Slashdot Mirror
Foxconn Invests $200 Million In GoPro
MojoKid writes "The initial wearable cameras [GoPro founder Nick] Woodman created to capture action shots as they happened used 35mm film, but his company's cameras have evolved into highly durable, HD vid-cams that are sought after by amateurs and extreme sports stars alike. It turns out Foxconn digs what GoPro has designed as well. The giant Taiwanese manufacturer just bought a significant stake in Woodman Labs, making Nick Woodman a billionaire in the processes. Taiwan-headquartered electronics manufacturer Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), purchased an 8.88% stake in Woodman Labs for $200 million, valuing the San Mateo, Calif. company at $2.25 billion."
And randomly corrupt your videos when too many people access them at once?
GoPro cameras would probably make a good case study about not trying to put everything and the kitchen sink into a product. Instead, make it affordable and good for what it'll actually be used for.
Why buy, they will just copy everything and pirate copy brand will take over the markets. Just like with everything Chinese touch.
I'm serious. 200 millions to get all the secrets of the company was a steal. Wait for a few months and 1:1 similar cameras branded like "Lucky Wind" (pointing at the Predator clone from last month's gun expo - "hey it's not a pirate copy we even changed the name") will take over the Asian markets and a few months later some XunXun brand will invade EU and Americas with 90% cheaper GoPros.
Value is value. US dollars is simply one way of storing it.
The difference is: One billion US dollars can quite easily be converted into other goods. One billion dollars "worth" of stock in a small-cap company cannot. Especially if you're and insider and thus prohibited from selling your stock in secret.
Funny - we know this to be true, yet American continues to export jobs and technology to China. Idiots in CEO suits, idiots in Board of Director suits, idiots in Consultant suits - the whole lot of them have read time and time again about the Chinese stealing IP. But, they decide amongst themselves that it's best to take advantage of all that slave labor in China. All that IP given away, in the quest for free or almost free labor.
They're not idiots, just psychopaths - they don't give a fuck about American intellectual property or jobs, or any countries interests, for that matter. In fact, they don't even give a shit about the publicly traded company they're heading. That company can crash and burn in the long term, but by that time they'll have their money and be heading another company into the abyss.
Corporate psychopaths/sociopaths have no allegiance to country, company or institution. Hell, sometimes it seems they quite enjoy the trail of destruction they leave behind them.
In any case, they're not idiots.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
"American intellectual property" is something that only resides in the mind of someone who hasn't created anything. Any intellectual property rights holders will claim it as theirs not 'Americas'.