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> they answer their own question at the end They do? Where?
by raldi 8y ago
> they answer their own question at the end
They do? Where?
- JustSomeNobody 8y ago> There's also an ongoing lawsuit to consider -- as Ars Technica documented in 2013, Apple was forced to majorly change how FaceTime works to avoid infringing on the patents of a company called VirnetX. Instead of letting phones communicate directly with each other, Apple added "relay servers" to help the phones connect. > Presumably, someone would have to pay for those servers, and/or figure out a way for them to talk to Google or Microsoft or other third-party servers if FaceTime were going to be truly open.
- raldi 8y agoI don't see why the patents made an open standard impossible, or even relatively difficult.
- duskwuff 8y agoThe patents covered parts of the technology which Apple planned to make an open standard. This would have left the standard patent-encumbered, making it hazardous to implement.
- dingaling 8y agoVirnetX is a listed company. Apple could simply buy them out from under the Board's feet and throw them in the dumpster and not even notice the cost.
- raldi 8y agoMarket cap: 202M
- cpmouter 8y agoApple makes that in what? Ten minutes? ;-)
- glenra 8y ago> Apple makes that in what? Ten minutes? ;-) About a day and a half. (that's based on 2017's $48 billion net income) So Apple almost certainly could afford to buy the company, but they'd need a business case for doing so, weighing that option against all the OTHER nice things they might want to spend $200 million on.
- code_duck 8y agoApple also has something like 250 billion in liquid assets.