Dropbox Indeed Balked at Major Acquisition Offer from Apple

[till213]

Apple came and talked to music player companies back in the day, and now we have iTunes and... does anybody use anything other than iTunes?

I use VLC as player and buy music CDs - does that count?

We'll certainly see how things turn out, but iCloud is here to stay, and offers the sort of multifaceted and integrated solution that ultimately Dropbox can't compete with.

I updated to Lion 10.7.2 (mostly due to its security fixes and stability issues), clicked quickly through the iCloud settings and was left wondering "So what does it do for me (that I need)?"

Calendar, Email? Nada! I use Google for that!

"Documents in the Cloud"? This is limited to CERTAIN document types only! I want to STORE ANY document type on my network disk and have access from EVERYWHERE - with drag'n'drop (and yes, I am heavily a file-oriented user, I KNOW where to put them). So nada.

Find my Mac? Useless. Doesn't work if your disk is fully encrypted (which I prefer anyway)

Back to my Mac? Interesting. But I use TeamViewer - CROSS-platform and also works on the 10.5 Leopard of my Mum.

Photo Streams, Music Match and all this "spread your data everywhere where you don't need it". Might be useful for others - I prefer to explicitly sync my DSLR with Lightroom. And if I need quick access from somewhere else -> DropBox!

And I have dedicated "sync lists" per device, so no, I don't want to have the exact same set of MP3s on my two mobile devices. I don't even have the same set of applications on them.

By the way, DropBox let's me encrypt my network disk. Transparently. Anything available like that in "Documents in the Cloud"?

 

[QuiteSure]

This story can't be confirmed

HELLO 800,000,000 dollars. Are you nuts?

I'm frankly not sure that this story is even true. But it has succeeded in co-opting the death of Steve Jobs into a publicity bonus for Dropbox, a product I use and love.

By the way, anybody else have problems with White Space Conflicts?

 

[Freeks]

Mad Props for DropBox guys!
Apple would have just killed a great software.

iCloud is completely different app than DropBox. iCloud is nice for syncing calendar with iPhone and iPad, but it can't even sync calendars without Lion. How stupid is that? I have multiple macs and i'm not upgrading OS in the near future. iCloud can't sync or share my files with friends. It don't support 90% of the fileformats.

iCloud might have use some day. Untill then DropBox rules.

 

[Digital Skunk]

What's the matter with some people? Can't you understand that dropbox are successful because they support multiplatform and a file structure? They are not going to vanish overnight because of iCloud. People seem to forget that the majority of people still use PC's and there are other phones and tablets out there besides Apple's. Apple's got the best hardware and arguably the best software, but most people simply can't afford it, unless on contracts. This is no diss on Apple, but a strong support for the decision Houston made in regards to Steve's offer.

You are 100% correct, and sad to say but NO, some can't fathom anything other than what is fed to them, or just don't fully understand the market and the products and services in it. That's why we have a lot of comments like this one down here.

iCloud is here to stay, and offers the sort of multifaceted and integrated solution that ultimately Dropbox can't compete with. I don't think Dropbox will disappear, certainly not overnight. For now at least they do things iCloud can't, but given enough time, Dropbox is definitely on the decline.

 

[QuiteSure]

The Spoils

The Dropbox guys could have bought this, if only they'd done the deal:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/3-million-luxury-camper-40-mobile-mansion-220233175.html

 

[samcraig]

samcraig, all I have seen is you and others from your group think engage in personal attacks. I have tried Dropbox. I have tried Live Mesh and I used to have an x drive (sp?) account years ago. I just don't see the point of it.

Listen, I actually "work" for a living as a software developer on windows. Got it? I have no interest in complicated solutions and I don't see any advantages over using box.net, dropbox or sugar sync.

I don't have any interest in owning an android phone and I have no interest in using windows as my main platform because that would seem too much like "work" to me.

I understand how the client server model works and various strategies you can use for distributed systems with caching and syncing.

I'm not interesting in platitudes, rhetoric or shill statements in favour of Dropbox or other parties. What I want you do explain to me and other skeptics is why we should bother running other background services on our computers for a bunch of third party services that do not talk to each other instead of using iCloud. What is the benefit for someone who has no interest in android?

You can have whatever hobbies you like but people like me have other kinds of hobbies like photography, singing, playing musical instruments. Basically, anything that is different from what we do for "work" is what I like to do for "fun".

You can't file share with iCloud. You can with dropbox. And that's not rhetoric nor is in a shill statement. It's not a question of personal attacks - the differences between what iCloud can do and what Dropbox does has been explained to death in this thread. If you can't understand the difference - that's your problem. I say that sincerely and not antagonistically. Because quite frankly it's been spelled out. I even gave my own personal use cases when it came to buying/renovating my apt. And we also used it when planning our wedding. I don't consider those jobs or work.

Now if what you are saying is that for you - you see no need or no benefit from dropbox and that iCloud does everything YOU need - that's a different matter - and good for you. Enjoy iCloud.

But when/if the situation arises when you want to collaborate with someone or have access to files (that are not supported by iCloud) wherever you are - it will be more than obvious what the differences are.

 

[kolax]

Only downside to Dropbox is ISPs. They, or rather the current infrastructure, is holding us back from things like Dropbox becoming as necessary as say a web browser. My upload speed is between 20-40KB/s. And I'm on the highest package that my ISP will support (they blame my phone line, but I'm sure it can handle more up than that).

If I were to download some music, add some photos, and edit a family video, I'd have to wait a week before I could access that content straight off Dropbox's servers.

It's a great concept, and it works great if you have excellent bandwidth. But there's too many of us stuck with crap internet speeds, which make the likes of Dropbox becoming an essential concept for all of us distant in the future.

.

 

[rcappo]

$800 million...vs the unknown with Apple as a competitor...Did they want to get more money from Apple?

Did these idiots not learn anything from the Dot Com crash? Take the money and run. In 5 years, we will see where they will be at, and I doubt they will be better off.

What is the business model of this company I have never heard of? Do I have to pay a monthly fee for a dropbox account? That's not happening. Is it advertiser based, adblock takes care of those...

 

[tigres]

$800 million...vs the unknown with Apple as a competitor...Did they want to get more money from Apple?

Did these idiots not learn anything from the Dot Com crash? Take the money and run. In 5 years, we will see where they will be at, and I doubt they will be better off.

What is the business model of this company I have never heard of? Do I have to pay a monthly fee for a dropbox account? That's not happening. Is it advertiser based, adblock takes care of those...

So you have never used Dropbox, yet want to throw in your .02? Why don't you give it a try before making such baseless accusations.

I'll give you a hint to start, it's a phenomenal product/service.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

$800 million...vs the unknown with Apple as a competitor...Did they want to get more money from Apple?

Did these idiots not learn anything from the Dot Com crash? Take the money and run. In 5 years, we will see where they will be at, and I doubt they will be better off.

What is the business model of this company I have never heard of? Do I have to pay a monthly fee for a dropbox account? That's not happening. Is it advertiser based, adblock takes care of those...

Then you do not understand dropbox or start ups.
They can count on several things giving them an massive edge against Apple.

1.) No matter what Apple puts out it will not be cross platform and will only really work on Apple products. This limitation kills iCloud at being anywhere close to as good as dropbox.

2.) Apples past products in this area (iDisk) kind of sucked and they kept failing year after year to make it better

3.) Dropbox already has its name out there and a strong and growing user base.

 

[devilstrider]

These guys will be kicking themselves in another year...

I doubt. The iphone, iPad, and iTouch are the only mobile divices iCloud is on. Dropbox is on everything so I don't see iCould taking over anything.

----------

Then you do not understand dropbox or start ups.
They can count on several things giving them an massive edge against Apple.

1.) No matter what Apple puts out it will not be cross platform and will only really work on Apple products. This limitation kills iCloud at being anywhere close to as good as dropbox.

2.) Apples past products in this area (iDisk) kind of sucked and they kept failing year after year to make it better

3.) Dropbox already has its name out there and a strong and growing user base.

Bingo. Apple will fail at it again to. They wanted dropbox because it is already established. Then they would make it exclusive to apple products or rebrand it to iCloud.

 

[vitzr]

Exactly.

Hardly

Dropbox is and will continue to be a very valuable service.

I am but one of the massive number of Dropbox users that has no interest whatsoever in iCloud.

As a very loyal Apple computer user of many years, I'm very disappointed in who Apple has become. Menacing, Sue Happy and not to be trusted.

Anytime a companies CEO calls a press conference to speak condescendingly ("you're holding it wrong") to the loyal customers who have made the company as successful as Apple, speaks volumes about Apples sinister side.

 

[840quadra]

Hardly

Dropbox is and will continue to be a very valuable service.

I am but one of the massive number of Dropbox users that has no interest whatsoever in iCloud.

As a very loyal Apple computer user of many years, I'm very disappointed in who Apple has become. Menacing, Sue Happy and not to be trusted.

Anytime a companies CEO calls a press conference to speak condescendingly ("you're holding it wrong") to the loyal customers who have made the company as successful as Apple, speaks volumes about Apples sinister side.

I am not defending Apple's attitude on the subject, just pointing out what actually was said.

 

[samcraig]

Here was my email exchange with him:

(in reverse order)

Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.



On Jun 24, 2010, at 4:40 PM, XXX wrote:

Seriously? That's the solution. "Interesting" solution.

On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 7:19 PM, Steve Jobs <sjobs@apple.com> wrote:

Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way.


On Jun 24, 2010, at 12:14 PM, XXX wrote:

Thanks for the tech.

Question - What's going to be done about the signal dropping issue. Is it software or hardware?

Best,
XXX

 

[JabbaII]

$800 million...vs the unknown with Apple as a competitor...Did they want to get more money from Apple?

Did these idiots not learn anything from the Dot Com crash? Take the money and run. In 5 years, we will see where they will be at, and I doubt they will be better off.

What is the business model of this company I have never heard of? Do I have to pay a monthly fee for a dropbox account? That's not happening. Is it advertiser based, adblock takes care of those...

This is the business model:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/victori...ox-the-inside-story-of-techs-hottest-startup/

Dropbox’s ascent has been just as stunning. The 50-million-user figure is up threefold from a year ago, and it has solved the “freemium” riddle, with revenue on track to hit $240 million in 2011 despite the fact that 96% of those users pay nothing. With only 70 staffers, mostly engineers, Dropbox grosses nearly three times more per employee than even the darling of business models, Google. Houston claims it’s already profitable but won’t reveal margins.

It’s only going to get better. That 96% of nonpaying customers is throwing their stuff into Dropbox at such a pace that thousands of people each day blow through the free 2 gigabytes of storage, and upgrade to 50 gigs for $10 a month or 100 gigs for $20. Even if Houston doesn’t sign up a single customer in 2012, his sales will double. As we go over this math Houston pauses to garnish this lovely inevitability: “But we will sign up many, many customers.”

While the soft market, and Houston’s insistence on dealing only with platinum-plated VCs, crimped his valuation a bit, five-year-old Dropbox still raised a whopping $250 million on a $4 billion valuation. “This is the hot company,” says one prominent investor who didn’t get in. “Everyone wanted to be a part of it.” Houston’s estimated 15% stake is worth, on paper, $600 million.

Time will tell if Dropbox will be a successful dot com story or not. But current valuation is about 4 billion. Steve wanted to pay $800 million for something that makes $240million per year.

 

[Hitrate]

Dropbox FAIL hehe

 

[Steve121178]

Dropbox FAIL hehe

Why is Dropbox a fail?

 

[vitzr]

Steve wanted to pay $800 million for something that makes $240million per year.

While $800 million is a lot of money, relative to Apples cash cow it's just a number. Nothing of great significance.

Even if Dropbox were to fade, either someone else would buy it or they'd slowly slip away. It doesn't matter to me since there will always be other options.

As much as I like Apple products, there's something very creepy about them holding my data.

Even if there weren't any other choices I have a very robust home network with NAS, emergency power supply (tested monthly) and complete redundancy. My data, is my data first, foremost & always. Even today I only use the cloud for non personal data.

 

[samcraig]

Just watched Walter's interview extras on 60 minutes.

Jobs admired Zuckerberg for creating a company and not selling out. Granted - I'm not sure Apple wanted to buy facebook.

But that being said - I am sure that Jobs respected the folks at Dropbox for the same reason. He might night have liked not being able to buy what he wanted - but I am sure it was a respected decision.

 

[Wicked1]

Guys could have walked away with a ton of $ and maybe even jobs at Apple, but now they have to go fishing for investors to stave off competition from Apple. Humm not sure this was a smart thing to do, people know and trust in Apple to bring the goods, not sure DropBox has too much of a future left but we will see.

 

[samcraig]

Guys could have walked away with a ton of $ and maybe even jobs at Apple, but now they have to go fishing for investors to stave off competition from Apple. Humm not sure this was a smart thing to do, people know and trust in Apple to bring the goods, not sure DropBox has too much of a future left but we will see.

Competition from Apple? How so? iCloud isn't remotely like DropBox.... not to mention - iCloud isn't platform agnostic.

 

[SteelWheel]

Sorry for resurrecting a dormant thread--but it seemed like I'd get more/higher quality responses this way...

Related question(s) to the Dropbox turning down Apple thing: Has anybody seen any transactions in Dropbox stock on the "private market" sites? Been meaning to register with these for a while, and finally got to it a little while ago. Signed up as a member of Second Market and SharesPost--I recall seeing both of these pseudo-exchanges mentioned more or less positively in the WSJ. Any others I should be checking out as well?

 

[iMusings]

Sorry for resurrecting a dormant thread--but it seemed like I'd get more/higher quality responses this way...

Related question(s) to the Dropbox turning down Apple thing: Has anybody seen any transactions in Dropbox stock on the "private market" sites? Been meaning to register with these for a while, and finally got to it a little while ago. Signed up as a member of Second Market and SharesPost--I recall seeing both of these pseudo-exchanges mentioned more or less positively in the WSJ. Any others I should be checking out as well?

With Google Drive released I think Drew should be kicking himself now. He'd be lucky to get $80,000 for Dropbox now, let alone $800 million.

Check out the Dropbox forums, lots of pro users are so allured by Google's storage pricing!

 

[Tilpots]

With Google Drive released I think Drew should be kicking himself now. He'd be lucky to get $80,000 for Dropbox now, let alone $800 million.

Check out the Dropbox forums, lots of pro users are so allured by Google's storage pricing!

Yeah, until they realize that Google owns the rights to anything put in your Drive folder. No thanks.

 

[bpaluzzi]

Yeah, until they realize that Google owns the rights to anything put in your Drive folder. No thanks.

The Dropbox and Skydrive terms are no better than the Google Drive terms.

----------

With Google Drive released I think Drew should be kicking himself now. He'd be lucky to get $80,000 for Dropbox now, let alone $800 million.

Check out the Dropbox forums, lots of pro users are so allured by Google's storage pricing!

Steve was 100% right - Dropbox is a feature, not a service.