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Aug 20, 08 - 07:50 am Comment from: jtc

I must agree.. more plants around to keep up with production and possibly lower costs too

Those were not indentured workers. Another idiot blogger with no credentials. You keep down the cost by contracting to use others facilities. Keep the cash to piss off people like Carl Icahn.

Production is for other people to worry about. Apple is not going to waist time with that.

Aug 20, 08 - 07:59 am Comment from: Cubert

NOT! The 20 billion is for OS 11 - a 3-D, artificial intelligence, all-knowing, all-seeing, living entity.

And it will have an iTele, too.

Aug 20, 08 - 08:04 am Comment from: Cubert

"Apple is not going to waist time with that."

I know. Here is the skinny on it. That fat pile of cash is really starting to bulge. Time to tighten the belt, purge a bit, stop the waist, and get their finances back in line.

Not going to "refuse" time?

The plan already laid out and alluded to is that Apple is going to cut their margin on one or more low-end Mac products and take market share. This will deplete the cash reserve somewhat.

The Chinese laborers will be busier than ever this fall. Why build an automated factory when there is an endless supply of humanoids in China that cost less than robots?

This guy is not an idiot! Oh have I long wished for Apple to do just that....build their own factories. Cut out the blasted middlemen (who don't give a damn about Apple's vision really) and gain control of assembly of the products. Apple would really be rocking then!

@Cubert: ROFL on the "waist" response.

Apple used to make computers in California. They had their own factory and found out life was better in China.

Have to admit, this idea is better then a lot of ideas people have thrown out before.

To Cubert:
Thanks for the belly laugh!
That was a monster pun list. Quite alimentary. You really rectum.
But abdominals? No, man.
Too oblique? Yeah, I had a gut feeling it wasn't hip.

Makes no sense whatsoever. The production model that Apple uses today is working great, there is no need to invest money in factories.

The guy's clue-impaired on the subject.

Indentured? Author is ignorant.

$20 billion? It's 25.

Managers, Overseers and Technicians? Ignoring the fact the first two are redundant, it takes tool makers, and lots more people to run a factory that has nothing to do with hand assembly.

Aug 20, 08 - 08:36 am Comment from: El Guapo

"people like John Sculley and Michael Spindler almost pissed it all away before Steve Jobs could fully implement his vision,"

Amen brother!

Aug 20, 08 - 08:39 am Comment from: Connor MacBook

While we're on gastrointestinal gags, anyone suffered a Windows Fistula lately...?

" . . . anyone suffered a Windows Fistula lately...?"

I've read that anal-ysts are feeling the squeeze when trying to get a log out.

There is a cheaper and better way:
Use the money to have better and happier laborers!
Building such a high "qualified" totally automatized factory would just cost too much to improve Mac prices. Plus, automates aren't perfect neither and cost a lot to supervise and repare. Plus the social cost of even more workless people would be tremendous... even if machines start to pay taxes for their "man-power" for compensation.
If you make a complete abstraction of the human needs and just grab the vision of a "consumers world", it "looks like" a nice idea... But all it would bring is a general desaster.

Does anyone actually believe that Apple has all this cash by mistake, and doesn't have a long range plan and objectives for the need and use of this cash?

How do you think they got where they are today?

Apple (that "machine") is running well, and probably according to plan.

They know what they are doing!

Aug 20, 08 - 09:22 am Comment from: DogGone

This guy has to be kidding right?

Before Apple shipped production overseas there were invariably two to three months delay in product shipment from the time of announcing the product. Also the ability to ramp up production was also limited since they did not have the additional manpower or facilities to expand.

The overseas manufacturers build products for more than one customer. That means they has switch production very easily.

If Apple were to automate production they would need huge facilities and state of the art robotics. Each new product would require retooling.

Apple's overhead would increase dramatically since they would be paying for the cost of production directly rather than have a third party who has more experience be responsible for that.

I am sure Apple will use their cash to buy strategic acquisitions to enable them to move to the next level with their products.

"Steve spun an intriguing vision of pumping out Macintoshes by the millions in an automated factory." Andy Hertzfeld, Apple employee #435

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Shut_Up.txt

The factories aren't middlemen -- middlemen are wholesalers and people in between the manufacturer and the end user.

Apple would be crazy to build its own factories. It then has much less flexibility to revamp and totally change directions quickly. Retooling a factory can cost tens of millions of dollars. Besides, where would Apple's plant be located? You guessed it -- China, because the labor is so much cheaper (and the liabilities far less) than in the U.S., Europe, or elsewhere.

And what if Apple had products which quickly declined in popularity? Instead of just reducing orders, Apple would have an idle factory on its hands. Not a good situation, and certainly not a money-making project at that point.

i think they should invest the 20 mil into the cloning of steve jobs

Aug 20, 08 - 10:11 am Comment from: theloniousMac

@mikeR

"...Apple used to make computers in California. They had their own factory and found out life was better in China..."

Man, when looking at California, that says it all.

Aug 20, 08 - 10:16 am Comment from: G4Dualie

What would YOU do if you had a sizable chunk of change laying around? That would have been a great place to start, but noooooo....

Aside from the some of the welcome humorous responses, the rest of you people are pathetic! Hyper-critical like a group of twisted, soulless bitches sitting around wringing their hands and churning up the negativity!

You act like this is your money, or that you know what's best. So unless you're a shareholder, STFU! Especially pricks like bizlaw, who is probably well educated but is incapable of critical thinking, sporting his mac.com lawyerly shingle that is supposed to add to his cache. Pffftttt! We don't need another lawyer!

Typical MDN thread that will soon devolve into steaming pile of shit.

Stupid article. He is completely ignoring everything we've learned in the last twenty years about specialization and leaving manufacturing to folks whose survival depends on doing great - wait for it - manufacturing. Duh. Apple used to have several of its own factories in California and Ireland. Macs were NOT price competitive back then. They are now. Apple would be much better off building its own studio and giving media artists a fair revenue sharing model so the current studios can finally be destroyed by their own greed.

@ Gary

lower margins could mean less earnings (though that could easily be offset by higher sales), but still there would be (very healthy) earnings each quarter. so apple is not loosing money (which would only deplete the cash reserve) instead lower margins could only lead to adding a little less cash each quarter in the future. eighter way the cash reserve will grow. a wooping 25 bn at the end of september.

Aug 20, 08 - 10:50 am Comment from: Cubert

@ Connor MacBook,
Yeah. Our entire printing system went down across all 4 of our clinic sites last week - entirely a M$ issue. It took our IT guy all weekend to fix it. M$'s response to our inquiries - "Meh". IT guy's response to M$ response - "Eh. It's Microsoft, what are you going to do. This stuff is expected; such is life."

Stockholm Syndrome personified.

The genius is in design, not assembly. This won't be happening. The idea that Apple should blow off cash on a robotic factory seems numb at best. Let Foxconn deal with automation of factories when economically viable.

Dumbest idea I've heard for awhile. Let the experts deal with production. Design and good innovation is where the money should go. Why would you want expensive, hard to maintain robots flipping burgers when humans are cheaper and do a better job.

Skate to where the puck is going to be...

For those folks who think the current biz model is fine, why change it: Because that is not where the puck is going to be.

This is not a stupid idea. It is simply one slightly ahead of its time.

I have to agree with those who note the folly of Apple getting too deep into manufacture. However, an investment into an innovative, visionary manufacturing operation would not be out of order.

If Apple needs to invest those billions in a way that will profit the company, it needs to think long term. Factories are NOT long-term investments, not if they are making here-today-gone-tomorrow tech products. Apple should (a) save for that rainy day (like, when Steve Jobs passes on or moves on, and the stock nosedives - a buying opportunity). They should also (b) save for that unforeseen (but anticipated) bargain, a la Warren Buffet, and (c) invest in visionary thinking. Whether that means investing in a think tank or a start-up with a great new idea, Apple should be constantly looking for the Next Great Thing.

But - build and run a manufacturing plant? No, that would place a great strain on the company. Invest in a flexible manufacturer with a good management team in place and a track record.

Aug 20, 08 - 01:48 pm Comment from: Big Al

A five million dollar donation to Big Al's home for wayward girls wouldn't go amiss either.

Aug 20, 08 - 01:53 pm Comment from: HolyMackerel

I thought the $20B was to build the MacCave, MacPlane, MacMobile, MacSuit and pay Alfred.

Someone has to defeat the Joker in Redmond.

Aug 20, 08 - 02:30 pm Comment from: Brau

This article is nothing but fear driven pro-American eco-idealist drivel. Steve Jobs doesn't create products to pander to idealists, he does just the opposite. Anyone who thinks a state-of-the-art factory can be run cost effectively on solar power, on American soil, has a major screw loose and has obviously not done even the most basic research. If such was the case, many factories would be doing this for the green brownie points it would garner.

Hard to fathom why this article was recommended by MDN.

Aug 20, 08 - 06:21 pm Comment from: Goople

I would save that money for the class action lawsuits regarding iPhone 3G that are surely on their way