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A Real Proposal For Apple
Apple shot itself in the foot
How long has Apple had QuickTime? Since 1992; and yes, that equals an eternity in computing years. Yet, they were the last one to incorporate streaming video into their product. What took so long? I am not entirely sure, but Real and Microsoft gained serious market share before Apple shipped a streaming version of QuickTime. This cost them dearly, as they now struggle to catch up.
Predictions and proposals
A while back I made a prediction. I predicted that Real would be the first casualty of the streaming wars, and I still believe that. Basically Real's entire business is streaming media, whereas Apple's and Microsoft's is not; they both have comfy cash reserves. Real's market capitalization has slipped to just $1.9 billion. It is fighting for its life. I believe it will continue to fall. If Real does indeed go belly up then the probable thing that will happen is those users will migrate over to Microsoft's Media Player, putting Apple in a very distant second. I really cant say anything to positive about Apples stock price (yes, I am a shareholder) other than the fact that I believe the stock price has bottomed out and will trend upwards with the release of Mac OS X fueling renewed hardware sales.
With that said, I propose that Apple buy a controlling stake in Real. Take Real Player and QuickTime and combine them into one powerful streaming application. They would overtake Microsoft in market share overnight. Furthermore, it would be extremely helpful if they would bring a versatile player for the open-source operating systems out there, like Linux, especially since they are now starting to gain desktop/workstation market share at a steady pace; it would be foolish for Apple to leave this group out.
QuickTime 5 is looking promising, nevertheless, if Apple wants to be a dominant force in bringing streaming media to the desktop they need to focus on content partners and market share. I believe an acquisition of Real could achieve this. What is your opinion on this? Sound off in our forum.
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| A Real Proposal For Apple | Doug petrosky |