What should Apple do with twelve BEEEL-lion dollars?

Bugatti Veyrons for everyone!

Buy Live365.com and integrate Internet radio into iTunes, GarageBand, Apple TV, and the iPhone.

AutoCad is the reason a 24" iMac is not sitting on my desk right now. Simple as that.

I know a few designers/architects that use only macs and they use Microspot MacDraft or IMSI TurboCAD, but they all say that AutoCad seperior enough to justify switching back to Windows.

Conclusion? Make the mac THE platform of creative people, buy AutoDesk, and make a OS X version of it!

Second the Adobe. They might only be able to get 51 percent with 12 B--isn't the market cap about 20 billion for Adobe? But enough of this "15 months-to-develop-Intel-native-versions" crap!

I like the VC idea, but I want to see Apple part with some cash and pick up some smart acquisitions, such as:

1. TiVo. $400 million tops. Even better, share the acquisition with Google and thus cut the stock accumulation expense nearly in half. Let Google use the TiVo aggregate data for AdSense. All the other reasoning is included in the hundred or so postings I've done on here (and on PVRWire) as to why this is a good acquisition.

2. Atari (aka InfoGrames USA). This is a good investment for many reasons. First, it is a big game publisher, and the OS X platform needs games and a publisher committed to at least releasing games for it. Second, the classic Atari arcade titles are perfect content for the AppleTV and the iPod/iPhone. Third, the "Atari" brand could be used to launch a division that makes OS X computers but meant for gamers. This division could become the AlienWare and FalconNorthwest of the OS X platform.

3. Midway Games. Midway Games owns 50% of the Atari legacy since they took over what was formerly known as the Atari Games Corp, which was the original Atari arcade division and owner of the rights to all the arcade games that bore the name "Atari" (or "Atari Games") post June 1984. This acquisition strengthens the previously mentioned one, not to mention includes a major gaming publisher as well. Thus Apple would own two big publishers which again could help out the OS X platform.

4. Creative. Just buy them up and break them up into pieces. Now that Apple Inc. and Apple Records have settled, the Mac platform can benefit by having beefier audio system chipsets included. Apple could also take control of EAX and the Aureal A3D techniques and intellectual property and integrate them into OS X. Aside from the Soundblaster division, the rest of Creative could be split up and sold off. If Creative still owns 20% of THX, it could be sold off to Pixar. Cambridge Soundworks could be sold off to Harmon Kardon, Polk, Kliptsch (sic), Bose, or any other audio company. Etc. etc. etc.

Related to VC:

Invest more in OpenGL and get that platform up to parr with Microsoft's DirectX. Apple and Sony should look into better funding this if either party hopes to nullify Microsoft long-term.

Save the cash.

An Edsel prediction.... In the year 2015, AAPL buys MSFT.

#6 -- it's not a profit, it's cash on hand (accumulated over >1 year)

Dividend: well, split up that $12B over the nearly 900M outstanding shares and it's about $14 per share... not that much. Interestingly, though, it implies an operational valuation for AAPL at about $68-74 per share -- that's the value of the actual business, as opposed to the value per share of the cash. Subtract fixed assets like real estate, buildings, equipment etc. and the valuation goes down more.

How about a stock dividend? ;)

Buy Sun
Buy Elgato
Buy NetFlix
Buy Tivo
I like the software VC idea as well.
Nick, you'll have your new Finder soon enough.

spend 6 billion developing a p.o.c. operating system