Stumbled across this tonight on wikipedia... did a search on the forums but couldent find anything similar... interesting 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_rumors_community
Mac rumors community
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the community of Macintosh rumor sites. 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.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 MacOSRumors
o 1.2 AppleInsider
o 1.3 MacRumors.com
o 1.4 Think Secret
o 1.5 MacBidouille
o 1.6 "The Others"
* 2 Apple's response
* 3 Commonly recurring rumors
o 3.1 Long recurring rumors that came true
* 4 Extra-community activities
* 5 External links
[edit]
History
The industry of Macintosh speculation, known as "Mac Rumors," began with a regular column in the now defunct MacWEEK magazine called "Mac the Knife" and written under a pseudonym. This column would often cover topics such as upcoming hardware releases from Apple, as well as new software products and incremental updates with new features. It was written by the MacWeek staff and was sometimes used by companies as an early form of viral marketing to generate buzz around products before they were ready for release. For instance, Macromedia would tout new features in the upgrade to its drawing program when buzz was building for an imminent release of Adobe Illustrator.[citation needed]
The popularity of Mac the Knife's column, combined with the Internet's publishing model, made a low-cost business model viable for others, and early on MacOSRumors became the "it" source for Macintosh rumors, especially as MacWeek was thrown into turmoil by the decline of Apple's fortunes in the mid 90's.
[edit]
MacOSRumors
Run originally by a man named Ryan Meader, MacOSRumors.com was indeed a popular source for new Apple info, as they collected it first from message boards and usenet posts, and later developed contacts inside Apple. MacOSRumors was the first site to tell of, among other things, the new case design used with the G4 towers.[citation needed] They tried to spawn their popularity into other sites, including InternetWeather.com, but eventually gave up on that as well. More recently, some readers have felt that the quality of updates has deteriorated significantly, pointing to evidence that reports are more likely 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.
[edit]
AppleInsider
AppleInsider, originally named "Reality," first appeared as an offshoot of MacNN. For many years, however, the site was dormant, without updates. Only in recent years has AppleInsider returned to activity and some notoriety by being named in recent suits by Apple Computer. In the late 1990's Apple successfully sued a John Doe from the AppleInsider's boards with the username "Worker Bee" for revealing information on what would eventually become the Apple Pro Mouse. It was a rare case of Apple following through on threats of a suit. The case was settled out of court.[citation needed]
[edit]
MacRumors.com
In 2000, MacRumors.com appeared as an 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 rumor community.
[edit]
Think Secret
Think Secret appeared in 1999 and recently has been deemed 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.[citation needed] This lawsuit is ongoing.
[edit]
MacBidouille
This French site used to report rumors, although once Apple stopped inviting them to official functions and granting them press credentials, they stopped. However, they still "speculate" from time to time.
[edit]
"The Others"
These sites came and went, some lasting only a few days.
* Macinsider.com
* bite.org (famous for their brash attitude and proclamation "bookmark us, we're not going away")
* RAILhead Design - used to have some inside info on the occasional release, but his connection no longer works for Apple. The site still publishes a blog and is somewhat of a repository for new icons and desktop pictures.
* As The Apple Turns - Would only occasionally report on rumors, but with a high level of accuracy.
* LoopRumors - self-proclaimed "world's newest Apple rumor site"
[edit]
Apple's response
Apple's official stance on the Mac rumor scene has been one of disapproval.[citation needed] Cease and desist orders were not uncommon when rumor sites 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 targeting whether these sites have the right to knowingly publish this protected information.
During his January 10, 2006 keynote address to the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs poked fun at the rumors community by pretending to create a "Super Secret Apple Rumors" podcast during his demonstration of new features in GarageBand.
[edit]
Commonly recurring rumors
Some rumors seem to recur frequently, perhaps as much an indication of the wishful thinking of fans as a reflection of Apple's current plans.
* Apple-Disney buyout
* Return of the Newton
* Apple Tablet PC
* iPod with integrated phone (somewhat came true with the unveiling of the Motorola Rokr)
* iPod with a big screen filling its entire front for movie playback
* Apple buying Universal Music
* Apple set-top box / DVR (see Apple Interactive Television Box, Macintosh TV)
Long recurring rumors that came true
* Mac OS X on Intel (confirmed true in 2005)
* iPod with video playback (confirmed on October 12, 2005)
* Flash-based iPod (long rumored, confirmed with release of iPod Shuffle)
* Video sales at the iTunes Music Store (confirmed on October 12, 2005)
* Disney-Pixar buyout
[edit]
Extra-community activities
The Mac rumors user communities often coordinate their ranks in extra-community activities. For example, Stanford University's Folding@Home distributed computing protein research project keeps track of how much computer power is donated by users, and currently 6 of the top 100 teams are organized by Mac rumors-related websites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_rumors_community
Mac rumors community
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the community of Macintosh rumor sites. 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.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
o 1.1 MacOSRumors
o 1.2 AppleInsider
o 1.3 MacRumors.com
o 1.4 Think Secret
o 1.5 MacBidouille
o 1.6 "The Others"
* 2 Apple's response
* 3 Commonly recurring rumors
o 3.1 Long recurring rumors that came true
* 4 Extra-community activities
* 5 External links
[edit]
History
The industry of Macintosh speculation, known as "Mac Rumors," began with a regular column in the now defunct MacWEEK magazine called "Mac the Knife" and written under a pseudonym. This column would often cover topics such as upcoming hardware releases from Apple, as well as new software products and incremental updates with new features. It was written by the MacWeek staff and was sometimes used by companies as an early form of viral marketing to generate buzz around products before they were ready for release. For instance, Macromedia would tout new features in the upgrade to its drawing program when buzz was building for an imminent release of Adobe Illustrator.[citation needed]
The popularity of Mac the Knife's column, combined with the Internet's publishing model, made a low-cost business model viable for others, and early on MacOSRumors became the "it" source for Macintosh rumors, especially as MacWeek was thrown into turmoil by the decline of Apple's fortunes in the mid 90's.
[edit]
MacOSRumors
Run originally by a man named Ryan Meader, MacOSRumors.com was indeed a popular source for new Apple info, as they collected it first from message boards and usenet posts, and later developed contacts inside Apple. MacOSRumors was the first site to tell of, among other things, the new case design used with the G4 towers.[citation needed] They tried to spawn their popularity into other sites, including InternetWeather.com, but eventually gave up on that as well. More recently, some readers have felt that the quality of updates has deteriorated significantly, pointing to evidence that reports are more likely 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.
[edit]
AppleInsider
AppleInsider, originally named "Reality," first appeared as an offshoot of MacNN. For many years, however, the site was dormant, without updates. Only in recent years has AppleInsider returned to activity and some notoriety by being named in recent suits by Apple Computer. In the late 1990's Apple successfully sued a John Doe from the AppleInsider's boards with the username "Worker Bee" for revealing information on what would eventually become the Apple Pro Mouse. It was a rare case of Apple following through on threats of a suit. The case was settled out of court.[citation needed]
[edit]
MacRumors.com
In 2000, MacRumors.com appeared as an 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 rumor community.
[edit]
Think Secret
Think Secret appeared in 1999 and recently has been deemed 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.[citation needed] This lawsuit is ongoing.
[edit]
MacBidouille
This French site used to report rumors, although once Apple stopped inviting them to official functions and granting them press credentials, they stopped. However, they still "speculate" from time to time.
[edit]
"The Others"
These sites came and went, some lasting only a few days.
* Macinsider.com
* bite.org (famous for their brash attitude and proclamation "bookmark us, we're not going away")
* RAILhead Design - used to have some inside info on the occasional release, but his connection no longer works for Apple. The site still publishes a blog and is somewhat of a repository for new icons and desktop pictures.
* As The Apple Turns - Would only occasionally report on rumors, but with a high level of accuracy.
* LoopRumors - self-proclaimed "world's newest Apple rumor site"
[edit]
Apple's response
Apple's official stance on the Mac rumor scene has been one of disapproval.[citation needed] Cease and desist orders were not uncommon when rumor sites 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 targeting whether these sites have the right to knowingly publish this protected information.
During his January 10, 2006 keynote address to the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs poked fun at the rumors community by pretending to create a "Super Secret Apple Rumors" podcast during his demonstration of new features in GarageBand.
[edit]
Commonly recurring rumors
Some rumors seem to recur frequently, perhaps as much an indication of the wishful thinking of fans as a reflection of Apple's current plans.
* Apple-Disney buyout
* Return of the Newton
* Apple Tablet PC
* iPod with integrated phone (somewhat came true with the unveiling of the Motorola Rokr)
* iPod with a big screen filling its entire front for movie playback
* Apple buying Universal Music
* Apple set-top box / DVR (see Apple Interactive Television Box, Macintosh TV)
Long recurring rumors that came true
* Mac OS X on Intel (confirmed true in 2005)
* iPod with video playback (confirmed on October 12, 2005)
* Flash-based iPod (long rumored, confirmed with release of iPod Shuffle)
* Video sales at the iTunes Music Store (confirmed on October 12, 2005)
* Disney-Pixar buyout
[edit]
Extra-community activities
The Mac rumors user communities often coordinate their ranks in extra-community activities. For example, Stanford University's Folding@Home distributed computing protein research project keeps track of how much computer power is donated by users, and currently 6 of the top 100 teams are organized by Mac rumors-related websites.
