On: Y Combinator’s ReMail Finally Brings Full-Text Email Search To The iPhone

[msie]

Or Apple could choose to buy them.

[pclark → msie]

Apple hasn't had the best track record of acquisition over internal innovation thought. There was coverflow and a few others sure, but lots weren't acquired...

remember Konfabulator?

[jfarmer → pclark]

iTunes itself was built around technology acquired from another company, IIRC.

[raganwald → jfarmer]

An entertaining anecdote about iTunes from a competitor's point of view:

http://www.panic.com/extras/audionstory/

[wallflower → raganwald]

Entertaining anecdote? Panic's Audion story is incredible. Read it!

[tlrobinson → jfarmer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundJam_MP

[gaborcselle → pclark]

Wasn't Konfabulator acquired by Yahoo, not Apple? Also, I thought it was a Windows app ...

[zimbabwe → gaborcselle]

That was his point. Apple could have bought them for their widgets, but they developed their own new system.

[pclark → gaborcselle]

they were acquired by Yahoo way after the OS X Dashboard stuff. And it was cross platform.

[ankhmoop → msie]

Apple already has quite a bit of experience with full-text e-mail search, not to mention running Mobile Me's mail servers.

What would be the upside?

[msie → ankhmoop]

This would be one problem that they could throw money at and it might have a positive effect. :) If they operate it as a mostly separate company then they could have a branch that could innovate rapidly and also not disrupt any existing teams/culture inside the organization.