A tech blogger could fill his or her days chasing the latest rumors about upcoming Apple (AAPL) products -- and as the more than two dozen links in the screen grab at right attest, many do.

    But Thursday morning's dueling headlines on top of Techmeme -- one from Lorraine Luk at the Wall Street Journal and the other from 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman -- remind me why I don't bother with this stuff anymore, and why maybe you needn't either.

    Working the Asian supply chain rumor mill, Luk reports that the next iPad mini will feature a high-res Retina display. Interpreting files hidden deep within the latest version of the IOS 7 software developers kit, Gurman reaches the opposite conclusion.

    Both offer their findings as honest-to-goodness scoops. But because Apple is not talking to them -- and never will -- neither really knows what's in the works. And toward the end of their stories, each offers a version of the same caveat:

• Luk: "Apple routinely tests various designs and has been known to make changes late in the design process so it is unclear whether the product will make its way to market."

• Gurman: "While it appears, based on these references, that Apple is considering and testing a new iPad mini with a spec-bump and no Retina display, we cannot confirm that Apple will actually ship this device as a product." (emphasis his)

    So remind me, why do we care?