[quote]Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar:
<strong>
i don't think there is company involved in the whole piracy debate that isn't looking at it from both sides. there are conflicts of interest all over the place.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, Sony Music is currently suing an online music service backed by...Sony Online! That's a little more than an internal conflict. That's schizophrenia.
However, I do think Apple and Sony could make a good team... check out the thread I started here:
You should of course be aware that this is a perennial thread topic here at AI. So it's not a new idea. We'll probably do it again this time next year~
IMHO ... I think that if ANY company has the respect and clout to even pander the idea of Buying/Partnering with Apple, it has to be Sony. Lets take a look at the POSSIBLE relationships at hand. (just a few)
You could have Sony Entertainment/Pixar - can you say Behemoth.
You have the Clie series/Palm OS/Ipod -all working in harmony. (I have a Clie that I just purchased and I love the interface on my Mac)
Sony's worldwide presence / Apples Superior products - tie this in to both marketing strategies ... I think Microshaft will shit their pants.
I totaly Agree with this:
---------------------------------------
Stunned "Think of the possibility that all Sony devices will now work with the Mac. Furthermore, Sony has a considerable market power in Asia - Apple sales can be enhanced with Sony's help.
And all this may mean lower prices and higher innovation."
---------------------------------------
To me, it just seems like a good fit for Both Parties. And the Open source issue: Sony has been looking for a reason to Jump on this bandwagon for awhile.
[quote]Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar:
<strong>again i don't know enough about the financial aspects of apple to speculate, but doesn't jobs control enough stock and have enough of a cash reserve so that apple could not be "hostiley taken over"
i mean, they would have to actually seek out a buyer and say "hey are you interested?"</strong><hr></blockquote>
hahahahahah... thats funny... jobs owns a miniscule amount of apple stock... something like 200, if that.... I have 200 shares of apple stock...
that is why he got such a poor CEO rating in fortune (i think it was that mag)... the key is that he has a bunch of options that were issued a month or so before Apple's stock took a dive back in 2000... so now they are worthless...
there IS a "poison pill" tho. this is so a hostile takeover is impossible.. i believe it just lets the company buy back most of its stock so that the price for each share becomes astronomical... or something like that... but you are right... it wont happen unless apple wants it to happen...
At first, I reacted negatively to this but Sony makes some very nice hardware (electronics and computers).
Their vision also matches Apple's longterm vision.
They market to the same type of prosumer.
They have vast experience in marketing to content producers (pro-video, pro-audio).
Apple is aiming at the same content producers.
Sony dislikes Microsoft.
Steve's stated goal of "being the Sony of the computer world"
Unlike AOL/Time/Warner, there is an incredible amount of "synergy" between these two companies. As long as Sony allows for Apple to function with autonomy and minimizes interference from other divisions, this would be a good match.
Also consider that Sony had previously been rumored to buy Apple as well as consider licensing the MacOS, this marriage would be a formidable force to be reckoned with.
I would be very concerned about Sony sticking with OS X for the long haul, it might be too tempting for them to dump it for compatability rather than fight the good fight to build the market share that Apple has been working on building (hopefully we will see the fruits of this labor soon).
These are not failed. I know for a fact that in Japan Minidisc is much more popular than mp3 players. And Beta is still widely used for professional broadcasting. Even more than DV. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
I do hope that Macworld's contributing editor, David Blatner, is correct on his profoundly bold <a href="http://www.macworld.com/2003/02/macbeat/predictions/"; target="_blank">prediction</a> that Apple will buy a company, instead of being boughtby a giant. And I never knew that you can have "Little Member" as a status. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> Is that old? Or was it instituted when I became a member?
I'd rather Apple be bought by IBM than SONY. IBM has moved sharply away from the consumer arena so it's not likely to happen. But if it did, I think they'd have a stronger commitment to the platform than would SONY.
Yes...But that wouldn't give Sony enough power! The Sony CEO thinks that he is Godzilla, and that Apple is that little yellow taxi car that gets smooshed.
[quote] These are not failed. I know for a fact that in Japan Minidisc is much more popular than mp3 players. And Beta is still widely used for professional broadcasting. Even more than DV.
<hr></blockquote>
I have a minidisc player. It's dead as a consumer item. Beta is dead as a consumer item. I'm of course comparing these technologies to the CD which of course is unfair but both technologies failed becaue Sony is a Schizo company that can't seem to calm it's own Civil War to let product grow and breathe.
Next product going to the moratorium is SACD. Brilliant..digital technology with the majority only able to hook up via analog connections.
Does anyone actually want this fool of a company running Apple?
so according to hmurchison any product that is obsolete is a failure?
basically you'd feel safe with a company that doesn't aim high. a company whose grasp is well with in it's reach.....and you are a mac user?
calling the betamax a falure....well i don't know what to say. it revolutionized home entertainment, created millions of jobs. it may have even saved the movie industry.
Convergence generally does not work, and I don't see this one being a particularly good fit. Also, Apple's very reputation has been made as an independent company. This would be the end.
Apple should be so foolish.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Should they? Sony hasn't had a hit since the CD and that was with generous help from Philips. Granted for what Sony does they are very impressive but Apple is pretty much isolated on consumer to Small Biz. Sony hasn't been too impressive here lately IMO of course.
[quote] calling the betamax a falure....well i don't know what to say. it revolutionized home entertainment, created millions of jobs. it may have even saved the movie industry<hr></blockquote>
Yes and by no fault of Sony. Same could be said of Apple introducing the Graphical User Interface which changed the way computers were used.
Sony is a great company but they have had more success at the high end with their Pro Cams, CCDS etc. The consumer side has been plagued with horrible Sony Management decision which have cripple DAT,Minidisc, and now SACD.
Like it or not Sony hasn't had a "consumer" hit since the Walkman and CD. That IS worriesome for a company of it's size that Apple can come up with the iMac and iPod and effecively smash anything Sony has done in the meantime.
Comments
and your "open source" criticism is very valid, but it's also a concept that apple just embraced.
the more i think about it, the more parallels i see between the two companies.
<strong>
i don't think there is company involved in the whole piracy debate that isn't looking at it from both sides. there are conflicts of interest all over the place.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, Sony Music is currently suing an online music service backed by...Sony Online! That's a little more than an internal conflict. That's schizophrenia.
However, I do think Apple and Sony could make a good team... check out the thread I started here:
<a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=003135"; target="_blank">http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=003135</a>;
[ 03-07-2003: Message edited by: superkarate monkeydeathcar ]</p>
You could have Sony Entertainment/Pixar - can you say Behemoth.
You have the Clie series/Palm OS/Ipod -all working in harmony. (I have a Clie that I just purchased and I love the interface on my Mac)
Sony's worldwide presence / Apples Superior products - tie this in to both marketing strategies ... I think Microshaft will shit their pants.
I totaly Agree with this:
---------------------------------------
Stunned "Think of the possibility that all Sony devices will now work with the Mac. Furthermore, Sony has a considerable market power in Asia - Apple sales can be enhanced with Sony's help.
And all this may mean lower prices and higher innovation."
---------------------------------------
To me, it just seems like a good fit for Both Parties. And the Open source issue: Sony has been looking for a reason to Jump on this bandwagon for awhile.
<strong>again i don't know enough about the financial aspects of apple to speculate, but doesn't jobs control enough stock and have enough of a cash reserve so that apple could not be "hostiley taken over"
i mean, they would have to actually seek out a buyer and say "hey are you interested?"</strong><hr></blockquote>
hahahahahah... thats funny... jobs owns a miniscule amount of apple stock... something like 200, if that.... I have 200 shares of apple stock...
that is why he got such a poor CEO rating in fortune (i think it was that mag)... the key is that he has a bunch of options that were issued a month or so before Apple's stock took a dive back in 2000... so now they are worthless...
there IS a "poison pill" tho. this is so a hostile takeover is impossible.. i believe it just lets the company buy back most of its stock so that the price for each share becomes astronomical... or something like that... but you are right... it wont happen unless apple wants it to happen...
At first, I reacted negatively to this but Sony makes some very nice hardware (electronics and computers).
- Their vision also matches Apple's longterm vision.
- They market to the same type of prosumer.
- They have vast experience in marketing to content producers (pro-video, pro-audio).
- Apple is aiming at the same content producers.
- Sony dislikes Microsoft.
- Steve's stated goal of "being the Sony of the computer world"
Unlike AOL/Time/Warner, there is an incredible amount of "synergy" between these two companies. As long as Sony allows for Apple to function with autonomy and minimizes interference from other divisions, this would be a good match.Also consider that Sony had previously been rumored to buy Apple as well as consider licensing the MacOS, this marriage would be a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Hmm.
na
Kings of Proprietary equipment
1. Digital8
2. MicroMV
Kings of failed Tech
1. Beta
2. Minidisc
Schizophrenic Company Culture
1. Sony Entertainment fighting against Sony Electronics over Copy Protection brings us crap like SCMS and Magicgate tech.
No thanks. This is a marriage made in Hell.
1. Beta
2. Minidisc <hr></blockquote>
These are not failed. I know for a fact that in Japan Minidisc is much more popular than mp3 players. And Beta is still widely used for professional broadcasting. Even more than DV. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
[ 03-08-2003: Message edited by: os10geek ]</p>
<hr></blockquote>
I have a minidisc player. It's dead as a consumer item. Beta is dead as a consumer item. I'm of course comparing these technologies to the CD which of course is unfair but both technologies failed becaue Sony is a Schizo company that can't seem to calm it's own Civil War to let product grow and breathe.
Next product going to the moratorium is SACD. Brilliant..digital technology with the majority only able to hook up via analog connections.
Does anyone actually want this fool of a company running Apple?
Apple should be so foolish.
basically you'd feel safe with a company that doesn't aim high. a company whose grasp is well with in it's reach.....and you are a mac user?
calling the betamax a falure....well i don't know what to say. it revolutionized home entertainment, created millions of jobs. it may have even saved the movie industry.
[ 03-08-2003: Message edited by: superkarate monkeydeathcar ]</p>
[ 03-08-2003: Message edited by: Chinney ]</p>
<strong>Sony, a fool of a company?
Apple should be so foolish.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Should they? Sony hasn't had a hit since the CD and that was with generous help from Philips. Granted for what Sony does they are very impressive but Apple is pretty much isolated on consumer to Small Biz. Sony hasn't been too impressive here lately IMO of course.
[quote] calling the betamax a falure....well i don't know what to say. it revolutionized home entertainment, created millions of jobs. it may have even saved the movie industry<hr></blockquote>
Yes and by no fault of Sony. Same could be said of Apple introducing the Graphical User Interface which changed the way computers were used.
Sony is a great company but they have had more success at the high end with their Pro Cams, CCDS etc. The consumer side has been plagued with horrible Sony Management decision which have cripple DAT,Minidisc, and now SACD.
Like it or not Sony hasn't had a "consumer" hit since the Walkman and CD. That IS worriesome for a company of it's size that Apple can come up with the iMac and iPod and effecively smash anything Sony has done in the meantime.
Prove me wrong if you can.