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Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

nytimes.com

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Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#341

Post by brentm »

B-Con wrote: post #141
swombat wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd have to be pretty insane to spend $3b to get into the content industry in 2014. First, it's an industry that's been plummeting for a decade, secondly, the entire recording industry is worth about that much, and thirdly, the entire concept of making money from copyrighted works of art is under threat. This theory doesn't hold water, sorry.

It's plummeting because it's run by in outdated ways by companies that haven't adapted to new technology. A forward-thinking company that embraces technology would have some advantages.

I think the problems run much deeper.

Music is now competing for attention with apps, push notifications, emails, SMS, etc. Listening to recorded music was at one time something to do in and of itself. Today it's something that's done almost exclusively in the background.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#342

Post by prr »

rossjudson wrote: post #222
gareim wrote: post #25

Apple redefined the mp3 player market, the ultraportable laptop market, the smartphone market, the tablet market, and now they're buying a company that reinvented the higher-end headphone market. Is it smart of a brand that has traditionally created their own iconic images to buy another cultural icon for $3 billion? I don't think so. Maybe this gets used a lot, but would Steve Jobs have done this? Or would he have c…

One possibility: Apple intends to bring its quality and engineering expertise to bear on the Beats product line. They might be thinking that they can take the #1 seller and preserve that position indefinitely by decreasing the price and improving the quality. Apple's supply chain can probably result in better build quality (or a reduction in price for the current builds), and its engineering can probably bring better…

> There may also be some interesting exploration of what's possible with a headphone-based wearable. Plenty of room in that particular fashion accessory...much more so than in a watch.

Let's look at this from a different angle... What if Apple already has a super cool headphone based wearable tech.

Maybe Apple RND came up with something like "Google Glass minus the visor" a while back. That something could well look like a chunky set of headphones, right?

Now let's take a look at the current wearables market... The high profile items are things like Glass, Pebble, Samsung Gear. And they're almost all painfully uncool (outside of Sillicon Valley, anyway).

If Apple were going to launch its chunky iHeadphones, it would know that it'd be up against the "dork factor." So it would make sense to spend some cash to negate that. If so, purchasing the coolest headphone manufacturer you can find, and tying their brand to your upcoming tech, makes a lot of sense.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#343

Post by asantos3 »

chondos wrote: post #273
IBM wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That incident was 23 years ago and he did his time for it. He's also shown remorse for it and wishes it never happened.[0] He's a 49 year old man now and he's been married for 18 years. I think he's past that kind of stuff. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btc1MflBSeQ&feature=youtu.be...

He has learned to control his public image sure, but most of his lyrics of music that he has written, performed, and produced (even presently) seems very much misogynistic. Look, we've got stories all over about the #YesAllWomen phenomenon on twitter currently. All the women asking for equality and stating that they have been sexually harassed/abused/assaulted in some way. Now in this story we have someone who holds…

"If people listen to rap music enough, they start to emulate the language, treatment and other thought patterns being drilled into their brains (it's voluntary brainwash/ thought programming really)."

You made me login to say answer to this.

No we don't and that's a ridiculous statement. There's rappers who objectify women but that doesn't makes us more sexist than any other guy and you can't just generalize rap like that.

On related news, Battlefield and metal fans are starting to kill people because they can't like something and can't think for themselves.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#344

Post by RobAley »

smegel wrote: post #333
redacted wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this was reddit, that'd be called 'karmawhoring' - posting comments that play to the crowd while being tangentially related to the story, in order to get a big pile of internet points.

I get that juvenile Redditors find pictures of cats amusing - I find it less easy to grasp why a technical hacker/start up community is less interested in the technical/business aspects of a major tech deal than the somewhat unsurprising revelation that a famous rap artist said mean things about women (many years ago from what I [now unfortunately] understand).

Because we are a (generally) well educated, grown-up, empathetic community who realise that hacking/start-ups are great, but not the be-all and end-all of life, and that some things are important to stand up for/against even when only tangentially related to the topic at hand.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#345

Post by chondos »

asantos3 wrote: post #343
chondos wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has learned to control his public image sure, but most of his lyrics of music that he has written, performed, and produced (even presently) seems very much misogynistic. Look, we've got stories all over about the #YesAllWomen phenomenon on twitter currently. All the women asking for equality and stating that they have been sexually harassed/abused/assaulted in some way. Now in this story we have someone who holds…

"If people listen to rap music enough, they start to emulate the language, treatment and other thought patterns being drilled into their brains (it's voluntary brainwash/ thought programming really)." You made me login to say answer to this. No we don't and that's a ridiculous statement. There's rappers who objectify women but that doesn't makes us more sexist than any other guy and you can't just generalize rap like…

>You made me login to say answer to this.

I am not sure why anyone would say something like this, everyone has to be logged in to post or respond. Are you trying to be threatening? or thinking that saying this would put extra emphasis or momentum behind whatever you said next? I feel it does just the opposite (just an FYI and my opinion of course).

>No we don't and that's a ridiculous statement. There's rappers who objectify women but that doesn't makes us more sexist than any other guy and you can't just generalize rap like that.

On related news, Battlefield and metal fans are starting to kill people because they can't like something and can't think for themselves

Sure, and kids raised by sexist men are no more likely to be sexist right? hearing sexist things over and over and over by someone they respect could never form neuro-pathways in the brain which change thought patterns could it? In other news, the advertising industry has gone broke because no advertisements ever persuade people to think they need overpriced brand-name products to be happy or feel confident.

Comparing someone thinking less of women with someone who starts killing people? Now there are two similar things to compare...

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#346

Post by chondos »

depr wrote: post #337
chondos wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He has learned to control his public image sure, but most of his lyrics of music that he has written, performed, and produced (even presently) seems very much misogynistic. Look, we've got stories all over about the #YesAllWomen phenomenon on twitter currently. All the women asking for equality and stating that they have been sexually harassed/abused/assaulted in some way. Now in this story we have someone who holds…

"If people listen to rap music enough, they start to emulate the language, treatment and other thought patterns being drilled into their brains (it's voluntary brainwash/ thought programming really)." If young people play shooter video games, they become killers!

Comparing someone thinking less of women with someone who starts killing people? Now there are two similar things to compare (great example of two similar things)...

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#347

Post by macavity23 »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #104
espitia wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hip hop is his origin, therefore he is the first hip hop millionaire. Kind of like saying I'm the first billionaire from insert city .

Yeh I get that, but it's a music genre. It's like a web developer winning the lottery and being called the first Javascript millionaire. :) /s Sorry I totally get what you mean it just irks me for some reason and I can't help but comment regardless of the down votes.

Hip-Hop, love it or hate it, is a lot more than a music genre. It's an entire subculture that includes a significant proportion of the population, particularly the young.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#348

Post by bripeace »

Corrado wrote: post #327
nnnnni wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope that you're onto something there -- the headphones are awful!

Are all of their headphone models awful or just the lower end models? I know that most of the reviews I've heard are of the lower end models and they are pretty much universally panned as a fashion accessory. However, the high end Beats headphones seem to be pretty good; well built with a flat response curve.

problem with that is there are a ton of high quality headphones with a flat response curve with more reputable branding.

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#349

Post by aaronem »

arrrg wrote: post #271
forgottenpass wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dre doesn't get hounded because he doesn't pay lip service and apologize for who he is. For a quick explanation of the sociology at work see: http://partialobjects.com/2011/06/why-is-tracy-morgan-in-tro... I'm not saying I like this, I'm saying this is the interpretation that seems to make the most sense.

That disgusting bullshit. Why is linking to something like that acceptable?

Why shouldn't it be?

Re: Apple Confirms Its $3 Billion Deal for Beats Electronics

#350

Post by sirdogealot »

chondos wrote: post #317
sirdogealot wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing I feel the need to address, as does N.W.A. in many of their songs... Bitches != All Women (when it comes to oldeschool rap lyrics at least) A "bitch" in ebonics/early-hardcore-rap is a scandalous/hated woman for well known reasons. Like the local gold digger or crack whore which was very prevalent in their societies which they strongly felt the need to address. They're not referring to all women as being bi…

Well OK then, lets just ignore all the rest of the disgusting and derogatory things that N.W.A. state about women. Not just Dre when he was in N.W.A, but in material since then that he has authored and produced. This isn't something that happened and stopped 20 years ago. This is who he is. Do you seriously think someone is going to listen to this garbage for an hour each day and then go into society and be polite an…

>Do you seriously think someone is going to listen to this garbage for an hour each day and then go into society and be polite and respectful to women?

Absolutely. That "someone" you mentioned is me.

>I don't understand people. You think watching porn regularly doesn't affect how you think sex should be (and what you expect from it)? ....... etc .... etc ....

What are you talking about?

>Why is this all a big deal? well here on HN, equality comes up quite often. Women's right to be treated equal, to be free from sexual harassment, and from being treated as inferiors. Do you think Dre's influence in years past and presently has helped women's equality or hurt it? I think the answer is quite obvious.

I really couldn't care any less, I was only commenting on the fact that "Bitches" in an N.W.A. song is not referring to all women in general.

>If you are female, can you imagine being his co-worker, or admin assistant at Apple? How uncomfortable would that be?

I can literally think of 10+ females that I know who would jump at the chance to work alongside Dr. Dre for FREE.

Even after calling them Bitches on stage, he experienced no shortage of women trying to sleep with him after every show he performed.

Try listening to some N.W.A. sometime, you never know, you just might like it!

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