HP Is The Big Loser With The Apple/Beats Acquisition ... But Not Until 2015

Yes, Apple confirmed that it's buying Beats for $3 billion. The deal is part tech land grab (for Beats audio  and its subscription service) and part acquihire, Tim Cook revealed on stage at the Re/code conference on Wednesday. But there's one little thing that Cook didn't mention. This deal also lets Apple put the squeeze on one of its major rivals, one of the world's biggest makers of Windows PCs, Hewlett-Packard. Beats is one of HP's partners and its music tech is included in about 15 to 20 ...