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Apple Is Bringing a Billion Dollar Checkbook To Hollywood and Wants To Buy 10 TV Shows (recode.net)

Apple is officially open for business in Hollywood. From a report: The company is telling content makers it wants to spend $1 billion on its own stuff over the next year. That's music to studios' ears, and a tune they have been expecting for some time -- especially after Apple hired two top Sony TV executives in June. We still don't know what Apple wants to do with that content: The Wall Street Journal says Apple wants to make up to 10 "Game of Thrones" -- or "House of Cards"-scale shows, but that's not enough to launch a full-scale subscription service.

79 comments

  1. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    good luck apple

  2. Going All In! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    1/6th Netflix content Budget
    1/4th Amazon content Budget

    I can't wait to view more quality content like Planet of the Apps on my approved Apple iDevices!

    1. Re: Going All In! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And as per Apple's style, it will also cost three times as much as Netflix.

    2. Re:Going All In! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks, I never even know such show existed. What is the point there? B-movie actors will tell if they like some application idea? Do they also judge the vendor lock in aspect, or is it implied?

    3. Re:Going All In! by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      And less than half percent of their cash on hand, they could pay this off just with other companies' dividends.

      This balkanization is not good for customers, but Apple has the base to pull it off.

    4. Re: Going All In! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the shows won't be for sale on the web, as is the case with Apple's music store. (2017. Music store. And still not on the web yet!)

      Apple, the one tech company where it's 1993 .. FOREVER! No eternal September here.

  3. Bring back Firefly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You got deep pockets. Just do it.

    1. Re:Bring back Firefly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's Apple. They wouldn't say they brought Firefly back, they would call it a brand new show. And people would call them visionaries for creating it.

    2. Re:Bring back Firefly by the_skywise · · Score: 2

      iFirefly?

    3. Re:Bring back Firefly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      iFlyfire?

    4. Re:Bring back Firefly by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      A) We already got Serenity. The story is done.

      B) Anything Apple produces will be in their walled garden. While Apple products are generally my preferred hardware, even I almost always stay away from their media content, since I want my media to be available in as many places and ways as possible.

      C) Some things are better left behind. While I would have LOVED more Firefly, going back to it now wouldn't be the same. It would make the season we have less special. I'd rather keep my nostalgia intact.

    5. Re:Bring back Firefly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fire-i

  4. This is very bad news by DickBreath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple makes things for it's own walled garden. It's like if Ford cars could only use Ford gasoline. Or Lexmark printers could only . . . oh, nevermind.

    Other content platforms, like Netflix, make their content as widely available as possible, not as narrowly available. As an example, I can get Netflix on RoKu, TiVo, as an Android app. Apple users can probably get Netflix within the walled garden. Similarly, I can get Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Starz, YouTube, etc on multiple devices.

    It's why I avoid Apple products. If I buy some brand of Android smartphone, I know it will work with everything I own. If I buy a Vizio TV, or a RoKu, I know it will work with everything I own. Including Linux. I can run a DLNA server, and a RoKu can play videos from it. Etc.

    Apple hoarding TV shows and imprisoning them within its prison camp, er, . . . um, its walled garden, means that most people won't get to see those shows.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    1. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I look forward to pirating their content. I hope it's good!

    2. Re:This is very bad news by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Or Lexmark printers could only... oh, nevermind.

      Come on, say it!

      "Or Lexmark printers could only use Lexmark ink and Lexmark paper."

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:This is very bad news by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      And maybe they'll force people to pay with Apple Pay, too.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    4. Re:This is very bad news by spire3661 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think the most damning thing is that you cant access Apple's maps without an idevice. No web access at all.... TO me that its incredibly petty and small for a company with $200 Billion in cash rotting offshore.

      --
      Good-bye
    5. Re:This is very bad news by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      If printer companies had their way their printers would only work with manufacturer approved electricity

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    6. Re: This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your comment doesnâ(TM)t seem to align with the reality that Apple Music is available on Android.

    7. Re:This is very bad news by Aqualung812 · · Score: 1

      I suspect this is for the Apple Music platform, which is one of the few things Apple has let go outside their hardware.

      They need something that makes buying their service at $10 a month better than Google's YouTube/Music service at $10 a month.

      In other words, this may be the very thing that causes Apple to branch out more and tear their walls down a little.

      --
      Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
    8. Re: This is very bad news by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      The anomaly.

      Apple has put products on other platforms in the past -- simply because it couldn't ignore them.

      Example. When the iPod first appeared, iTunes was available on Windows. Because Apple wanted to encourage iPod users to use Windows instead of Mac? No. Because Apple couldn't force the whole world to buy a Mac to use with their iPod.

      Similarly, Apple Music would have a small audience if it weren't available on Android. It's an example of Apple deciding it cannot ignore other devices in order to distribute content. In fact, Apple Music, as you point out, on Android, is for very similar reason that iTunes was available on Windows on the original iPod.

      Maybe sanity will prevail, and Apple will offer it's TV shows on other devices. Not all devices. Just an annoying subset to ensure that I can't access the content on everything I own. Android Phone. Android Tablet. Linux PCs and laptop. Roku. TiVo. Apple probably won't offer integration with my Amazon Echo to ask to play something on the living room non-Apple TV using a non-Apple set top box.

      Funny how the rest of the world can be so integrated. My Amazon Echo controls my recently added Insteon devices.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    9. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It's why I avoid Apple products. If I buy some brand of Android smartphone, I know it will work with everything I own. If I buy a Vizio TV, or a RoKu, I know it will work with everything I own. Including Linux. I can run a DLNA server, and a RoKu can play videos from it. Etc.

      masterful troll ?

      You seem to have paragraph 3 brilliantly backwards--- By buying Apple products and staying in the ecosystem you know that 'it will work with everything(in your ecosystem)'

      It's usually the case that mixing and matching different manufactures, devices etc will cause things to work.. mostly, or not all features are available.

    10. Re:This is very bad news by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      What if Lexmark printers could only sit atop Lexmark tables?

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    11. Re:This is very bad news by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I think the most damning thing is that you cant access Apple's maps without an idevice.

      Is there someone who wants to do that?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    12. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's also outright harmful to them. Part of the reason Google's mapping information is great and Apple's isn't is that anyone can report problems with Google's data. Just about every time I've tried looking something up in Apple Maps, it's been wrong. Sometimes wrong in minor ways (right shopping complex, wrong building) but sometimes wrong in major ways (placed on the wrong street so the directions send you to the wrong address).

      Because they don't have a web interface, businesses can't look themselves up on Apple Maps and submit corrections. The only way to do that is with an iDevice. (Or a Mac, but these days, Macs are just iDevices that come with keyboards.)

      This also means that since you're likely to get flat-out wrong information from Apple Maps that you won't be aware of unless you already know where you're going, it's better to just use Google Maps. Which means Apple's traffic data is far worse than Google's because fewer people are using it. Which means that Apple Maps directions are even worse since they're based on false traffic data.

      It all adds up to make Apple Maps an inferior product, all because they don't have an open cross-platform interface.

    13. Re: This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably because it isn't?

      Well, OK, yes, there is an Android version, but it doesn't work on literally any Android device I own. It doesn't even show in the Play Store for me.

      So, yes, they made an "Android version" but couldn't be bothered to make it compatible with the majority of Android devices, meaning it's worthless.

      Spotify, on the other hand, is flat-out better (just check out reviews) and is available not just on iOS and Android but a ton of other platforms as well.

    14. Re:This is very bad news by jcr · · Score: 1

      What else do you believe Apple owes you?

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    15. Re:This is very bad news by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      As AC above so eloquently points out, Apple's maps being locked to idevices means it will permanently be a second rate mapping system compared to everything else that is web available. They dont 'owe' it to me, but it says a lot about them and produces an inferior product. Personally, I dont like such massive troves of knowledge locked behind apps, we are losing the web, so the more pressure we can put on making sure big vendors keep their data web-accessible, the better.

      --
      Good-bye
    16. Re:This is very bad news by Tukz · · Score: 1

      means that most people won't get to see those shows.

      Yaaaaarr!!

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
    17. Re: This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple are petty, they are thieves and they would rather have an inferior product that no-one uses than to allow people outside the Apple Faith to contribute or have access to anything remotely related to Apple. Apple wants to control, sensor and decides everything. It's customers are mere til dronen that pat deerly for the priviledge of being imprisoned and totally controlled by Apple.

      If only other firma would stop trying to become Apple and work within the reality most of us exists in (the reality outside the Apple distortion field, do they have psy reality distortion generators all over, that makes people into iZombies?)

      I literally have an urge to vomit each time I see the Apple logo.

    18. Re: This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, he has it right. He doesn't have to pay attention to what brand he buys.

      I've never had a problem with DLNA on a proper device as it's just software and a basic file transfer or transcode. Installing additional codecs enable means you can add whatever the hell you want to stream to whatever device you want (even to consoles).

      Even if you were correct, think of this scenario: If I buy a PS4, can I send iContent to it without installing another app on each device?

      OPs setup? (According to you) MAYBE, some issues might happen.

      Your suggested setup? NO, straight up incompatible.

      I know which one I would pick.

    19. Re:This is very bad news by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      Of course you can see Netflix shows on many devices. It's how they deliver their service. What would be interesting is if Netflix made a show and then made it available on other services such as Amazon. That would be the proper comparison.

      And if you really want Apple content on other devices just look at what they do with iTunes on Windows and ask if you really want their stuff.

      That being said I wish Apple would stop going after new shiny things for a while and spend the time and money fixing up what they already have. There's a lot of bugs and other problems that they've left in order to concentrate on the new things. But fixing bugs doesn't keep the shareholders happy I guess.

    20. Re:This is very bad news by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      Maybe spire3661 is looking for a way to cashin on a life insurance policy by making it not look like a suicide.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    21. Re:This is very bad news by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      No, because thst would impsct ther botum lines magativly for at least 5 wuarters, long enugh for s bonch of CXOs to get fiered by engry investors chewing the boards asses about under performance.

    22. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But what do you do if you use Adobe products? I'm really sick of Apple's war on consumers. I only use their computers. Fuck iGadgets. But Windows is still the same shitstorm it has been since the 90s. Every major release is drastically different than previous. And every other release is an unusable dumpster fire. I can't deal with that. I make a living using Adobe products. I can't deal with Microsoft fucking me over every time they get bored. At least OSX currently let's me get work done.

      I'm honestly asking wtf do people do? I could save so much money building a PC. Instead I'm thinking about building a Hackintosh, but that seems reckless for a production machine.

    23. Re: This is very bad news by Chaset · · Score: 1

      My recollection was that when the iPod first arrived, iTunes was not on Windows. I think iTunes for Windows came later.

      --
      -- "This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel."
    24. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kodi is available for Android, the only loser from a walled-garden approach will be Apple.

    25. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maps are a commodity. Another brand of maps fills the same purpose without much difference to the end user.

      Music, movies, TV shows and other entertainment should not be tied to a single manufacturer's devices. They shouldn't really be tied to a single service provider's subscription either, but the ship already sailed on that one, so the least we can do is prevent things getting worse.

    26. Re: This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only when one of my iDrone friends texts a link to Apple map directions so I can find where they are. Useless and extremely irritating!

    27. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's also outright harmful to them. Part of the reason Google's mapping information is great and Apple's isn't is that anyone can report problems with Google's data.

      You misspelled "Google's biggest problem" - https://www.wired.com/2014/07/...

      And that's ignoring that for both Apple and Google Maps, everybody who can access the maps can also report errors in it.

    28. Re:This is very bad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?... - Wiretapping the Secret Service can be easy and fun | Bryan Seely | TEDxKirkland

      Don't worry about the title, this is actually about how much Google Maps sucks.

  5. They plan to rake it in. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How do you make $100 million dollars in TV?

    Start with $1 billion.

  6. Ugh what a hassle this will be by HalAtWork · · Score: 3, Insightful

    TV is about to get a lot more annoying with different distribution methods, storefronts, DRM, apps with different interfaces and different feature sets, perhaps tiered functionality/ads, and who knows if each service is coming to your preferred device(s). Oh and different subscriptions with different rates.

    Not sure how my grandparents or even parents will understand this, not sure I'm ready for this BS. Seems like a sure call for piracy to make another round. I might just stick to buying seasons of shows on discount, don't care if they're low res on DVD at this point if it's easier than the imminent tangled mess.

    Or you know just quit watching TV and read books.

    1. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is a really good point. I'm sure some of it has to do with their simplicity, but books have done very well at being compatible with all devices.

    2. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      In the early days of Radio, there were competing technical standards. In the early days of TV there competing technical standards. Imagine if we had to have separate RCA radios and Apple TV sets? Oh, and the radio and tv standards were a patent thicket.

      This article is not a complete or exhaustive, but is a decent overview of many different Format Wars in the last century.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    3. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      Books in dead tree format do not seem to install on my Android smartphone for convenient reading at convenient times.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    4. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by avandesande · · Score: 1

      Wow what a time sink. Glad I avoid it.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    5. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Internet streaming started to free us from all the cable BS, now it's back and even worse.

    6. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      I've largely given up trying. If it isn't on the BBC or Netflix I just go to the Pirate Bay. Life is too short to waste trying to find where I can watch something, buying the necessary equipment, dealing with the inevitable technical problems...

      I occasionally buy CDs from bands I like, but they go straight into a box and I grab a .flac copy from TPB to save getting the DVD drive out and ripping it.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re: Ugh what a hassle this will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You meant analogue kindle right?

    8. Re:Ugh what a hassle this will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      When it comes to modern TV, piracy is the only way to have a decent selection and decent UI. Anyone who isn't pirating, has got to be having horrible experiences. If you're paying, you're not a snob.

      And that really is the industry's message to the public: pirate, or else we'll make you suffer.

      They so desperately need standards, immediately. (And DRM is pretty much the only thing keeping them from being able to have a standard.) I have never see an industry work so hard to try to kill itself.

    9. Re: Ugh what a hassle this will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This.

  7. Re:First to ditch outdated tech... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    apple cares about money, nothing else.

  8. nightmare scenario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i look forward to Jake Paul getting a new show where he's a super cool dude that everyone admires.

  9. 10 shows not enough for a full scale subscription? by King_TJ · · Score: 2

    Actually, my thought is -- if Apple could put together 10 really good TV series, it's certainly "enough for a full scale subscription service" (contrary to the story summary)!

    Think about it. Right now, you have people maintaining premium Showtime or HBO subscriptions just for ONE series they really want to watch. Everything else is really just "filler" that doesn't motivate them to keep the subscription. (Look how many subscriptions were only kept when new episodes of shows like The Sopranos were airing.)

    Apple has plenty of money to be able to afford to license a lot of cheaper "miscellaneous content" that ensures their channel is constantly airing something. But a collection of original shows it could slowly release, interspersed with all of that? That would definitely keep people subscribing.

  10. re: Apple maps by King_TJ · · Score: 1

    Really? You have a big issue with Apple Maps only being accessible via Apple devices? I never even gave that a thought until you mentioned it, just now. Considering all the options like Waze, Google Maps, MapQuest, or even MapsFly, it's not like APPLE Maps would offer something original that you'd really want to get in mapping, but can't get, right?

    I assume Apple wanted to invest in its own mapping solution for "internal" use with its own devices because it's a good financial investment for them in the long run. It's that simple. Apple is interested in developing something having to do with self-driving vehicles in coming years, and that's going to require map data. Why pay millions or billions to a competitor for it?

  11. Great news for investors by avandesande · · Score: 1

    Now they can start losing money like Netflix!

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  12. My personal wish-list. by pecosdave · · Score: 2

    1. Caprica - it was a SciFi show spun off from the recreated Battlestar Galactica. The show started out very strong with great ratings, but it got a little sluggish in the middle of the only season and it lost a huge amount of viewership. It finished on an incredible high note and was very good after the sluggish middle. It's been "too many years" to pick up where it left off, however based on the "coming next season" previews for the next season that never happened there's plenty of footage that some sort of time-gap filler could be created to explain some aging.

    2. Stargate Universe - It was better than it go credit for, but was sort of a knock-off of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica in presentation. The show was intentionally ended in a way where it could be picked up after a gap. Sure many of the actors have moved on, but that can be woven into the story telling.

    3. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - canceled because it was too high-brow for the killer robot audience. It was incredibly good. Considering the time travel device being used throughout aging is all part of the game, easy to bring back.

    There's a lot of other Sci-Fi shows I thought were ended prematurely or would like to have back (First Wave, Dollhouse, Firefly)

    Special Mention: Invasion America, an incredibly good mini-series that wasn't finished. Spielberg was involved. Simply dig up the original scripts and as much of the cast as you can - it was a cartoon series so it can easily be resumed and it was murdered by the network tinkering with the scheduling. Nimoy of course would have to be replaced, but as a cartoon series it can easily be done.

    One I would like to see re-imagined/rebooted: Earth Final Conflict - the original started out strong, but the cast began to desert the series, starting with the original main character and going on from there. Reboot it with stronger contracts in place. It got sort of silly trying to cover for the cast changes on occasion, but it had the bones of a good show - I would like to see a do-over on this one.

    --
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    1. Re:My personal wish-list. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DUNE!!!

    2. Re:My personal wish-list. by pecosdave · · Score: 1

      You know - the Dune mini-series done by SciFi wasn't bad. I don't see a reason not to do it again however.

      --
      The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    3. Re:My personal wish-list. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - canceled because it was too high-brow for the killer robot audience.

      Err no, cancelled because it had crap ratings for a show with such a high budget.

    4. Re:My personal wish-list. by pecosdave · · Score: 1

      Some people just can't connect the dots.

      It was high-brow for killer robots therefor it lost the audience that seeks out killer robot shows, and since it featured killer robots it didn't capture the audience that wanted something a little more intelligent. Therefor the ratings sucked for a killer robot budget.

      Ergo it was too high-brow for a killer robot audience.

      The show addressed historical concepts such as the mechanical Turk, the concepts of artificial intelligence becoming so advanced that it can overcome it's own programmed directives, to a degree post-humanism. The show had advanced ideas - too advanced for a killer robot audience.

      If someone dies in a car crash because they had crappy tires and refused to pay for new ones the phrase "he died because he was too cheap" still works, even if a car crash is what killed him.

      --
      The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    5. Re:My personal wish-list. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Ergo it was too high-brow for a killer robot audience.

      That's not a root cause. It could happily survive if it could get over it's budget. It was killed due to money. It still has a loyal following not to mention the name of a multi-million dollar franchise behind it.

  13. Re: re: Apple maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you're willing to accept a second rate mapping app for 6 to 10 years because of something they MIGHT do well (cars are somewhat out of their area of expertise)?

    No other app can integrate as cleanly due to self-imposed restrictions

  14. Fanboyism... by DrYak · · Score: 1

    And in a few years, you'll be sick of hearing how Apple revolutionnized modern TV by inventing the whole streaming concept.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  15. Re:10 shows not enough for a full scale subscripti by denis-The-menace · · Score: 1

    Maybe. CBS is trying with one show: Star Trek Discovery

    --
    Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
  16. Rofl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like shows like game of thrones grow on trees lol...

  17. Re:First to ditch outdated tech... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also benis.

  18. 'member? I 'member... by 101percent · · Score: 0

    Remember when Apple strived to create an actual worthy hardware from scratch? Stuff like Powerbook that was on par with Dell Precision mobile workstations without the weight and bloat? Remember when Apple iterated on Mac OS in a hard effort of plug-and-play compatibility with all sorts of peripherals from consumer digital cameras to high end production equipment? Printers, scanners, third party devices that you could buy in the B&M Apple store and plug into any of their products and it just worked? A Powerbook with USB and OS X was all you needed and blew the competition out of the water. Granted this is a low effort rant, but my how far we've come.

    1. Re:'member? I 'member... by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      And I remember when they used work hard on usability when the iPhone was easy to use one-handed. When each new major version of iOS didn't mean new steps to accomplish the same tasks (for example when marking something done from the lock screen takes an extra step with iOS10). I've done a few rants on here about how Apple has kept making things worse. They really need to get a visionary back in charge instead of a business person.

  19. Re: 10 shows not enough for a full scale subscript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Voyagers was and is the greatest star strek series. **ducks**

  20. Re: 10 shows not enough for a full scale subscrip by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Voyager*

    Typo. iPhone with a broken screen. Rip.

  21. Re: re: Apple maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are none so blind to technology as the blind apple worshiper.

  22. Re: Apple maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only reason Apple made a map application was so they could ditch Google, but is has always been a non-functional replacement. Trying to invent new justifications is stupid.

  23. Re:First to ditch outdated tech... by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

    So just like any other for profit compsmy then. Ikm not trying to be snarky here, but beond the fashnable apple hate (here at slashdor anyway) what is your point? i might be dim as I can’t seem to find it,
    Disclosure: I am a logtime sattisfied Apple costumer, beond that I nor anuone of my famely/relatives has any othe involment with apple, so I don’t have any conflicts if interest in this matter

  24. Re: re: Apple maps by DickBreath · · Score: 1

    > There are none so blind to technology as the blind apple worshiper.

    What? Not even supporters of the Great Orange Jackass?

    Maybe American homes don't need high speed internet? Let's redefine broadband to mean 512 Kbps!

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  25. Let's do the Math by painandgreed · · Score: 1

    Let's say they put them on iTunes and expect to simply sell them. $1 Billion between ten series at $100 million each. Each one a 13 episode season at $3 per episode or $30 per show. Assuming that the 30% iTunes store cost does go to maintenance costs (or at least not the Apple department that does movies), they'd need around 5,000,000 buyers to break even. Even thought that's over the entire span of hosting the movie, it seems like a lot.

    Articles from last January, when this information was released seemed to indicate much less quality than one would expect for that many buyers, and that this would be associated with their music service rather than iTunes store. With their money they could probably get some of the movies that studios won't rent to Netflix, or perhaps the exact same ones as the studios might be hoping to damage Netflix.

  26. Being "Steve Job"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Malcovich, Malcovich... Malcovich, Malcovich!