While 99% of the time, the Bose tagline would more accurately read, "More money through marketing," the QuietComfort 2 headphones are pretty damned fantastic. That said, I wouldn't buy a set of Bose speakers to save my life. I remember when a friend of mine started talking up his amazing sound system, only to reveal to me a Bose 2.1. Bose is for people with money to burn, and questionable hearing.
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I was unaware that they were part owned by MIT. That being the case, I would expect their products to actually perform well, and that simply isn't the case. If I were MIT, I would attempt to distance myself from that relationship. Although, given that I was unaware of the association, perhaps that's exactly what they're doing.
Apple generates 2B in sales in less than a week.