In a bit of news from the "go-figure" department, Gizmodo is reporting that Apple has refused to answer its request to attend the company's big Worldwide Developers Conference keynote this Monday.

In a bit of news from the "go-figure" department, Gizmodo is reporting that Apple has refused to answer its request to attend the company's big Worldwide Developers Conference keynote this Monday.

The apparent snub has left the tech blog in a bit of a predicamentaccording to Editorial Director Brian Lam, Gizmodo is going to use the liveblogging of a number of other sources to construct its own, well, liveblog, of the WWDC keynote instead of its planned, "we're actually there" coverage.

This comes a few days after San Mateo County authorities announced that a "special master" had been appointed to assist in the search of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's belongings: goods seized as part of a police investigation into the disappearance (and Gizmodo acquisition) of one of Apple's prototype iPhones. It's the very device that's rumored to be announced at the Monday keynote.

The special mastera third party that's been appointed by the court to ensure that its instructions are carried out  will be working with San Mateo County authorities to ascertain what information about the prototype can be pulled from Chen's seized belongings. The purpose behind the introduction of a special master is to ensure that only information related to the case is noted down: It's based on an agreement between the district attorney's office and Chen's attorney, Thomas Nolan, regarding the potential legal ramifications of California's shield laws for reporters.

But that's not the only dispute that still surrounds the missing prototype story. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in an interview at the D8 conference earlier this week, there's still a question as to whether said prototype was actually lost in a Redwood City baras the story has panned out thus faror whether it was stolen out of software engineer Gray Powell's bag.

"When this whole thing with Gizmodo happened, I got a lot of advice from people that said you've got to just let it slide. You shouldn't go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and tried to extort you," Jobs said. "And I thought deeply about this, and I concluded the worst thing that could happen is if we change our core values and let it slide. I can't do that. I'd rather quit."

This isn't the first time Gizmodo has found itself short of a party invitation based on the actions of its editors or staffers. In 2008, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) banned Gizmodo TV blogger Richard Blakeley from its Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for life. The hammer came down as a result of a CES video Blakeley shot, featuring the blogger walking through the CES floor using a TV-B-Gone kind of device to shut off television displays throughout the convention.