"1. Admit it. You're out of the hardware game. Outsource your hardware production, or scrap it entirely, to compete more directly with Microsoft without the liability of manufacturing boxes."
Good thing they didn't 'admit it'.
Good thing they didn't 'admit it'.
Good thing they didn't 'admit it'.
Isn't this essentially what they've done with Foxconn and the other China-based producers they work with?
Disagree. Apple had half-tried and experimented doing this with the "official" clones programme, e.g. Power computing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_clone#Official_Macint...
In hindsight, it obviously isn't that simple- there's room for both models in the industry, and each has its own set of risks, rewards, strengths, and weaknesses, all of which are constantly changing as the industry evolves. But yeah, that particular item isn't telling Apple to outsource assembly and components, it's telling Apple to stop even thinking about hardware and to try to become Microsoft circa 1997.
Ironic that Microsoft is now trying to become like Apple circa 2014. Then there is Google who has commoditized software in favor of services.