Wyse have been making appliances that are "entirely cloud-based" for years. And frankly, it's wonderful. It's called Thin clients. Chrome OS is just the consumer version of the Thin client.
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Apple in Talks to Buy Israeli Flash Storage Company Anobit for Over $400 Million
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Wyse have been making appliances that are "entirely cloud-based" for years. And frankly, it's wonderful. It's called Thin clients. Chrome OS is just the consumer version of the Thin client.
Jeopardy!
Q: What is < 0.5% of Apple's total cash reserves?
A: Buying Anobit!
That's like you and me buying a combo meal from Wendy's for lunch.
Q: What is < 0.5% of Apple's total cash reserves?
A: Buying Anobit!
That's like you and me buying a combo meal from Wendy's for lunch.
Well this would cut out the middle man which theoretically means cheaper costs for SSD's during the manufacture process. Heres to a 512GB SSD for under $150!
Apple milk every single cent they can from memory upgrade prices.
That's why so many people buy high quality 3rd party memory for iMacs due to the unbelievable price Apple charge for the same thing.
I don't think any "middle man" is responsible for this.
How does this cut out the middleman? They still need a middleman to manufacture it for them.
$404 million in 1997 dollars is a larger amount than $500 million in 2011 dollars!
Their website claims to have done comparable testing with speed 4x to 14x and longevity over 2x. If you presume the two main benefits to those specs are iPhones with service lives twice that of some other guy, and server farms which directly and even non-linearly benefit from speed and longevity of components, it seems the pure scale of benefits to Apple pay back this investment in a single month or so based on their run rate.
The non-linearity is associated with service costs and delays.
Having cash earning 1% these days is a feature not a bug for the following clear reasons:, preservation of capital, liquidity, visibility, safety.
Maybe they could shift some to gold and silver?
Rocketman
May seem odd, but this move could make sense if the TV plans really are true and they want the TV to have local flash storage. Opposed to mobile devices (2-3 years max) and computers (5-6 years max), some people keep their TVs ten or more years. You would really need your flash to have longevity to be reliable that entire time.
Flash storage is the future, near future to be exact, and it is nice to see that Apple is taking a sizable step towards that future 
I hope with the acquisition of Anobit then Apple will make flash storage a standard on all their Mac lines.
I hope with the acquisition of Anobit then Apple will make flash storage a standard on all their Mac lines.
Why would Apple want this company?
they have two options, the first being able to license their tech, but Apple doesn't do that, and second, would be for their flash chips, but Apple already uses them.... what are they doing up there?
they have two options, the first being able to license their tech, but Apple doesn't do that, and second, would be for their flash chips, but Apple already uses them.... what are they doing up there?
I can't tell if you are being facetious, but it isn't an either/or. You can keep the bulk of your rarely-used data in the cloud, meaning you can use small, speedy, more reliable local storage for your more highly used stuff. You don't need cheap but slow/heavy/big/unreliable bulk storage in your local device.
Extending their cost advantage
Tim Cook is doing a great job of procuring top-quality components at low cost. Using proprietary best-of-class processes have given and will continue to give Apple advantages in cost and quality. The Anobit MSP flash memory technology, Sharp IGZO LCD and next-gen OLED panel technologies, "integrated embedded battery" technology, and MacBook aluminum milling machine technology are just a few examples.
By owning the technology and the means of production, Apple can ensure component supply, keep their costs down, and prevent competitors from copying their processes and designs. And yes, Apple has patented all of their innovations. That's what patents are for: protecting innovation.
Tim Cook is doing a great job of procuring top-quality components at low cost. Using proprietary best-of-class processes have given and will continue to give Apple advantages in cost and quality. The Anobit MSP flash memory technology, Sharp IGZO LCD and next-gen OLED panel technologies, "integrated embedded battery" technology, and MacBook aluminum milling machine technology are just a few examples.
By owning the technology and the means of production, Apple can ensure component supply, keep their costs down, and prevent competitors from copying their processes and designs. And yes, Apple has patented all of their innovations. That's what patents are for: protecting innovation.
Um, no.
Seems like people don't seem to know what Anobit does?
According to their papers on their website, they basically do two things:
1) Algorithms for error correction.
2) Flash controllers using said algorithms.
It has little to do with what flash vendor and more to do with how to use the flash.
In short, they're basically a competitor to Sandforce(bought by LSI), Indilinx(bought by OCZ), etc.
(Not sure what is the relationship with the original subject, but let's go anyway.)
Gotta love it when someone starts like this and then procceeds to get it wrong.
Yep, but that's encapsulated in the products, which are memory controllers. You use memory controllers so they control the memory, so you don't have to control it. That's why they are called "controllers", mostly.
Gotta love it when someone starts like this and then procceeds to get it wrong.
Not exactly. They themselves, and the reviews and papers about them along the web, describe what they do as something beyond error correction. The accent seems to be on the signal processing part. (Surprising, given that their tech is named Memory Signal Processing, huh?).
Yep, but that's encapsulated in the products, which are memory controllers. You use memory controllers so they control the memory, so you don't have to control it. That's why they are called "controllers", mostly.
I love the fact that Apple is consolidating their philosophy of 'making the whole widget'. They will rely on few and fewer individual companies for components, while also spreading production to facilities around the world (to avoid catastrophes such as flooding in Thailand). They control the means of production on every level. They are set up to be formidable player for the next generation.
Maybe this is a dumb thought but as they get more and more vertical doesn't it become more and more difficult to keep up w/ new industry trends. Lets say there's a big innovation in storage and flash is no longer the hot item, now Apple has 400mil invested in it.
Not saying I think that flash is going away anytime soon, but just a thought. Seems like it makes you less agile.
With 2012 approaching, the Mayan calendar ending, Iran making a nuclear bomb solely to destroy Israel, the rest of the middle east in an uproar and Israel/US relations at an all time low... now is not the time to invest in anything Israeli...
Or South Korea for that matter.
All hail God Acan!
Or South Korea for that matter.
All hail God Acan!
400 mil sounds like a lot, but compared to apple's cash pile, it's hardly tying up *anything*