Another Apple Rumor

[kcurry]

I am 44 years old. I do audio for a hobby. I spent the last 20 years or so of my life working in the management of a couple of VERY large corporations whose names you see everyday of your lives. Rumors are a sort of currency in any industry. They make people look knowledgeable (on the "inside") and give people something to talk about in whispers around the water cooler. I very much doubt that anyone involved in any actual talks about takeovers would leak such information as there are very serious consequences for doing so in a publicly-traded company like Apple. Apple has a fair bit of cash and it wouldn't surprise me if they were often looking at strategic investments or acquisitions, but there is simply no way to confirm rumors of serious talks about this sort of thing until companies go public about it, so it would be best to take these rumors with a big, big grain of salt and wait to respond when something actually does happen. Recognize them for what they: a form of entertainment.

[Philthy]

I am 44 years old. I do audio for a hobby. I spent the last 20 years or so of my life working in the management of a couple of VERY large corporations whose names you see everyday of your lives. Rumors are a sort of currency in any industry. They make people look knowledgeable (on the "inside") and give people something to talk about in whispers around the water cooler. I very much doubt that anyone involved in any actual talks about takeovers would leak such information as there are very serious consequences for doing so in a publicly-traded company like Apple. Apple has a fair bit of cash and it wouldn't surprise me if they were often looking at strategic investments or acquisitions, but there is simply no way to confirm rumors of serious talks about this sort of thing until companies go public about it, so it would be best to take these rumors with a big, big grain of salt and wait to respond when something actually does happen. Recognize them for what they: a form of entertainment.

Spoilsport!

[Drew Mazurek]

i can't remember........

was it widely known that Apple was going to buy eMagic or was it a surprise?

[kcurry]

I can't remember either, but I do remember hearing rumors at the time that Apple was interested in an audio company acquisition. Somebody even suggested around that time that Apple was talking to Avid about Digidesign...

[Ducky]

i can't remember........

was it widely known that Apple was going to buy eMagic or was it a surprise?

It was widely rumored and many just snubbed their noses in the air j/k

Remember that not only is the product line attractive for possible mergers.
Intellectual Property can sometimes be cheaper to buy than license.
Assuming, of course, the I.P. is even available for licensing.

Buying up an I.P. can also sink the competition.

What do MOTU and Apogee own that others may reply on?

$0.02

[DiamondDawg]

Maybe it's not the technology they want from MOTU -- maybe it's that sexy unicorn. I know that I certainly think "cutting edge music technology" whenever I see a mythical animal -- in purple!

Maybe Apple is now in secret discussions with General Mills to aquire that company, as well. We could soon see a leprechaun-endorsed Lucky Charms iPod to go along with the new U2 one... EIRE!!!!!! Magically Delicious!!!

[RobMacki]

You know, you may be onto something.

[IO Composer]

I think that Apple has definitely got "audio fever". I don't think anyone could have predicted their success with iPod, iTunes, the music indstry, etc. It has become not only their dominant source of revenue, but their dominant focus and their swing into mainstream consumer electronics. With products and corporate tie-in senarios like this new U2 iPod, it's clear that they're shifting their focus and music is now the twinkle in their eye. It would not surprise me if they tried to control the production aspect of it. In other words, made-mareketed and sold, start to finish on Apple. It's a powerful position and in a way they already have it; why not solidify it with the ownership of the production means? I'm no rumor theorist, but it's pretty easy to see the trends of their marketing focus' and they're pretty logical indicators of their major moves.

Personally, I would really like to see MOTU get bought up. While I respect their integrity for remaining privately owned and logically motivated (forgive the pun), I think that their development is a little slow and they do not have the resources to cross their Ts, as resultant in their buggy releases and half-baked implementation of ideas (the latest 4.5 DP-DAE doesn't support rewire, plug-in selection menus are still infinite lists, etc.). They could use some muscle behind them. However, I don't think this will happen. I'm sure they've been approached in the past by Apple, but decided to remain a privately held company. If it does happen, it is clear to me that Digidesign and Apple will become intense competitors...even moreso that they would now be competing on the video and audio fronts. We could see a transision off of the Mac from Digi, but I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm still really wondering what went on behind closed doors when Digi allowed MOTU to make their new DAE support so robust...you know it's a strategic move by someone, somwhere for some reason...I guess we'll find out.

Apogee? Who cares?

-Jamey

[PastaViking II]

I agree that MOTU probably need Apple more than Apple need MOTU in terms of product and know-how. It would make more sense for Apple to aquire Apogee and put the Apogee name on (cheaper) firewire interfaces (or the built-in A/D/A converters?) to give the impression of professionalism. Emagic's audio interfaces never got quite the rep of their MIDI-interfaces and with Apogee on the wagon, Apple would have a serious player in the audio-market with a broad appeal.

As for Digi, I don't see them getting involved in the Apple vs. MS battle as they're set on a cross-platform strategy for some time to come. Remember that cross-platform compatabilty is a great selling point for any company not called Apple or MS!

[zboy2854]

One thing's for sure, the only constant is change. Digi's dominance in the audio industry was destined to fall someday. If Apple can pull off an all in one no brainer, no hassle, expandable high end audio software/hardware solution that's built for the Mac, it would cause a major paradigm shift and a huge body blow to Digi.

As far as the native vs. TDM issues, recording latency is still an issue, but as far as plugin and CPU processing is concerned, either throw a few UAD or Powercore cards in there, or create a multi-Mac computer array