What's a billion dollars in the tech world?

Well, it's the price AOL has just paid for teenybopper social networking website Bebo. It's also roughly the amount of the financial hit Toshiba is taking as a result of it throwing in the towel on HD-DVD technology.
It's also the value of the 23 million shares Dutch electronics maker Philips sold this week as it watered down its stake in LG Display Co., the formerly 50-50 LCD screen-making joint venture it has with Korean electronics giant LG.
$1 billion, it was revealed in court papers this week, is also the amount Nokia has paid mobile phone chip-maker Qualcomm over the last 15 years for access to its patented technology. The two companies "have more than a dozen legal fights pending on three continents." Imagine the legal fees that stoush will rack up.
And the revenue Disney expects to reap from its online operations this year? A hefty $1 billion.
"Disney's online revenue came from advertising during its ABC network hits such as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" that are rerun on ABC.com; ads on sites such as ESPN.com; subscriptions to online games; downloads of movies and music; and e-commerce that is not related to its theme parks," reports Associated Press.
And $1 billion is what IBM will spend over the next three years to take on Microsoft in the unified communications space.
IDC predicts the market for unified communications, which merges VoIP, messaging and collaborative tools on one platform, will be worth US$17 billion by 2011. AT&T will spend $1 billion to expand its network internationally, though it's unclear just how much, if any, will be ploughed into New Zealand or the cables connecting us to the world.
"AT&T don't provide regional $$ breakdowns of their investment plans," I was told by a spokesman.
And finally, $1 billion is the potential value of a research and development fund the Government will introduce to stimulate innovation in the primary sector once interest is earned on the $700 million in capital injected into it.
Bizarrely, National said this week it would scrap the fund if it got into power. That seems like sour grapes, it's the type of thing National probably wishes it had put on the table itself. Money alone isn't a magic bullet to save our faltering innovation economy but it will go a long way to keeping good talent here and kicking off research projects that will have significant return on investment.
So a billion dollars seems to be a nice, round figure the tech industry can relate to this week, but depending on your point of view, it's either a fortune or spare change.
Apple stores a plenty - but not here
It seems Apple is to open three of its concept stores in Australia this year - two in Sydney, one in Chadstone, Victoria.
No word on any store openings here - Apple is yet to respond to my enquiry about whether a retail store is in the works for New Zealand. Apple is undertaking an aggressive expansion of its retail chain this year and for good reason.
I've been into Apple stores all over the world and they are always doing rapid business. I'm sure a store in the CBD of Auckland, or Newmarket would likewise, be a goldmine for the company. The Apple stores also offer a nice environment to play around with new technology and surf the web for free. Hopefully the business case for at least one New Zealand store will stack up in 2008.