Apple contemplating buying Facebook?

[SephYuyX]

http://forum.i3d.net/attachments/off...k-facepalm.jpg

[Silenka]

Wait, you can't get all software free? Since when?

[Jonny]

balls deep bro

[Ashmada]

It all makes perfect sense.
Jobs just wants to concentrate more power to feed on. His society of overpriced overhyped ersatz products wasn't evil enough, he needs the inherent maliciousness of Facebook to quench his insatiable thirst!
And the blood of ten thousand babies every third of January, but that's a given.

[Antithesis]

Jobs could definitely lead Facebook much better than that Zuckerberg guy now.

Oh and, this reminded me of how retarded and annoying Adobe is. Jobs was friggin' right.

Here is the deal, I need Acrobat Standard version for my work and I was willing to pay the full price until I realized that...

1. Mac doesn't have "standard" version (why, nobody knows) I said fuck it, I was willing to pay for Pro since I've got student discout. Then I realized that they are about to release the newest version, Adobe Acrobat X in a month.
2. Ok...so I guess I can go for the trial version. Ding ding, there is only a trial version for Windows and it has been PULLED OFF because suckers don't want their potential customers to fill the gap with Adobe 9 trial. There is a huge difference between 9 and X, and they expect you to pay double for them?
3. Normally, companies like Apple and Microsoft offer FREE upgrades for their OS and other office suites motnhs, months before. For leopard it was almost a year in advance and for MS Office, it was 6 months. But what does Adobe do? Pull off the trial, direct customers who "can't wait" to "purhcase acrobat 9" page. Then? Next month, when X comes out they are screwed hardcore. No free upgrade, nothing. Same with CS5, buy 5 now and you get shafted when 5.5 comes out.

So...yea, lolAdobe. If you don't have student discount, they expect you to pay $499 for Acrobat 9, then the upgrade fee when X comes out in case you need the software now. Pulling off the trial was really the lowest they could get.

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7254/stevek.jpg

I was getting worried you weren't going to show up.

[alt]

Didn't someone already offer to buy Facebook and Zuckerberg turned them down?

[Ruiner]

Think about this - if Facebook dropped its app from the iPhone, hordes of people would go out and buy whatever Facebook supported phone they had out there to receive their status updates and interact with their friends. It's easy to find a new phone / mp3 player / camera / etc but good luck convincing all of your Facebook friends to leave Facebook and switch to a new social network just because you want to read their status updates on your iPhone. Facebook has all the power here and it's because of people like you and me, not because of how much they have in the bank.

Or... people would just use the mobile web browser in their smartphone to look at Facebook, which is a superior way of doing it than the pretty much universally shitty apps on both Android and iPhone.

Oh and, this reminded me of how retarded and annoying Adobe is. Jobs was friggin' right.

Here is the deal, I need Acrobat Standard version for my work and I was willing to pay the full price until I realized that...

1. Mac doesn't have "standard" version (why, nobody knows) I said fuck it, I was willing to pay for Pro since I've got student discout. Then I realized that they are about to release the newest version, Adobe Acrobat X in a month.
2. Ok...so I guess I can go for the trial version. Ding ding, there is only a trial version for Windows and it has been PULLED OFF because suckers don't want their potential customers to fill the gap with Adobe 9 trial. There is a huge difference between 9 and X, and they expect you to pay double for them?
3. Normally, companies like Apple and Microsoft offer FREE upgrades for their OS and other office suites motnhs, months before. For leopard it was almost a year in advance and for MS Office, it was 6 months. But what does Adobe do? Pull off the trial, direct customers who "can't wait" to "purhcase acrobat 9" page. Then? Next month, when X comes out they are screwed hardcore. No free upgrade, nothing. Same with CS5, buy 5 now and you get shafted when 5.5 comes out.

So...yea, lolAdobe. If you don't have student discount, they expect you to pay $499 for Acrobat 9, then the upgrade fee when X comes out in case you need the software now. Pulling off the trial was really the lowest they could get.

This is related to the thread and everybody cares.

[miokomioko]

This serves no purpose and Adobe has revolutionized the industry far more than Apple could ever hope to. Ohhh~

[Snick]

I will love when this social networking fad is over with.

Doubt that's gonna happen in our lifetimes.

[Rhinox]

Mark won't sell. he's sitting on that shit for life. might be able to work something out depending on how much power he maintains in the deal, though.

so cute that you're on first name basis with Mark Zuckerberg.

[Ragns]

Because Apple right now is sitting on a huge pile of cash ready to be spent everybody and their dog start speculating that Apple is going to buy another company. So far in the last 2 months we've heard rumors that Apple was going to buy: Facebook, Netflix, Electronic Arts, Adobe, Yahoo, Clearwire, Sirius XM, TiVo and SanDisk.

[notorious bum]

lol@buying softwares

Also, iFace followed by iTwit. Yes, iShit while iTweet.

[Ferion]

Because Apple right now is sitting on a huge pile of cash ready to be spent everybody and their dog start speculating that Apple is going to buy another company. So far in the last 2 months we've heard rumors that Apple was going to buy: Facebook, Netflix, Electronic Arts, Adobe, Yahoo, Clearwire, Sirius XM, TiVo and SanDisk.

Everyones speculating because it is incredibly dumb just to stock pile cash. Either Apple ran out of positive net present value projects (which I really doubt), is planning on buying something huge, or is wasting money on something called agency costs. People are just speculating the best out of the three. That being said, considering the rumors that have been going on with speculation of buying other companies, I really doubt Apple is going to buy Facebook.

[Darkdreamer]

Because Apple right now is sitting on a huge pile of cash ready to be spent everybody and their dog start speculating that Apple is going to buy another company. So far in the last 2 months we've heard rumors that Apple was going to buy: Facebook, Netflix, Electronic Arts, Adobe, Yahoo, Clearwire, Sirius XM, TiVo and SanDisk.

Add Sony to the list of potential purchases....

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...d-45bd7bf03278

Sony shares rise on Apple buyout buzz


The iPhone and iPad maker is rumored to be considering a buyout of the Japanese entertainment and electronics giant.

Posted by InvestorPlace Tuesday, October 26, 2010 8:07:03 AM

By Jeff Reeves, editor of InvestorPlace.com

Shares of Sony Corp. (SNE) rose as much as 3% in premarket trading Tuesday before falling back after the open amid speculation that the Japanese electronics maker could be acquired by Apple Inc. (AAPL). SNE was was up 1% to $33.91 in morning trading.

Apple and Sony have a lot in common. Both redefined music with portable players -- Apple with its recent iPod, and Sony with its Walkman, which debuted in 1979.

Both companies have redefined gaming, too -- Apple with its emerging App Store and convergence devices that are both useful and fun, and Sony with its groundbreaking PlayStation 2 system, which remains the best-selling video game console in history.

So what would happen if the creative minds at both companies joined forces to create a new generation of gadgets? If the rumor mill is true, we may find out soon. The buzz on Wall Street is that cash-rich Apple is considering an offer for Sony.

Here are the specifics:

Apple is cash-rich, with $23 billion in loose change and about twice that in short-term securities that could become liquid in a hurry. Sony's market value is a bit shy of $34 billion, a huge chunk of change but certainly not outside Apple's reach.

Neither company is talking, with Sony declining to comment on the rumors and Apple typically zipper-lipped. A number of analysts have been skeptical of such a deal, however, suggesting that any move by Apple would likely be a hostile takeover. And despite lots of love for Apple in the states, such a bid would have a hard time succeeding in Japan.

Adding intrigue is a recent Bloomberg interview with former Apple CEO John Sculley in which he mentioned how much Steve Jobs is impressed by Sony's products and manufacturing operations.

What's more, a report Saturday from Barron's suggested Apple is in a shopping mood and could acquire Flash software giant Adobe (ADBE) or even media powerhouse Disney (DIS). Adobe is a more digestible $14 billion company, while Disney is almost twice the size of Sony at a whopping $67 billion.

So how likely is a deal? Well, there's no doubt Jobs and company would love to get a piece of Sony's established gaming operations. The potential of a marriage between Sony's portable PSP console and the iPhone and iPad is obvious. Besides, though Apple is getting a cut from games sold in its App Store, it is taking a cut of only about a third from sales. Gaming hardware generates much bigger margins.

But any consumer who has prowled the electronics section of a big-box store knows that Sony is an octopus of a company that makes televisions, car stereos and digital cameras -- not to mention manages movies and software studios on top of managing a catalog of music.

Apple is in the content distribution business, and a move to become a one-stop shop would at least prompt stonewalling from competitors and at worst prompt antitrust hearings.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle to any deal is that weak consumer spending and a downward spiral of computer and HDTV prices have slashed the margins on many Sony products. Judging by anemic profits recently, including quarterly losses in two of the past four periods, it doesn't appear that trend will end anytime soon.

But if anyone can turn around Sony and put a premium price tag back on its products, it would be Apple. Consumers and investors will have to wait and see, but in the intervening days it sure will be fun to read about any potential products such a partnership would create.

iPlayStation, here we come!

I really hope Apple doesn't go anywhere near Sony, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to owning anything from them again.

I would also really hate to see them go anywhere near Disney too, I can't torture my kids by having them see Mickey sporting a shiny new iPad and drooling over "THE NEXT BIG THING FROM APPLE!" with whatever utterly useless and recycled piece of garbage idea they push onto their brainwashed consumers.

[Yabby]

I don't get why apple buying sony would be a bad thing.

[Ksandra]

I would also really hate to see them go anywhere near Disney too, I can't torture my kids by having them see Mickey sporting a shiny new iPad and drooling over "THE NEXT BIG THING FROM APPLE!" with whatever utterly useless and recycled piece of garbage idea they push onto their brainwashed consumers.

While I hate Microsoft, this is somewhat a silly statement as Jobs has been a major part of Disney for a long time, and has been a part of Pixar since Lucas Films.

Pixar and Disney

In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm's computer graphics division for the price of $10 million, $5 million of which was given to the company as capital.[47]

The new company, which was originally based at Lucasfilm's Kerner Studios in San Rafael, California, but has since relocated to Emeryville, California, was initially intended to be a high-end graphics hardware developer. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute.

The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story, brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. Over the next ten plus years, under Pixar's creative chief John Lasseter, the company would produce the box-office hits A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up each received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, an award introduced in 2001.

In the years 2003 and 2004, as Pixar's contract with Disney was running out, Jobs and Disney chief executive Michael Eisner tried but failed to negotiate a new partnership,[48] and in early 2004 Jobs announced that Pixar would seek a new partner to distribute its films once its contract with Disney expired.

In October 2005, Bob Iger replaced Eisner at Disney, and Iger quickly worked to patch up relations with Jobs and Pixar. On January 24, 2006, Jobs and Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. Once the deal closed, Jobs became The Walt Disney Company's largest single shareholder with approximately 7% of the company's stock.[17] Jobs's holdings in Disney far exceed those of Eisner, who holds 1.7%, and Disney family member Roy E. Disney, who held about 1% of the company's stock and whose criticisms of Eisner included the soured Pixar relationship and accelerated his ousting. Jobs joined the company's board of directors upon completion of the merger.
Wikinews has related news: Disney buys Pixar

Jobs also helps oversee Disney and Pixar's combined animation businesses with a seat on a special six-man steering committee.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_J...xar_and_Disney


I don't think it would change that much tbh. And Disney does need the kind of boost he gave Pixar.

[zoobernut]

Add Sony to the list of potential purchases....

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...d-45bd7bf03278

I would also really hate to see them go anywhere near Disney too, I can't torture my kids by having them see Mickey sporting a shiny new iPad and drooling over "THE NEXT BIG THING FROM APPLE!" with whatever utterly useless and recycled piece of garbage idea they push onto their brainwashed consumers.

You do know that Steve Jobs owned Pixar right? And you do know that he sold Pixar to Disney for controlling stock in Disney right? Ergo Steve Jobs is the largest shareholder of Disney right now. He is also very good friends with Disney's CEO which helped the whole deal go down in the first place.

Edit: oops I didn't see that Ksandra had already posted the same info.

[Tymon]

Well, they're going to buy someone out, eventually. And by eventually, I mean in the near future.

Who's it gonna be? That's the fun speculation. More so when you start to think about how they would change the company.

Like with Sony.

Suddenly, Vaio laptops triple in price.

[zoobernut]

PS4 with built in iphone/iphod dock? PS4 running on apple operating system. This is fun. I can feel the nerd rage from fanboys building already.

[Ksandra]

I would actually say him pumping more money into Disney is very possible. With him being the largest shareholder, and Eisner now out (fucking douche), on top of Lasseter now being chief creative officer of both Pixar and Disney, everything is kind of falling into place.

He took a very backseat approach to Pixar though so I'd imagine he will just help finance Lasseter in any way that will fucking fix Disney and will probably push to have Lasseter as CEO someday. Iger is definitely better than Eisner, but he seems kind of weak, and probably will fade away to the point no one will remember he ever was in charge of Disney.