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Nah, but I do want Apple to buy something/someone big.

I need some excitement.

The only logic is that it gives Apple entry into the Enterprise space. Servers, storage, technology, and services. But what it would take to restore the brand (and turn a real profit), it probably wouldn't be worth the distraction.

As a onetime Sun and Solaris user (and stockholder foolish enough not to have sold before the bubble burst), I was hoping IBM would take those shares off my hands. But Sun's leadership got greedy, demanded too high a price and monetary perks, so IBM lost interest.

Apr 17, 09 - 06:31 pm Comment from: Wandering joe

his conclusion is quite sound. No use throwing good money at something like this.

Apr 17, 09 - 06:37 pm Comment from: Bread

Maybe then they'll be able to put circle support into Pages. I'd be against it if it weren't for that I used NeoOffice and not OpenOffice for Mac.

Apr 17, 09 - 06:38 pm Comment from: theloniousMac

OH HELL NO.

Apple shouldn't touch that quagmire of crap technology with a 100 foot pole.

Only if they bought it to own JAVA. Other than that, nope. Not worth a plug nickel.

There are tons of people still working for that company that Apple doesn't need.

10 years ago it might have been a good idea, but now when you think "Enterprise," Sun is probably next to the last company you think of. Apple being the last.

Why should Apple buy anyone? They seem to be growing just fine on their own.

As in the past, if they buy anyone, it will be small companies where they can tap into talent, patents, or knowledge that will further their own product lines.

Should Apple buy Sun Microsystems?

GOOD GOD YES AND FIX THE INSECURITIES WITH JAVA!!!

http://www.auditmypc.com/internal-ip.html

Nope... For the most part Apple tends not to buy the competition—that's Billy Gs modus operandi. Apple spends its money on innovating beyond the competition.

Apr 17, 09 - 06:51 pm Comment from: Spudly

Uh...No!

Apr 17, 09 - 07:04 pm Comment from: LTD*

Absolutely no reason to. Apple is very profitable and very healthy on its own.

Apr 17, 09 - 07:09 pm Comment from: Gregg Thurman

What follows is a list of intelligent statements:

"his conclusion is quite sound. No use throwing good money at something like this."

"Apple shouldn't touch that quagmire of crap technology with a 100 foot pole"

"Why should Apple buy anyone? They seem to be growing just fine on their own.

As in the past, if they buy anyone, it will be small companies where they can tap into talent, patents, or knowledge that will further their own product lines."

Any suggestion that Apple should buy Sun is, at best, idiotic.

Apr 17, 09 - 07:10 pm Comment from: Desinformado

I think that Sun could fit perfectly in Apple future business strategy, Apple needs to sell more Mac OS X Servers and Sun can help do that, Apple can keep Sun as a Subsidiary (like Filemaker) or merge it into Apple business unit. It is a positive step, make Java and Mac OS X Server work together and set Solaris OS free for everybody to tweak and use. Sun has a lot of good technology that can help accelerate Apple's business.

Which major tech merger has paid off in the last 5 years? HP+Compaq? AOL+Bebo? Bueller? Beuller?

Apple is best at striking where people don't expect, like the PA Semi steal. If it's being talked about, it ain't happening.

Hopefully MSFT will purchase Yahoo and more and open lots of stores and spread itself to death.

WARNING!!

If you don't turn off Java in Safari preferences, your allowing malicious website owners to gleam information off your computer!!

Get scared straight, visit this link!

http://www.auditmypc.com/internal-ip.html

@ freebeer

Unfortunately, if Microsoft continues its expansion binge, they'll eventually become "too big to fail", and be eligible for a shovelful of misguided government bailout money. Though it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that Ballmer might be thinking along those lines.


@ Gregg Thurman

Any suggestion that Apple should buy Sun is, at best, idiotic.

Seconded. Move along, nothing to see here.

The guy who wants this to happen because he "needs excitement" should join a 12-step program before it's too late...

I think Apple should buy Adobe. Then drop Photoshop for Windows.

Apr 17, 09 - 07:42 pm Comment from: Big Als MBP

If Apple wants into enterprise they should buy IBM.

Remember, no one ever got fired for buying IBM. They can't lose.

Apr 17, 09 - 07:48 pm Comment from: Crabs

Do it!

Not because I really think they should, but because I want them to do it, and do it well, just so another analyst is shown to be wrong. Is that bitter and wrong?

Crimany! You know it's a slow newsday when you start seeing "Should Apple buy [dusty logo here]?" articles.

Enough already! Apple rarely purchases whole companies. When they do, it's for strategic acquisition reasons. They've never bought out a competitor just to "embrace and extinguish".

As far as enterprise technology, Apple has quietly gone quite far down this road on their own, and they're having some good success. Why on earth would they need Sun, Adobe, IBM, Sony, Google, Michelin, Bird'sEye, or Trojan?

@theloniusMac

Apple shouldn't touch that quagmire of crap technology with a 100 foot pole.

Only if they bought it to own JAVA. Other than that, nope. Not worth a plug nickel.

Really? So ZFS, Dtrace, Star Office, My SQL, VirtualBox and Solaris are not worthy technologies to have? (Apple has already adopted some of those).

Along with Java is a long list of Intellectual Property to be had.

Should Apple buy Sun Microsystems?

NO.

To ask the question is to answer it. Nothing to discuss here.

MW: think. Indeed.

I think Apple should buy Adobe. Then drop Photoshop for Windows.

Buy AutoDesk. Then make AutoCAD Mac-only.

And how sweet it'd be if the current AutoCAD just somehow broke in Windows 7...

I think it would be great to see apple buy sun get more share in the enterprise.... it would be alot better than if Microsoft purchased them (which people would absolutley panic abbout... because it would give MS a solid, tested foundation for their future OSes)... but all of this is assuming that Microsoft would not screw it up.... which they probably would.

Corporate IT is dead from an infrastructure perspective. It's all about the Cloud baby.

MobileMe is baby steps in paid cloud hosting..if it goes well Apple can explore Enterprise offerings. I doubt it will go well though lol.

As for Sun ---> DOA

Apr 17, 09 - 08:56 pm Comment from: silverhawk

@YELLING!
Is that a left wing or right wing conspiracy? I'd like to know before I get too concerned. Thank you.

Apr 17, 09 - 09:24 pm Comment from: ken1w

Back in the late 90's, wasn't it Sun that was going to buy Apple?

Jobs called JAVA a "ball and chain", however, ZFS is a more modern, futuristic file system, isn't it? MySQL and Star Office are not small open source potatoes.
As for Solaris, someone else could explain it's high-end benefits.
This might be a dumb question, but does javascript come from JAVA?
Javascript affects our lives each day, whether we want it or not.

Apr 17, 09 - 10:21 pm Comment from: wannabe

Just a quick hint to anyone who thinks Sun would get Apple into the enterprise: enterprise users loathe Sun as their service has deteriorated to become the worst in the industry. Nobody is buying new Sun gear and those with older stuff are trying to get rid of it, since Sun is unwilling or unable to offer serious enterprise-class support (like being able to fix their own products when they break).

Apr 17, 09 - 10:57 pm Comment from: Mel Gross

Yes, they should buy Sun. I've been saying this for a long time. There would be great advantage to this.

Solaris and O X have been drawing closer to one another for some time, and they are both based on FreeDSD.

Sun's main problem right now is that is doesn't have the cash to do what it needs to do, or the reach in other markets to finance it.

Apple needs to enter the business and governmental worlds, and has no real experience there. It can take years to build up a good sales and support staff for that purpose. Sun has both.

Sun would give Apple the hardware and cred it needs.

With Sun, Apple could give MS the challange it doesn't have anywhere else.

Apr 17, 09 - 11:11 pm Comment from: Mel Gross

Wannabe, you know that what you are saying is a terrible exaggeration on all levels just for you to try to make your point. I know of more than a few companies that are more than happy with Sun.

The issue is a complex one, and you're off the mark.

Sadly, there has been an MS juggxrnaught the past few years, and Sun is the only major server/workstation company left. All others have been bought by the big companies, or have disappeared. There are just the smaller ones left now, except for Sun. That alone has been a difficult position to be in.

But there are vast amounts of heavy duty business and government software out there for Sun, and that would benefit Apple.

As companies are warming up to Apple, this could work out well.

And Sun is cheap. Like Apple was 7 years ago.

"Should Apple buy Sun Microsystems?"

Sure. Buy two or three, while they're on sale.

What's this obsession with Apple buying Sun/Adobe/insert company here? Why would Apple do this? What is the compelling reason? Apple is not a Microsoft ... The day Apple starts snapping up other large companies - and I mean large companies - will be the day Apple has truly jumped the shark ...

It must be a slow news day/month/year again ...

MDN needs to get a life and stop regurgitating every piece of crap that comes its way!

(Come to think of it, so do I replying to this inane drivel ...)

Apr 18, 09 - 12:03 am Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Sun? For Java and VirtualBox and a serious foothold in enterprise computing.

@goodtimes:
AutoDesk? AutoCAD. That's that CAD equivalent of Microsoft and Windows. Poor design, counterintuitive, bloated, overly complex, WAY overpriced. Ugly output. Basically crapware.
Sure, buy AutoDesk, KILL AutoCAD and port all the 3D software to Mac OS X.

I'd rather see Apple buy Nemetschek who own both VectorWorks and ArchiCAD. Both have pure Mac pedigrees and are great applications.

Apr 18, 09 - 12:16 am Comment from: Always Right

FUCK NO!

As a shareholder, I am happy w/ $28 bil in the bank.

"I don't need no stinkin' SUN".

Apr 18, 09 - 12:17 am Comment from: Asmodeus

They should, and offer the same pathetic cost per share as McNealy did back in the 90s. Who's scoffing now, Scotty?

Apr 18, 09 - 01:26 am Comment from: payrolldude

WTF4?

Dear Mac Users from old

I am Anthony, I use to come here a few years ago.

I am back in NZ now, and enjoying it.
Wow theres been a few things happen & change.

I worked in Apple IT for a well known school here. Kings.
I was laid off about 1 month ago. I am now doing my own business. http://www.macsmart.net

I hope your all having fun.

About SUN: Oh yeah, Nah Apple don't need to buy anyone.

The only thing that could get Apple into the Enterprise is they make things carefully is the iPhone.

Apr 18, 09 - 03:12 am Comment from: macslut

Whenever the question of Apple buying another company comes up, people get all defensive as if no other company would be worthy of being purchased by Apple.

And to some extent, that's true. Many of us see the potential Apple has, the growth of the Mac platform, and potential domination by the iPhone...even the eventual domination of the Apple TV.

It's hard to see how any other company Apple could buy could be leveraged to compete against other divisions within Apple itself. In the case of Sun, for example, as a business unit within Apple, it would run at a loss until Apple could somehow leverage it in some way that made sense...such as getting more engaged in the enterprise markets. I don't think there's enough there there for Sun to be a benefit in a significant way...although there are some nice IPs that Apple may want.

In the case of Adobe, Apple could buy it, and do nothing with it other than just let the current management run it as is, as Apple would benefit from this as the return on the investment would be greater than the current return Apple is getting with holding on to the $28+ Billion in cash.

Of course, if Apple were to buy Adobe, there could be all kinds of consolidations and cost savings. There would be all kinds of cost savings from licensing and IP sharing. And more importantly, this is a complimentary business that could be leveraged in all kinds of ways or used both offensively and defensively in regards to Microsoft, e.g., no Office update for the Mac = no Photoshop upgrade for Windows.

The real sweet spot though would be in delivering a full iLife suite for Windows that worked well with Mobile Me, Apple TV, iPods and the iPhone. Allow this to be $100 OEM or $150 retail, versus free on the Mac.

Allow there to be a clear upgrade path to a full version with things like Photoshop, Final Cut Express, etc... and then a full pro version, but have there be advantages to being on the Mac side all the way.

Furthermore, allow cross-platform upgrades for free...In other words, someone who invested $$$ on Creative Suite for Windows, could upgrade to the OS X version for free.

There are all kinds of possibilities here, but the bottom line is that putting part of that $28+ Billion into Adobe is going to yield a higher return and bring further growth in market cap than letting it sit there in cash investments.

This becomes even more true as the economy begins to improve.

Apr 18, 09 - 03:17 am Comment from: macslut

Wow, it's funny just over a year ago I did a podcast asking what Apple should do with all of its money. This was back in January 2007 when Apple only had $12 billion. This podcast, done for Apple Voices, is now at Connected Social Media.

Apr 18, 09 - 03:33 am Comment from: almux

Of course Apple should (i affirm that since about already 8 years!) and now would be a pretty cheep moment.
Sun has few things missing to Apple and a very interseting outcome could happen with these in Apple's propriety!

Apple should concentrate on what it does best of all. That is innovating and bringing exciting must-have products to the market.

Apple surely is not about asset-stripping or reviving other IT corporations in decline. Apple may have great managers and innovators, but I see no reason to piss them off with a task set that is not about innovation and excitement.

Corporate IT is dead from an infrastructure perspective. It's all about the Cloud baby.

Remember, something has to run & power the Cloud.

It's like saving energy by driving an electric car. Something still has to power it.

As for Apple buying Sun, it makes no sense. Like Toyota buying GMC to get into the commercial truck market. Why enter such a commodity business?

Apr 18, 09 - 07:46 am Comment from: derekcurrie

yelling yells: "Get scared straight, visit this link!
http://www.auditmypc.com/internal-ip.html"

SCAM. Anyone can write web code to reflect back to you your own IP address. Your IP address is not being sent BY them to you. They don't know what your IP address is. Equally, they don't know your internal IP address either. They didn't have any tricks to pull to reflect back my internal address. They don't know it.

However, YELLING is correct that the very best strategy in any case is to turn OFF Java until you trust a website. ALSO turn OFF JavaScript, which is a black hole of insecurity. Turn them on site by site as you need it and each site proves to be trustworthy.

Keep in mind that Java and JavaScript have nothing-at-all to do with each other. That they both have 'Java' in their name means nothing. It happened due to a stupid marketing move at Netscape when they renamed LiveScript.

Final note: So far there aren't noteworthy attacks on Macs via Java or JavaScript. But it could happen, so be wary.

I think it would be great to see apple buy sun get more share in the enterprise.... it would be alot better than if Microsoft purchased them (which people would absolutley panic abbout... because it would give MS a solid, tested foundation for their future OSes)... but all of this is assuming that Microsoft would not screw it up.... which they probably would.

Two possibilities:

A. MS buys Sun for the market, then tries to "transition" the market to Windows.

B. MS buys Sun for the OS foundation, then tries to heap the Windows/DOS legacy and bloat on top of it.

Either way it'd be an interesting death dance for both.

Apr 18, 09 - 07:52 am Comment from: derekcurrie

morphomaniac sez: "ZFS is a more modern, futuristic file system, isn't it?"

More like Sci-Fi. It is vaporware with regards to what it promised to offer. Sun left it to Apple to finish it for Mac OS X. Apple allow accessing ZFS volumes in Leopard if you know how to turn it on. But there is no way to boot Mac OS X on it as of yet. Theoretically Apple are still working on it and will provide a 'finished' version in Snow Leopard. We shall see.

The best evolving history of ZFS I have found is at Wikipedia.com.

Other SERIOUS security concerns!

Don't use WEP, it's trivial to crack it now.

http://lowendmac.com/misc/09mr/mb0415.html


FBI using web browser exploits (Safari's got plenty) to install spyware on your computer.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/fbi-spyware-pro.html

Apple will continue to invest its billions in reserve for R&D;instead of becoming a corporate raider. In other words, it will make its money the old fashion way... it will earn it.

All this crap about who Apple should buy is ridiculous.

Apr 18, 09 - 11:45 am Comment from: Tommy Boy

@ ruprect: I was thinking the same thing. Solaris could become Microsoft's Next, and help them build adecent OS. Of course knowing MS they'd buy it and try to force the NT kernel into Solaris instead.

Apr 18, 09 - 01:31 pm Comment from: Big Al

If Apple really needs to find something to do with their nearly 30 billion dollar cash holdings, I'll just send my wife over.

She can piss away money like no one else I've ever met.

She can piss away money like no one else I've ever met.

At least she's one of a kind.

Seriously, Apple's had enough leaders who proved their ability at pissing away the company. We don't need to go back!