Yet another Apple/Sun merger rumor (and CNN radio mic oopsy)

Time once again for IT Blogwatch, in which Sun/Apple merger rumors ride again. Not to mention why you should always turn off radio mics...

Here's our favorite curmudgeon, John C. Dvorak:

As soon as Google CEO Eric Schmidt was named to the board of directors at Apple some mild speculation ensued suggesting that he'd eventually become CEO of Apple. After all, Schmidt, unlike many other high-profile CEOs, is not one to join every board that has an opening.
In fact Schmidt may have been brought in as the set-up pitcher for what may finally be the often rumored merger ... Schmidt would quietly be Sun's inside man on the negotiations although technically he's be a neutral party since he doesn't actually work for Sun.
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Of course, speculation about a Sun-Apple deal has gone on for the last 20 years. On any given Sunday one of the companies was on the verge of buying the other depending on how the stock prices skewed. As of this writing the two stock prices have never been more skewed, making the deal attractive to Apple.
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With Eric Schmidt in the game as a middleman it's quite possible that he could take the reins of such a combined operation and make it work.
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And the big change in Steve Jobs has to be noted. In doing the deal to merge Pixar with Disney, thus making him the top Disney shareholder, Jobs may have gotten the M&A itch. Could he do a big deal again?

Richard Koman asks what it means:

My initial take ... was that Apple needed someone of Schmidt's stature as a potential CEO successor to Jobs ... Enter John Dvorak with the kicker ... The way Dvorak sees it, Sun's server genius, Andreas von Bechtolsheim, a good friend of Schmidt's, may actually be behind the move ... But Sun no longer has the marketing muscle of the glorious old days. Sun would get Apple's ad budget and Apple would get ... serious servers. But does Apple still seriously care about the server market?

But Dan Farber calls it, "Boolean pretzel logic":

As the summer winds down, the hot breezes in Silicon Valley whisper all kinds of intriguing scenarios into the ears of pundits like John Dvorak ... Now Schmidt has an Apple board seat. Is his next play to create or run Snapple as Dvorak suggests? That would be up to Steve Jobs, and you have to ask why he would want to take on Sun as his next project. The two companies share an R&D passion, but it's difficult to imagine Jobs focusing his attention on Sun and infrastructure versus, say, Disney, where he reigns as the largest shareholder, and Apple at the center of digital lifestyles.

Silicon Valley Sleuth:

Other Apple directors include former vice president Al Gore, Intuit chief executive Bill Campbell, biotech powerhouse Genentech's Arthur Levinson and J Crew's Millard Drexler. Yet nobody is speculating that Al Gore's position indicates that Steve Jobs is running for president. Intuit got big making book keeping software, but where are the rumours about the Apple Books application? J Crew must signal Apple's Steve Jobs clothing line of turtlenecks and blue jeans. And let's not even get into the obivousness of Genentech helping Jobs to clone himself.

Shelley Powers:

If this does occur, I wouldn’t expect the customers to benefit. All three companies are SillyValley-based (a strike against in my book), indifferent to freedom of speech and protection against censorship if it impacts their bottom line, and arrogant to boot. Three wrongs won’t make a right.

Dana Gardner foresees a carve-up:

Perhaps the bargain is something along the lines that Apple will cede to Google more of the online services world — including the hosting and creation of blogs, websites, business marketing and sales initiatives around ads/search, and productivity apps — and then Google cedes to Apple the music and video sales, as well as the creation of the ecology of controlled content delivered to the mobile-connected iPod/cell phone. And they both then luxuriate in the delivery and monetization of ads/search, rich content, online services, and mobile commerce services to the end users — on Macs or iPods.

Mike Barton:

Whoa! What gives? ... I was looking for some more tradional speculation that Microsoft was in trouble because of the Schmidt move. There's plenty of that.

Valleywag's Nick Douglas:

As with Dvorak's best ideas, it's so crazy it just might work. For one, Schmidt doesn't need to do much day-to-day work at Google, thanks to hands-on management from co-presidents Larry and Sergey. Speaking of Larry and Sergey, Schmidt's Google experience gave him a refresher course on managing a partnership of two dynamic, demanding personalities. Compare Apple's Steve Jobs to Sergey and Sun's Jon Schwartz to Larry, and Schmidt already has the Cliff Notes for this deal. Finally, Schmidt knows Sun. He spent years there, rising to the post of Chief Technology Officer. The chance to jump back in the fray would be a great change from babysitting a pair of billionaires while they pimp out their jet. If Eric's really ready for action, he'll push the Apple board closer to that long-awaited merger.

Buffer overflow:

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And finally... CNN's Kyra Phillips forgets to turn off her mic in the bathroom

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.