hmm, sounds a like everyone's favorite company there. Don't be so quick to follow your competitor's business plan and simultaneously accuse it of immorality.
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Who should Apple buy?
- Thread starter eclipse525
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hmm, sounds a like everyone's favorite company there. Don't be so quick to follow your competitor's business plan and simultaneously accuse it of immorality.
I notice that there are two types of acquisitions noted here.
1. Those that are used to kill competition (the type with which Microsoft is very familiar)
2. Those that are used to adopt software and technology consistent with the company mission.
I think the first is dangerous, whereas the second one is often beneficial to customers and to the company's bottom line.
Apple's got a solid store of cash, but it wouldn't hurt to acquire companies with a great deal of cash assets. However, #2 above is better for the long run than this last suggestion.
And going back to #2...What about Pixar? I think that would be an appropriate acquisition, and a very profitable one. It would be a great way of entering the movie industry and would augment cash flow. Similar philosophies, too. Hmph! I wonder why.
1. Those that are used to kill competition (the type with which Microsoft is very familiar)
2. Those that are used to adopt software and technology consistent with the company mission.
I think the first is dangerous, whereas the second one is often beneficial to customers and to the company's bottom line.
Apple's got a solid store of cash, but it wouldn't hurt to acquire companies with a great deal of cash assets. However, #2 above is better for the long run than this last suggestion.
And going back to #2...What about Pixar? I think that would be an appropriate acquisition, and a very profitable one. It would be a great way of entering the movie industry and would augment cash flow. Similar philosophies, too. Hmph! I wonder why.
I'd like to see them buy DigiDesign, then combine PT and Logic. Then we would have ultimate MIDI and audio editing in one app. Apple would also be much kinder to their customers than DD.
Agree about Tivo.
Hmmmmm..... This isn't an Apple-buys-them scenario, but I would love to see Apple and Sony work together.
Dan
Agree about Tivo.
Hmmmmm..... This isn't an Apple-buys-them scenario, but I would love to see Apple and Sony work together.
Dan
temper, temper...Aren't you the same person who said that AOL might want to "leave" TimeWarner and merge with Apple?
Which of course makes an abundance of sense because Apple could really afford to buy AOL. And if it did, it would want it since AOL's financial situation is SO great. But I guess it's all moot since AOL would have to be a separate entity, anyway...
And since AOL controls TimeWarner, I imagine it couldn't just "leave." It would have to, oh, I don't know, spin it off or sell it or something.
And what does AOL disliking its (chosen) arrangement with TimeWarner have to do with wanting to partner with Apple or anyone else?
Please reserve your sarcasm to those threads in which each of your posts makes a sensible point.
I was joking, but now you can see my temper. Try reading it again, you'll notice that it's pure speculation. Also, check your info, 01/11/01 AOL and Time Warner complete merger to create Time Warner
1.) Don't be such a hypocrite 2.) Since when was this thread about being sensible?
Actually, Blizzard would be killer. Why didn't I think of that? But I don't see Apple getting into the game market....
I know! They can buy M$ and Dell with Monopoly money and then move all their operations to Park Place! OK, now I'm just being facetious.
Dan
I know! They can buy M$ and Dell with Monopoly money and then move all their operations to Park Place! OK, now I'm just being facetious.
Dan
Well, I apologize for getting annoyed. I don't like people who's facts aren't correct to jump all over other people.
So I still don't like you jumping all over people, whether eclipse or me.
I don't particularly care to see your temper, but I am interested in pointing out your mistakes, especially when you call me a hypocrite. I won't call you a hypocrite. Rather, I'll call you a person who doesn't research thoroughly enough, doesn't follow mergers & acquisitions, or happened to be closing his eyes and ears to business world during 2001.
Your link was totally uninformative. It states that AOL and Time Warner merged to create Time Warner. Yes. But here's the actual story.
AOL and Time Warner merged to create AOL Time Warner. Only recently was there a name change to Time Warner. This probably was because AOL has been the weaker end of the company and for PR reasons, it would be better off as just Time Warner.
It's actually unfortunate that the only piece of evidence you had that I was wrong was a name change for the company. That's really not enough.
AOL DID acquire Time Warner, but don't take MY word for it.
I'm sure you'll trust a little publication called Forbes. I've heard that they run a business story or two from time to time.
Forbes.com
I'm not afraid, though, to display the pertinent quote, instead of just providing a link. I think this line pretty much sums up my point. Notice how it says that "Time Warner" is being "acquired" by "AOL."
And if you put more stock in the Brits than those crrrrazy Americans, then you'll appreciate this tidbit from the BBC.
BBC
The following information isn't as outright, but it definitely suggests that AOL wasn't being bought out by Time Warner.
AOL's market cap was twice that of Time Warner. Somehow, I doubt that Time Warner would be buying AOL. Of course, they weren't, since AOL shareholders had to "settle" for a 55% stake in the new company...What's that? AOL shareholders had the controlling share of stock? That means that the shareholders, the owners of AOL, were asked to "compromise" for the controlling holdings in AOL Time Warner. That means AOL's owners together had full control over the newly formed corporation.
So next time you want to call someone a hypocrite, do a little more research than just to grab a vague factoid off of a company timeline.
an AOL Timewarner - Apple Innovation
this may be a little off topic but i was thinking about this too - if iTunes is adapted well on a pc, the next best iapp would be ichat - sure, msn and yahoo messenger probably have capabilities to use a crummy webcam, but AIM is still being used more then the latter. well, at least in the US.
if AIM were to be revised as iChat, then people everywhere would be using it for A/V conferencing. iChat IMHO is the only useable and stable A/V messenger. maybe apple could get some revenue from selling the isight to all the AIM/iChat users. not to mention finally bringing people around the world together with good A/V chatting.
a companys product that i wish apple could steal a product away from is discreets combustion. apple has a good digital video base with final cut pro, dv studio pro, and shake. they could throw a nice finishing program in there to compete with adobe after effects. of course that would prolly get adobe into a frenzy.
this may be a little off topic but i was thinking about this too - if iTunes is adapted well on a pc, the next best iapp would be ichat - sure, msn and yahoo messenger probably have capabilities to use a crummy webcam, but AIM is still being used more then the latter. well, at least in the US.
if AIM were to be revised as iChat, then people everywhere would be using it for A/V conferencing. iChat IMHO is the only useable and stable A/V messenger. maybe apple could get some revenue from selling the isight to all the AIM/iChat users. not to mention finally bringing people around the world together with good A/V chatting.
a companys product that i wish apple could steal a product away from is discreets combustion. apple has a good digital video base with final cut pro, dv studio pro, and shake. they could throw a nice finishing program in there to compete with adobe after effects. of course that would prolly get adobe into a frenzy.
still Apple needs a killer mac company that can crank out a killer game that makes everyone say my god i want a mac just to play that thing!!! i guess we still need hardware that can get by that old p4 3.2???Anyways think what if mac bought bungie before microsoft did???
ARGH!
they should have bought connectix when they had the chance! they could have bought it, and then sold switcher bundles with VPC in it. think about it!
argh.
also, i would like them not to buy any company with an online music store because like someone has said and many will say, if there is no motivation, it will become microsoft-ish.
maybe adobe? AOL seems like a good idea for them to work with, not buy. eWorld all over again. ID? how about not rushing the OS next time to stay way too much farther ahead of MS? just thinking.
they should have bought connectix when they had the chance! they could have bought it, and then sold switcher bundles with VPC in it. think about it!
argh.
also, i would like them not to buy any company with an online music store because like someone has said and many will say, if there is no motivation, it will become microsoft-ish.
maybe adobe? AOL seems like a good idea for them to work with, not buy. eWorld all over again. ID? how about not rushing the OS next time to stay way too much farther ahead of MS? just thinking.
What don't you understand about the word "speculation". Certainly the reference to my academic major of choice should scream out I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. And if you want to flame me about jumping on someone where my sarcasm should have been fairly obvious, maybe you should take a look at your post and mine and realize that my comments to eclipse had nothing to do with AOL buying/merging with TimeWarner.
Gaming is a great area but they must first conqeur the first beast or rather win their hearts. That would be Corporate America. How about they buy out Oracle?? Hmmm.....
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Hmmmmmmmmmmm let's see
To find out who Apple needs to purchase we need to look at where they are weak or where they can gain significant talent or IP.
#1 Sun Microsystems- The remaining talent of engineering alone makes this and enticing acquisition. Apple and Sun both love to develop new products.
#2 Tivo- Apples Golden Chariot right into the living rooms of America. Tivo has to withstand the onslaught of PVR options from the large Cable Operators. A buyout may be what's necessary to keep them alive.
#3 Real software- Put this company out of it's misery and assume it's contracts with Quicktime content.
#4- Minnetonka Audio- They make High End DVD Audio mastering tools. Rumor was Apple was considering them. However DVD-Audio is not taking off enough. It's still a worthy application for musicians who want to mixdown to 24/96 media.
To find out who Apple needs to purchase we need to look at where they are weak or where they can gain significant talent or IP.
#1 Sun Microsystems- The remaining talent of engineering alone makes this and enticing acquisition. Apple and Sun both love to develop new products.
#2 Tivo- Apples Golden Chariot right into the living rooms of America. Tivo has to withstand the onslaught of PVR options from the large Cable Operators. A buyout may be what's necessary to keep them alive.
#3 Real software- Put this company out of it's misery and assume it's contracts with Quicktime content.
#4- Minnetonka Audio- They make High End DVD Audio mastering tools. Rumor was Apple was considering them. However DVD-Audio is not taking off enough. It's still a worthy application for musicians who want to mixdown to 24/96 media.
How about Blackboard or WebCT? Their online education tools and customer base could help wrap up the education market. It would also nicely compliment Apple's existing education related information tracking software, Powerschool.
How about spending some money on a wide variety of powerful business apps? The guys at Gobe would be a good place to start for building a new office suite (integrate w/ Keynote). Supply chain management, project management, human resource management, executive information management for decision making, financial and accounting systems, and various groupware can all be combined into a powerful package(companies pay big bucks for this kind of stuff). Buy a couple of suppliers of such software and use their experience to help create the best solutions in these industries.
How about spending some money on a wide variety of powerful business apps? The guys at Gobe would be a good place to start for building a new office suite (integrate w/ Keynote). Supply chain management, project management, human resource management, executive information management for decision making, financial and accounting systems, and various groupware can all be combined into a powerful package(companies pay big bucks for this kind of stuff). Buy a couple of suppliers of such software and use their experience to help create the best solutions in these industries.
My point of contention was your sarcasm. And your comments to eclipse of course have nothing to do with AOL acquiring Time Warner. My comment referenced two posts you made.
You're right, your reference to your major was an appropriate disclaimer. However, I found your sarcasm dismaying with regard to the factual errors (disclaimer or not) with your other post.
My first post was a bit biting and sarcastic, and I apologize if it caused offense.
However, you called me a hypocrite. You made a statement far stronger there than mine criticizing your post and your actions. You criticized me as a person, and that is far more offensive. It was doubly offensive because you very demeaningly assailed my arguments, and falsely so. There was no disclaimer here. This post on your part attempted to command significant authority on the matter.
I, therefore, felt that in order to demonstrate that I certainly was not a hypocrite, I should point out to you that the arguments used to besmirch my opinions were faulty. That is what I did.
But let's stop it here. I'm sorry for my part and if you regret your comments, that's fine. If you don't, that's all right, too. I just don't want to get into a flame, get this (potentially interesting) thread wastelanded, and make the whole experience unpleasant.
I just implore you to be a little more cautious with the throwing around of words like "hypocrite," especially when you don't actually have a full picture of the matter at hand. It's just that calling people hypocrities tends to strike a sensitive point in most poeple's psyches.
I say form a merger with Sun microsystems. Unify Apple, Sun and Pixar under a parent company and spin off the iTunes Music Store as a subsidiary of the parent company and not of Apple.
That would pretty much kill the apple lawsuit for the rest of time.
That would pretty much kill the apple lawsuit for the rest of time.
Fine, I can drop it. But I'm still left wondering where the link between my two posts can be found. And yes, I was wrong about the whole merger/buyout thing. "Merger" seems to me like you make two companies into one, not one having a controlling stake in the other. But it's not up to me to decide is it?
Re: Hmmmmmmmmmmm let's see
This is the first insightful post in the whole thread. Apple needs to buy Sun in order to gain a foothold in the enterprise market. If Apple uses Sun's ability to create high-end servers while Apple makes killer workstations that all fit together into an enterprise architecture, the combined companies could provide an end-to-end system which might be able to unseat the Microsoft monopoly in corporate America (and the rest of the world, for that matter). Right now Sun is fire-sale cheap also, as the stock is so low.
