The Evil Empire Strikes Out: Apple’s attempt to force journalists in California to identify their sources for a new item about an upcoming product release has been slapped down by the courts.

Apple claimed the reporters in question did not deserve protection under the state’s shield laws because their work was not published on dead trees. The Sixth District Court of Appeals disagreed, and rather resoundingly: “Beyond casting aspersions on the legitimacy of petitioners’ enterprise,” (they were bloggers) “Apple offers no cogent reason to conclude that they fall outside the shield law’s protection.”

One issue still be resolved: why do so many techies—including bloggers—continue to buy into the myth of Apple as some kind of rebellious alternative to Microsoft. Compared to the totalitarian Steve Jobs, Bill Gates looks like Robin Hood.