Apple has made a mistake in threatening the IT gossip magazine Gawker. The rag offered a bounty to anyone who could provide it with proof that it was planning to release a Tablet.

Apple responded with a cease and desist letter which Gawker claims proves the existence of the Tablet. Apple's brief Michael Spillner, of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe demanded that Gawker stop what it called a Scavenger Hunt saying that the types of information and things the magazine wanted required a breech of confidence.

But the letter from Apple confirms that the beast does exist otherwise there would be no need to threaten Gawker with anything. Gawker said that while Spillnber had not given it a photo of Steve Jobs holding his “heavenly device” it is proof that a tablet is in the works. It is sending Spillner a gift basket including a copy of Legally Blonde 2, a $25 Zune Marketplace giftcard and a fabulous set of steak knives.

Gawker said that it started its scavenger hunt because the tame Apple press was printing stuff claiming the machine existed without any real proof. There is some concern that Apple had been planting stories in the press, which of course it would never ever do.