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Are the roles going to be reversed here....with $70B+ in cash is Apple now Big Brothe

mtbdudex

mtbdudex

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Aug 28, 2007
2,895
5,260
SE Michigan
Are the roles going to be reversed here....with $70B+ in cash is Apple now Big Brother?

Where are the checks and balances coming from?

"This week Apple reported that it had $76.2 billion in cash and marketable securities on hand. In October, Steve Jobs said of the cash pile, "we strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along that we can take that we're in a unique position to take advantage of because of our strong cash position."


Note:
I'm an Apple person since the very beginning - never have owned a WinTel machine, yet can't help but wonder how size/$$ will continue to change the company culture/thinking.

Self portrait of me in undergrad engineering school, this was for one of my "fun" electives, Winter 1985 semester......B&W Photography.
I had fun taking and processing this.....its a scan of course.

Originally posted here Oct-2009 https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=8707533#post8707533

1984 128k mac runing the 1st MacOS on 400k floppy and that's MacPaint on screen for my solid mechanics lab report.
MikeMac128k.jpg
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Not this again.

What checks and balances? What are you worried about?

I find that this term, "Big Brother" is thrown around so haphazardly and so irresponsibly that Orwell must be turning in his grave. I'm not accusing you of it, but let's be a little more selective in its use. Apple isn't limiting your personal freedoms or keeping you under constant surveillance. There's no political oppression going on here. That commercial was a jab at IBM - the uniformity, the lack of innovation, the tediousness of the platform, the lack of dynamism, etc. That's all.

Having a lot of cash on hand doesn't make you "Big Brother." I should think the strength of Apple's products and the quality of their ecosystem is enough for someone. It certainly is for the market at large. You only see this "Big Brother" discourse on tech sites that want a cross between the Apple business model and their competitors' business model. It doesn't work like that.

A lot of cash on hand is good. It makes you wealthy, fairly independent, and provides some security. The point is to GROW and CONTROL your business. This is normal. Apple controlling their own destiny is normal. You don't have to buy into it.

Nothing ominous about this, as long as everything is done legally above-board (unlike certain other tech companies.)

Apple is still run like a startup. That's what counts.

Great photo, by the way!
 
Last edited:
G

G4er?

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2009
639
30
Temple, TX
*LTD* said:
Not this again.
That commercial was a jab at IBM - the uniformity, the lack of innovation, the tediousness of the platform, the lack of dynamism, etc. That's all.
Click to expand...

Like only offering all in one mid range computers? Since you disagree I expect an XMac on my desk next week.
 
J

jqc

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2007
394
204
G4er? said:
Like only offering all in one mid range computers? Since you disagree I expect an XMac on my desk next week.
Click to expand...

Come now, now you're just being silly. Apple has changed the way the world carries music and buys music, changed the definition of a smart phone and made a category unsuccessful for decades the next big thing....surely you jest
 
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
*LTD* said:
Not this again.

What checks and balances? What are you worried about?

I find that this term, "Big Brother" is thrown around so haphazardly and so irresponsibly that Orwell must be turning in his grave. I'm not accusing you of it, but let's be a little more selective in its use. Apple isn't limiting your personal freedoms or keeping you under constant surveillance. There's no political oppression going on here. That commercial was a jab at IBM - the uniformity, the lack of innovation, the tediousness of the platform, the lack of dynamism, etc. That's all.

Having a lot of cash on hand doesn't make you "Big Brother." I should think the strength of Apple's products and the quality of their ecosystem is enough for someone. It certainly is for the market at large. You only see this "Big Brother" discourse on tech sites that want a cross between the Apple business model and their competitors' business model. It doesn't work like that.

A lot of cash on hand is good. It makes you wealthy, fairly independent, and provides some security. The point is to GROW and CONTROL your business. This is normal. Apple controlling their own destiny is normal. You don't have to buy into it.

Nothing ominous about this, as long as everything is done legally above-board (unlike certain other tech companies.)

Apple is still run like a startup. That's what counts.

Great photo, by the way!
Click to expand...

+1
No way to improve on that post.

Literary allusions gone bad...
 
L

lesreaper2009

macrumors member
Jan 7, 2009
49
0
I know what you mean.

I've talked on a lot of Visual FX and Multimedia boards about this same thing.

Apple's version of "Big Brother" is the idea of homogeneous behavior, the clones marching in a row. Orwell's version is the "boot stomping on your face forever" authoritarian government. They are different of course, but Apple's version is what we're discussing.

Yes, Apple's role is now reversed., they have become the Big Brother they fought against in the 1984 commercial. They've really taken over the homogeneous market of the everyday person and are trying to make them utilize the same platform, the same way of thinking. They just happen to think it's the "best way".

It doesn't matter if they run like a start-up, they are still convinced their way is the best and they've convinced millions around the world that they're right. That's good business. But it's bad for things like art and thinking, which are cultural phenomena that Apple incorporated into it's branding identity long ago.

People just look at Apple and say, well, they're just good business people. And they are. But their branding is about culture. Now that they've started to abandon it it many forms (especially in the high end market), by convincing the everyman they're an artist, Apple has lost a lot in it's branding.

Over time, once Steve is gone, Apple will slowly lose its luster. Perhaps 10 years after Steve leaves?

What Apple was got lost a few billion ago, sorry to say. I'm already changing phones after owning iPhones. Tablets will be next. Then, finally, I'm sad to say, probably my machines. It was a fun ride Apple. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
G4er? said:
Like only offering all in one mid range computers? Since you disagree I expect an XMac on my desk next week.
Click to expand...

Uniformity is fine if it delights and is well-designed. Apple uniformity is purposeful, useful, and is part of the sort of user experience that Apple's competitors can never hope to match.

IBM uniformity was just ****. In fact, IBM was **** all around. Mostly because all they did in the consumer space was play it safe.
 
benzslrpee

benzslrpee

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2007
406
26
what are you talking about? that Apple will somehow attempt a $14T leveraged buyout of the United States with their measly ~$80B cash position?


mtbdudex said:
Are the roles going to be reversed here....with $70B+ in cash is Apple now Big Brother?

Where are the checks and balances coming from?

"This week Apple reported that it had $76.2 billion in cash and marketable securities on hand. In October, Steve Jobs said of the cash pile, "we strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along that we can take that we're in a unique position to take advantage of because of our strong cash position."
Click to expand...
 
Bonch

Bonch

macrumors 6502
May 28, 2005
442
1
Lithuania
*LTD* said:
These tech companies are nothing like Orwell's Big Brother. They aren't the government and you don't have to buy into what they peddle. They're tech companies.
Click to expand...

You are wrong, again. Orwell coined the phrase but that isn't the definition anymore.
 
NT1440

NT1440

macrumors Pentium
May 18, 2008
15,092
22,158
Money in the bank has nothing to do with big brother, you might want to read up a bit.
 
K

KingCrimson

macrumors 65816
Mar 12, 2011
1,066
0
No doubt Apple has become "Big Brother". It's not enough for them to make money, they need to dominate all markets AND Jobs has to wag his finger at us. He feels the need to impose HIS aesthetic on everything and insult other companies.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
Apple has been Big Brother for a while now. The company has become exactly what it once abhorred.
 
K

KingCrimson

macrumors 65816
Mar 12, 2011
1,066
0
AppleScruff1 said:
Apple has been Big Brother for a while now. The company has become exactly what it once abhorred.
Click to expand...

OTOH, you have to admire things like the Mac Mini. They continue innovating a product that is fairly marginal to their overall bottom line. I have to say of the entire Apple product portfolio the unibody Mac Mini is my #1.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
KingCrimson said:
OTOH, you have to admire things like the Mac Mini. They continue innovating a product that is fairly marginal to their overall bottom line. I have to say of the entire Apple product portfolio the unibody Mac Mini is my #1.
Click to expand...

I think they make some great products. I think the MBA is an outstanding notebook.
 
AustinZ

AustinZ

macrumors member
Aug 6, 2008
73
0
If you don't like the Macs in the current lineup you can easily buy a different computer. If you don't like the iPhone you can easily buy a different smartphone. If you don't like the iPad you can easily buy a different tablet. I fail to see how this equals 'totalitarian dystopia'.

I fail to see how Apple is 'dominating' any particular markets. They have neither a majority market share in the personal computer or smartphone spaces. The iPad is the exception but the tablet market is relatively young and Apple's dominance is not by any means guaranteed. Nor was it obtained through underhanded means.

However, none of the above actually means anything. Most people see companies in only one of two ways- if they're teetering on bankruptcy they go into pity/schadenfreude mode. Otherwise it's just the boilerplate 'any successful corporation must be by default pure evil' nonsense.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
In 1984 with the introduction of Macintosh, apple was the underdog fighting the establishment. In 2011 apple is the establishment and looking to squash any of the underdogs that may pop up.
 
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