How Steve Jobs Buys a Company and Why Apple Bought Lala

[fixmymac]

If Steve were alive, he'd be invited to sit with Obama to figure a way out of the Finacial mess this country is in..... He maybe couldn't fix it right away, but there would be some unique ideas thrown out there, I'd bet !

Steve is on tape with at least one suggestion for change...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82weiAJmaA

 

[Renzatic]

This thread in one sentence.

Oh, sigh. Steve Jobs

 

[rdlink]

Speaking of lack of financial understanding! Do you even know the definition of revenue? I know you dont so ill fill you in, its money made before any expenses are paid. Google makes tons of cash off ads that require little labor while apples products require more and more labor at every step. Not to mention r and d. I would be shocked if after expenses apple managed to make more money.

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

How do you not know that Apple's profit last quarter was $8.2b, while Google's was only $2.1b? You know profit, don't you? That's the money a company makes after their bills are paid.

 

[palmharbor]

Obsession with Jobs

This obsession with Steve Jobs years after his death reminds me of the Obsession with Ronald Reagan that people on Fox's stations have. I think both men were human and died like humans do and I say let them rest in peace.
Life was NOT heaven on earth under Reagan and Apple had many problems
under Steve Jobs and his obsessions with minimalist design served only his ideas. I would rather read stories about how the next update for 10.8 will fix mail problems...advance copy paste that is unchanged since 1996 etc.
Let's live in the present.

 

[zukernik]

becasue AAPL has 3x the amount of outstanding shares compaired to goog?

Outstanding shares alone mean nothing. That's like saying Zimbabwe has more dollars than the USA.

 

[kryca]

But the point I tried to make was that maybe if Gov't was provided with some fresh ideas --- Steve's ideas--- things could be different...

...but not necessarily better, just different. Jobs only focus was on performance and leaving those behind who didn't support his case (which may be perfectly legitimate for a company). Running a country is about integration with noone left behind.

 

[Dionte]

I liked Lala, I was just starting to set up shop when apple bought then out. Now I search every music store for a song at 0.99, best luck usually with amazon. If I don't find it at a buck I don't buy, I can live without.

 

[Speedy2]

This obsession with Steve Jobs years after his death reminds me of the Obsession with Ronald Reagan that people on Fox's stations have. I think both men were human and died like humans do and I say let them rest in peace.
Life was NOT heaven on earth under Reagan and Apple had many problems
under Steve Jobs and his obsessions with minimalist design served only his ideas. I would rather read stories about how the next update for 10.8 will fix mail problems...advance copy paste that is unchanged since 1996 etc.
Let's live in the present.

+1 billion

 

[chirpie]

Still, I can't really see how a Google-less world would have any significant effect on Apple. Well, except without Google Microsoft might still be relevant and Apple fanboys would still be fighting Microsoft fanboys...

Man, I'm feeling nostalgic all of a sudden.

 

[whocaresit]

Please bring back Jobs! If he's cryogenically frozen, cloning should be a possibility.

 

[MacDav]

Do you really think having a mean Federal government is a good idea? Do you think that the paths to corporate profitability and effective government are the same?

IMO, the purposes of corporations and governments are so different that running the government "like a business" would lead to disaster, just as running a business like it was a government would lead to disaster.

Corporations exist to enrich the owners, with little consideration of any other factors, unless such factors are forced to be considered by law. Governments are concerned mainly with those other factors.

Corporations exist for the enrichment of a relative few people. Governments exist for the well-being of all people.

It is, for example, rational for a government to spend money to clean up toxic waste in community water wells. It is not rational for a corporation to spend money to clean up toxic waste in community water wells, unless they are forced to do so by law.

The goals and methods of corporate governance are wholly different from the goals and methods of effective government.

Your stumbling, bumbling argument for large government is typical of "Left" minded people. Do you really believe that Government should spend more than it takes in? Do you think it's good for Government to be bloated and inefficient? That the nature of government is meant to be this way? From your argument it appears you do. What can I say to someone who seems to lack common sense? Like most people who trumpet that big government is a good thing, you haven't given me one logical reason for why this would be true. This is not the political forum and so it's likely our posts will be deleted. If you really want to discuss this with me I'd suggest you do some research first, otherwise I'm not going to waste my time with you.

 

[MacDav]

That's exactly why government isn't run as a business. The government equivalent to "get the bloat out" is "kill off all the poor people who haven't had the fortune to get a job". Thankfully, society doesn't work that way.

Please see my answer to iGrip above. This applies to you also.

 

[Sigil]

I truly loved Lala; it was better than the current music options.

 

[MacDav]

Maybe because your simple one-word answer confirmed that you're clearly clueless when it comes to either company and no one thought you were serious.


BTW, Steve Jobs is dead, in the ground, dead ... can we stop speaking of him as though he is alive and well and still buying up any companies?

There are many "in the ground dead" people who are spoken of on a daily basis. Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, Plato, Voltaire, the list is so long that I would be typing all day and still not finish. The reason people speak of these dead people is because they were exceptional and they transcend the "here today gone tomorrow" epithet that applies to most of us. In other words their "ideas" live on and survive as long as the Human species survives. Whether Steve Jobs will ultimately fall into this category is at this point in time unknown. However, you seem to forget you're posting on a site that would not even exist if not for Steve Jobs. So with that in mind I suggest you rethink your opposition to the mention of his name and ideas. At least when you're posting on a site that is about Apple inc.

 

[mantan]

Your stumbling, bumbling argument for large government is typical of "Left" minded people. Do you really believe that Government should spend more than it takes in? Do you think it's good for Government to be bloated and inefficient? That the nature of government is meant to be this way? From your argument it appears you do. What can I say to someone who seems to lack common sense? Like most people who trumpet that big government is a good thing, you haven't given me one logical reason for why this would be true. This is not the political forum and so it's likely our posts will be deleted. If you really want to discuss this with me I'd suggest you do some research first, otherwise I'm not going to waste my time with you.

I think the point that was being made is there are some elements of capatlism that don't work for the betterment of society....and 'running government like a business' is a simplistic approach.

One of the challenges of the real world is that business interests do not always line up with society's interests. For example, a medical industry driven by capitalistic goals is better served by more treatment/medication/tests and less by wellness and cures. More work may go into a drug that will require millions of long term prescriptions than a more short term or cost effective solution. But the flip side of a medical system that is run as a government enterprise risks becoming bloated, (more) bureaucratic and lack the innovation seen when chasing dollars.

There is no right/wrong answer. And unfortunately most people want to run behind whichever party they support to spew their party's line and dismiss another view.

There are elements of the private industry's way of thinking that definitely could make government more efficient/sustainable. But there is also a need for a greater 'societal' good that capitalism isn't built for.

None of this has anything to do with Jobs. A man, for all his brilliance, seemed much more interested in his own personal interests than using his talents to deal with something for a greater good. (Not a slam on the man, just pointing out the absurdity of him even thinking about dealing with government problems.)

 

[genovelle]

Without Apple, Android will be just a BlackBerry clone.

you missed a word. Android would still be just a BlackBerry clone.

 

[I WAS the one]

If Steve were alive, he'd be invited to sit with Obama to figure a way out of the Finacial mess this country is in..... He maybe couldn't fix it right away, but there would be some unique ideas thrown out there, I'd bet !

Actually he did. But the first thing he told Obama was... "You know you will only be president for 4 years right?" As you can tell... He was no good in politics, obama is still the president of USA

 

[I WAS the one]

.

Hate or no, Jobs made things happen. Now. HUGE shoes for Tim Cook to fill.

We'll see...

LMFAO I swear I heard Yoda's voice in this part of the post!

 

[Lennholm]

Please see my answer to iGrip above. This applies to you also.

So, in other words, you're all for letting citizens who have nothing simply die off, all in the name of keeping government small and irrelevant. Gotcha!
Typical arrogant right-wing inhumane selfishness.

 

[MacDav]

I think the point that was being made is there are some elements of capatlism that don't work for the betterment of society....and 'running government like a business' is a simplistic approach.

One of the challenges of the real world is that business interests do not always line up with society's interests. For example, a medical industry driven by capitalistic goals is better served by more treatment/medication/tests and less by wellness and cures. More work may go into a drug that will require millions of long term prescriptions than a more short term or cost effective solution. But the flip side of a medical system that is run as a government enterprise risks becoming bloated, (more) bureaucratic and lack the innovation seen when chasing dollars.

There is no right/wrong answer. And unfortunately most people want to run behind whichever party they support to spew their party's line and dismiss another view.

There are elements of the private industry's way of thinking that definitely could make government more efficient/sustainable. But there is also a need for a greater 'societal' good that capitalism isn't built for.

None of this has anything to do with Jobs. A man, for all his brilliance, seemed much more interested in his own personal interests than using his talents to deal with something for a greater good. (Not a slam on the man, just pointing out the absurdity of him even thinking about dealing with government problems.)

Well said... I agree 100%. I don't belong to any political party and would never confine myself to a particular ideology. The key to real progress is objectivity. Unfortunately, as you mentioned most are looking at things through an emotional window and can't see the forest for the trees. There are valid perspectives from both sides of the fence. It's too bad people seem to be caught behind simplistic ideals that have no value in the big picture. Yes, I agree with your view of Jobs. I have read his authorized biography and most else pertaining to the man. Since I didn't know him personally I really can't comment on his seeming lack of interest in charitable giving. Possibly he thought as Jesus did that the poor will always be with us. (No, I am not a Christian). Jobs was flawed just like we all are to one extent or another. Love him or hate him, he was also a very exceptional human being. Anyway, good reply, it's nice to hear from someone who can think objectively.

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So, in other words, you're all for letting citizens who have nothing simply die off, all in the name of keeping government small and irrelevant. Gotcha!
Typical arrogant right-wing inhumane selfishness.

Please read Mantan's reply and my reply to Mantan above. You might learn something valuable. Or maybe not.

 

[GoCubsGo]

There are many "in the ground dead" people who are spoken of on a daily basis. Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, Plato, Voltaire, the list is so long that I would be typing all day and still not finish. The reason people speak of these dead people is because they were exceptional and they transcend the "here today gone tomorrow" epithet that applies to most of us. In other words their "ideas" live on and survive as long as the Human species survives. Whether Steve Jobs will ultimately fall into this category is at this point in time unknown. However, you seem to forget you're posting on a site that would not even exist if not for Steve Jobs. So with that in mind I suggest you rethink your opposition to the mention of his name and ideas. At least when you're posting on a site that is about Apple inc.

Yeah, jobs wasn't near any one of those listed. If he was for you then cool.

 

[iGrip]

Your stumbling, bumbling argument for large government is typical of "Left" minded people. Do you really believe that Government should spend more than it takes in? Do you think it's good for Government to be bloated and inefficient? That the nature of government is meant to be this way? From your argument it appears you do. What can I say to someone who seems to lack common sense? Like most people who trumpet that big government is a good thing, you haven't given me one logical reason for why this would be true. This is not the political forum and so it's likely our posts will be deleted. If you really want to discuss this with me I'd suggest you do some research first, otherwise I'm not going to waste my time with you.

I made no argument in favor of large government, but thanks for trying.

 

[iGrip]

Apple is quite undervalued compared to other large cap techs like IBM, MSFT, and GOOG.

That may be true, but the Smart Money is dumping Apple as quickly as possible. If you hadn't noticed, AAPL has lost damn near a third of its value in just a few months. Maybe it is now finally undervalued, but recently it was grossly overvalued. And it remains to be seen what a third consecutive earnings miss might do to the stock.

Many people think that Apple's best days are behind it.

 

[Serpico74]

That may be true, but the Smart Money is dumping Apple as quickly as possible. If you hadn't noticed, AAPL has lost damn near a third of its value in just a few months. Maybe it is now finally undervalued, but recently it was grossly overvalued. And it remains to be seen what a third consecutive earnings miss might do to the stock.

Many people think that Apple's best days are behind it.

Even at its peak of $700, AAPL was still undervalued compared to the companies I mentioned (MSFT, IBM, GOOG).

The reason it dropped over the last few months is very simple: the stock ran up VERY fast on increasing revenue and no matter how good a stock is, there are people who bought low that will sell to take profits. It is a technical correction, simple. Every stock experiences it, especially ones that nearly double in value in a year even if earnings completely justify it.

Nothing goes up in a straight line forever, there are always corrections in general trends.

In the short term the stock market is all about taking money away from other people. I myself sold call option spreads against AAPL in July and August and came out ahead 40% on those positions as AAPL dropped.

People who bought the stock between $600-$700 are now selling their stock back to the smart money at these levels.

On long term timeframes AAPL is on very strong support levels and fundamentally their sales and revenue are better than they ever were.

Historically low PE combined with their highest sales ever and strong technical price level support tells me that at the very least, I wouldn't be going short from here. That time has long passed, and I myself bought additional shares between $490-$520 (my overall dollar cost average is around $130).

By all means though, put your money where your mouth is and take a short position here, see where it takes you.

 

[charlituna]

Or, "How I chose to ignore my Doctors advice and cure cancer with Hippie Magic".

Given that it was pancreatic cancer having had the surgery right off the top may not have really changed much. He could have still had the liver failure etc just perhaps a year or two later. So we'd be having the same debates then rather than now

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did i read this correctly, apple bought lala because they were stealing profits from iTunes?

That's what the article would have you believe. But the truth is probably more complicated