So the whole point of this article is to get to his magical idea, that Apple should somehow hire all the screenwriters and be then be granted the streaming rights for all of their work? Just a tiny problem (well many problems, but this is the most glaring) in all that:
The companies who actually pay for and produce the movies, films, documentaries, etc would never agree to it.
There seems to be a lot of frustration about Apple not being able to finish negotiations with the US broadcast networks for some form of video streaming service.
This looks like Cringely's solution to the problem: just own the content at the source of creation and then the downwind problems will sort themselves out in Apple's favor.
My idea? Apple should purchase Dish Network/EchoStar and merge their satellite and Sling systems into the Apple ecosystem.
(You also get to own a fleet of deployed geosync satellites. That could be cool for other applications down the line).
That's hilarious. "Corner the market in screenwriters". As if Hollywood isn't better at fighting dirty in that kind of environment than most other businesses.
Trying to produce a vertically integrated lock-in based system where you can only watch the latest shows on a multi-thousand dollar computer is also going to go down very badly with the public.
They grew so big, they can now afford to sit at cruising altitude and release a few updates here and there.
If they're not growing to your liking, blame consumers for handing over all that cash year after year just for the Apple brand, and hopefully a useful product that turns on, turns off and all those other fancy things.
I found the idea to be startling in this context. However, the idea itself isn't all that crazy. I believe CAA (Creative Artist Agency) had done something similar to sell their bundled talent packages for movies. If I remember correctly they bought up a huge amount of screenplay rights and then bundled them with their own actors, directors, etc.
The main point of the article is for a noted tech industry observer (and one-time Apple employee) to say what he sees when he looks at Apple right now.
The magical idea is just a lark thrown in for amusement. Cringely often tosses out semi-crazy ideas as entertainment.
The companies who actually pay for and produce the movies, films, documentaries, etc would never agree to it.