Apple is clearing up all rumors of its products, starting with the rumor sites sprinkled across the web.

ThinkSecret, an independent news site, will shut down its site as part of a settlement on Thursday with Apple Inc. of a lawsuit originally filed in 2005, charging them of disclosing trade secrets. The sites publisher Nicholas Ciarelli (22) did not reveal the source of stories that caused Apple to file a lawsuit in the first place.

A statement released on the popular Mac enthusiast Web site said the agreement reached results in a positive solution for both sides.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed that the company had settled with ThinkSecret.

Results are positive for both sides, he said. As part of the confidential agreement, no sources were revealed and the site will no longer be published. We are pleased to reach an amicable settlement.

The Silicon Valley company sued Ciarelli, who was 19 years old at the time and a Harvard undergraduate, after he divulged details on the website about the Mac Mini computer and other Apple products before its official announcement at MacWorld in January 2005. The suit was filed in Santa Clara County, Calif., shortly after the products were made public at the conference.

As an avid fan of Apple products, Ciarelli launched the site at age 13 and posted up information of soon-to-be released products citing an inside source. He claimed to have used the same newsgathering practices of other journalists and should therefore be protected by the right of free speech. The Supreme Court ruled that journalists can't be prohibited from publishing information that's lawfully obtained.

Ciarelli plans to put all this behind him and will move forward with his college studies and his journalistic pursuits.

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