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Originally Posted by wizwor
Businesses do not spend money on symbolic gestures.
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Of course they do. PR departments, charitable donations, lawsuits, patent claims, new products (Chevy Volt), discontinuing partnerships or sales, all those types of things have as much to do with image as with earning more income.
However, that's not how I characterized it. My point is they did it to block their competitors from getting their hooks into B&N.
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Originally Posted by wizwor
Businesses do not randomly buy and sell companies.
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I didn't say it was a random act. I said it's a calculated competitive move.
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Originally Posted by wizwor
Businesses -- the successful ones, at least -- have a plan to get from one place to another. Microsoft is evolving whether you like it or not. Buckle up -- it's going to be a wild ride.
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Or not.
Recall the MSN Music Store and PlaysForSure; recall the "is the Zune an iPod killer?" hype. Think of how many billions of dollars MS had to throw at the XBox. MS is a tough competitor, but hasn't shown much aptitude with content. (Fortunately B&N has that experience, so as I pointed out, this could very well work.)
Again, look at the sources of their profits. They don't make money from entertainment or online services, they make it from operating systems and Office. For MS, content is a way to tie people into the platform.
This isn't about Microsoft expecting to earn $1.2 billion off of a 17% stake in the Nook or wowing the entertainment sector. It's about making sure Google or someone else doesn't snap up or partner with the Nook, and making sure that Apple and Amazon have another competitor with deep pockets.