing! Apparently this is evidence:<p><i>While Apple values and appreciates vibrant public commentary about its products, we believe you and your company have crossed the line by offering a bounty for the theft of Apple's trade secrets. Such an offer is illegal and Apple insists that you immediately discontinue the Scavenger Hunt.</i><p>Confirms absolutely nothing but that Apple has trade secrets.<p><i>The information you are willing to pay for, such as photos of a yet-to-be released product, constitutes Apple trade secrets.</i><p>Confirms nothing but that Apple has products that are yet-to-be-released.<p><i>Apple has maintained the types of information and things you are soliciting—"how it'll work, its size, the name, the software," as well as any possible details about the product's appearance, features, and physical samples—in strict confidence."</i><p>Confirms absolutely nothing yet again! Seriously, these trade secrets could be for an iPhone upgrade, a new iMac or a set of new and oh-so-trendy headphones!
This is one of the few cases where I wouldn't mind seeing a big company file and win a lawsuit against a smaller one. These guys have no respect and they really have gone too far with this.
When I heard about the contest, my initial reaction was that it's a clever move for Gawker, both for publicity and to actually get what they want.<p>But apparently, they could easily be sued for this. It's called tortious interference. They're off the hook if the prospective bounty winner hasn't broken any contracts, but I don't imagine anyone could ever see the iNigma and leave Apple alive without signing an NDA.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say this is confirmation of a tablet, but it is certainly suggestive. It seems like they're much more concerned about a bounty for trade secrets than a leak about any particular product, though. In any case, that's probably the most friendly C&D I've ever seen.
The conclusion that Gawker comes to as a result of this CnD is a logical fallacy. Specifically, an Appeal to Probability <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_probability" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_probability</a> (regarding the following quote):<p>Sure, it could be a note protesting the scavenger hunt in principle, speaking to any and all confidential knowledge of any unreleased Apple product, but this scavenger hunt is purely for Tablet evidence. And, do companies send C&Ds for non existent devices? Not in our experience.
Is it actual confirmation? No. Is it the closest thing to confirmation yet? Yes, but it's about as useful as having a canister of gasoline to put out a fire.
wouldn't that be an interesting way to test the market for an undeveloped product idea?<p>"hey, maybe we should make a tablet. lets tell some people to leak the fact that we're working on one and see how people react. if reactions are good, lets build it."