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Apple Considering a Break-Up?

Posted by pudge on from the yawn dept.

rlthomps-1 writes "Despite Apple's recent sucesses with the iTunes music store and the latest round of PowerBooks, TheDeal.com has an analysis of the options that Apple investors might force the company to take, including a breakup into separate hardware and software companies, a merger with both Universal and Pixar, or a leveraged buyout by private investors. Their analysis points to Palm as a case study for a successful breakup of a company that made both operating systems and hardware in a competitive market. Could separate Apple hardware and software companies revitalize the brand and challenge Microsoft's monopoly?" He forgot to call Apple "beleaguered;" however, he did say their decades-old position is "untenable."

11 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. And in other news... by Jellybob · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... FreeBSD is dead, and MS are going to open the Windows source.

  2. Re:Give the journos a break.. by CountBrass · · Score: 3, Funny

    Damn, looks like the Journo concerned is a moderator on slashdot!

    --
    Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
  3. if only... by TomSawyer · · Score: 2, Funny
    If only they'd abandoned the one button mouse sooner....

    Awaits "flamebait" mod or the ever passive aggressive "offtopic" or "overrated."

    --
    If you disagree then it must be overrated, redundant or trolling.
  4. Uh, really? by Noodlenose · · Score: 5, Funny
    As a stand-alone company, Apple's hardware unit could offer its users computers equipped with a Microsoft Windows operating system. That move alone, Kastner estimates, would double the company's market share.

    Oh yes, very realistic. An Apple with i386 hardware running windows. Yes, I can definitely see how beneficial and appealing that would be.

    Sheesh...

    1. Re:Uh, really? by torpor · · Score: 1, Funny

      Well, I dunno. If I could buy a 17" alBook with a 1ghz PC processor in it, you can bet your ass I would!

      Still, if I could buy a 17" alBook with a 1ghz PPC processor in it, you can bet your ass I would as well, heh heh ...

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
  5. if its not broke.. by ionyka · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...dont fix it. or in this case, break it into a million smaller pieces, what will that get you....? just APPLESAUCE!

  6. Split Apple? by Alomex · · Score: 3, Funny


    So we split Apple into an OS company and a hardware company. Would the OS side be called NeXT and the hardware side be called LaST?

  7. anyone know where this guy lives? by RestiffBard · · Score: 2, Funny

    I swear the only way we'll ever get analysts to shut their friggin pieholes is by firebombing them. This isn't just a "apple is great the way it is, shut up you boob" rant. This is an analysts are making the world ugly rant. People wonder why companies treat them like just another number and not like a person. the reason? analysts make more money if companies focus on pushing product not companies pushing a good experience for the consumer. Apple gives me a good experience. I'd be just fine if they went private and just did what they wanted to.

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    - /* dead coders leave no comments */
  8. In summary... by Wolfrider · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Today, Apple Computers is seen as dying..."[INTERRUPT]

    Wolfrider: "SHUT UP you NAZI!!"

    This thread is now over. :b

    http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=2003050 6& mode=classic

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    .
    == WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
  9. Re:This Article sponsered by... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Funny
    In seriousness, Anyone that believes Apple would perform better as two disconected halfs is a total idiot- and really doesn't deserve to own stock in any company!

    I disagree. They deserve to buy a load of shares in Palm, or maybe NTL.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  10. Jayson Blair moonlighting at Deal.com? by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 2, Funny
    As a stand-alone company, Apple's hardware unit could offer its users computers equipped with a Microsoft Windows operating system. That move alone, Kastner estimates, would double the company's market share.
    Su-u-u-ure, why not? If only that OS X thingee could be ripped out in order for Windoze to be ported to the PowerPC platform, then twice as many consumers would want to buy a computer that's twice as slow using an OS that's twice as bad!

    Killer idea, but I'm not sure that the economy could handle more explosive growth right now.