Linked List: May 30, 2014

Friday, 30 May 2014

Breakdown on the Beats Acquisition: $2.5 Billion for Electronics, $500 Million for Music ★

The WSJ:

Apple Inc. is paying slightly less than $500 million for the Beats Music streaming service, and more than $2.5 billion for Beats Electronics in its $3 billion deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

The breakdown between the two portions of Beats Electronics LLC offers insight into Apple’s thinking for the most expensive acquisition in its history.

A person familiar with Beats said its 2013 sales totaled close to $1.3 billion — all from the electronics unit that sells headphones and other audio gear — and the company was profitable. Beats launched its streaming-music service in January.

Steve Ballmer to Buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 Billion ★

ESPN:

Shelly Sterling announced late Thursday night that she has signed an agreement to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.

A source close to the situation told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that Sterling and Ballmer signed the final papers of the sale shortly before midnight at the offices of her Los Angeles-based attorneys. Sterling announced she was acting under her authority as the sole trustee of the Sterling family trust, which owns the Clippers.

Ballmer’s $2 billion bid beat a $1.6 billion bid from a group with some familiar names:

Geffen’s group also included Oracle CEO Larry Ellison; Oprah Winfrey; Guggenheim executives Todd Boehly and Mark Walter; Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Jobs; Steve Wynn’s ex-wife, Elaine Wynn; and Beats by Dre co-founder Jimmy Iovine.

Ballmer should make for a great sports owner. He’s got plenty of money and a passion for winning.

Engadget: ‘Samsung Is Working With Oculus on a Media-Focused VR Headset’ ★

Ben Gilbert, writing for Engadget:

Last week we told you about Samsung’s unannounced virtual reality headset: a peripheral that enables VR interaction for flagship phones from the world’s largest phone manufacturer. This week we’ve got far more details. First things first, Samsung’s headset is the fruit of a collaboration with Oculus VR, the Facebook-owned virtual reality startup that both literally and figuratively kickstarted the current wave of VR products.

Oculus is handling the software side of the product, while Samsung handles the hardware. The deal is a swap: Oculus gives Samsung early access to its mobile software development kit and helps develop user interface software, while Samsung gives Oculus early access to its next-gen OLED screens. And yes, Oculus is still making its own, gaming-focused, PC-based virtual reality headset; that’s why it needs next-gen, high-pixel-density OLED screens from Samsung. Join us below for new details about the device itself, as well as more on the unlikely partnership between two tech giants.

Now this seems interesting.

Robin Jasmer’s iPhone Photography ★

From his 500px about page:

I am French and live in Denmark. I take pictures with my iPhone 5 and edit them with photoshop express app on the iPhone. I don’t use a Mac or PC to edit my pictures. I do it as a hobby and amateur, during my free time. I started about a year ago and I enjoy it a lot.

Lost amidst all the talk of “phones” is the fact that Apple has become one of the leading camera companies in the world. It’s a new ballgame when your camera itself serves as your editing device.