[TheOtherHobbes]

They still can't fix their software. (Drag and drop is intermittently borkened in El Capitan.)

And besides - what are they going to do with all that money?

At some point the actual size of the cash pile becomes an irrelevance - unless they're buying countries, secretly trying to set up a private army that could take on all the world's superpowers at the same time, or running a combined FTL/anti-gravity research lab.

[cryptoz]

> And besides - what are they going to do with all that money?

The consensus seems to be that they will enter larger markets, like automobiles. Cars cost billions to research and develop and are therefore a difficult and expensive market to enter. If Apple does enter and dominate this market, that would cost them a huge amount of their cash store but would open up additional revenue streams similar or greater than they currently enjoy.

[alwillis]

Cars cost billions to research and develop and are therefore a difficult and expensive market to enter.

There's no market that Apple might enter that won't cost billions in research and development. How many billions have been invested already in iPhone, iPad and Mac product cycles?

If Apple does enter and dominate this market, that would cost them a huge amount of their cash store but would open up additional revenue streams similar or greater than they currently enjoy.

The development of the Apple car is being paid out of the R & D budget. Further, even with the tons of cash on hand, Apple has been active in bond markets around the world, since interest rates are near all-time lows. According to the conference call, Apple has borrowed around $56 billion, which they could easily fund all kinds of stuff, including the car.

[alwillis]

Here's some evidence: "Apple R&D spending hit $8.1B in 2015, suggests continued work on massive project" http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/10/28/apple-rd-spending-...

[nickbauman]

Apple Pacemakers. Apple Aerospace. Apple Commercial Jumbo Jets. Apple Aircraft Carriers.

[nickbauman]

World class software requires a certain amount of money. But increasing the talent and will for better software is not a problem you can just throw more money at to solve. The number of people who can write software at Apple's level is finite, and you can't just buy your way into owning all of them.