The Mac world turned upside down on August 6, 1997, when shocked attendees at a Boston Steve Jobs keynote speech suddenly saw the visage of Microsoft head honcho Bill Gates staring down at them from a video screen. It is also interesting to see where the two companies are at now because of this move.
Gates revealed his company had made a $150 million investment in Apple, an investment that helped secure the future of the once ailing computer firm. In exchange for the cash and a five-year commitment to support Office on the Mac, Apple agreed to drop a long-running lawsuit in which it alleged Microsoft copied the look and feel of the Mac OS for Windows and to make Internet Explorer the default browser on its computers.
Shocked gasps came from the Apple faithful, with Jobs saying, "We have to let go of a few notions here. We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft needs to lose."
Yeah, I remember that. That was a big day. Big in a good and bad sense as well. But I think it was very interesting, and after all we should all remember, that it was Microsoft in the end of the day, who saved Apple...
Microsoft didn't save Apple. It let Apple live. Apple ended up saving itself. I'm sure Microsoft had a gun to Apple's head and didn't pull the trigger the way they had with many other competitors. I'm sure they regret the move now.
I believe it was Apple that had the gun via a font patent infringement (TrueType fonts) that would have cost MSFT a gigantic bundle to deal with.
Apple wanted to calm irrational fears, which lead to the deal of $150M investment + Office dev for Mac for the next 5 years. Look back, $150M in restricted stock was a pretty tiny chunk compared to the outstanding common stock.
That said, the continued development of Office gave customers the confidence to keep buying Apple products because they could read their Word documents from work on their home computers.
But it was Apple first - that let microsoft live by coping its stuff in the 1980"s and by the way Apple had over a billion dollars cash in 1997. microsoft helped out by not just giving money but by buying stocks Apple was hoping it would increase investors interest. Bottom line....
i used my mac to open it in a new tab, and it opened the 9to5mac.com website in a new tab, but in the original tab it starts playing, theyve accidently put a link over it.
This whole story of Microsoft "saving" Apple is a myth. At least look stuff up before you post it.
Yes MS gave them $150 million. No, this did not in any way "save" the company. It was a token and fairly small investment. They needed a lot more than this and they got it through other means.
This is like saying you met a homeless guy on the street and gave him a hundred bucks and even though he won the lotto the next day, it was your hundred bucks that "saved" him.
IMHO, there were really two big stories that day, and neither one had anything to do with $150 million.
1) Apple needed Microsoft to keep making Office for the Mac. As much as I hate Office, they needed it as a selling point to switchers. My latest iMac has been "Microsoft Free" since I purchased it, and I haven't missed it. iWork does a very good job of converting most Office Docs. Back then, however, Appleworks was not a suitable substitution for Office.
2) Microsoft needed Apple to simply exist. Microsoft was (still is) involved in huge anti-trust lawsuits claiming they are a monopoly. Without Apple, those claims would be much easier to prove (and more true).
Steve Jobs is one of the smartest businessmen in the world. He knew exactly what the reaction would be to this announcement down to the similarity of Bill's appearance to the 1984 commercial.
Even though it didn't seem it at the time, Apple won a huge victory that day. Microsoft would have gone on with or without Apple, but Apple may not have hung on without MS Office.
About your story theory (2):
This was the real big deal. Apple at that point forged it's "underdog" status out of raw steel... that narrative still plays for the apple faithful today.
Steve Jobs is a genius especially when it comes to presentations.
I still remember watching "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" ... pretty enlightening, esp. since I went to the same HS as SJ and SW.
Actually, I was there at the time and while it was a long time ago, I think the only detail you got right was the date.
Apple did need Microsoft.
They needed them to not steal QT code which was found in a disassembly of WMP.
In order to keep this matter from blowing up in MS's face in court, they agreed to publicly commit to Apple further development of Office, some large undisclosed payments over a few years, buy 150m of common stock and try to develop some sort of synergy between Apple and MS.
Actually, I was there at the time and while it was a long time ago, I think the only detail you got right was the date.
Apple did need Microsoft.
They needed them to not steal QT code which was found in a disassembly of WMP.
In order to keep this matter from blowing up in MS's face in court, they agreed to publicly commit to Apple further development of Office, some large undisclosed payments over a few years, buy 150m of common stock and try to develop some sort of synergy between Apple and MS.
Please. They helped. $150,000,000 might be an important step, but it was an agreement to continue to support Office for five years that made a bigger difference. They got paid back shortly on the investment (which was non-voting stock).
Office made them too much money to call it "saving Apple." They did it because it made them lots of money.
Thanks Microsoft. Now, you want to wrap up some cake to take home?
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 8:24am — Patrick McGraw (not verified)
2426
Check your facts at roughlydrafted.com
This token investment was part of settling millions of dollars worth of patent disputes, not the least of which was trying to STEAL QUICKTIME. It was also the most memorable part of "promising Office support for five years". And as Apple stock rose through the roof and split shortly thereafter, MS made quite a pile on this investment.
One more crack like this and I'm never hitting your page again. Sorry man.
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 12:25pm — LE Studios (not verified)
2722
Technically Apple with Boot Camp running Windows XP SP or later, Vista and Windows 7 plus Office for PC running on Boot Camp. Then Mac side Office. people want top buy Mac but still tangible to Windows and other PC apps.
The last two minutes of the video are the best - whether you believe it or not - this is how I see Apple, this is how I see myself and this is why I am proud to be a Mac Geek! (But thank god Internet Explorer died on the Mac - can you imagine life without Safari?)
But it was Apple first - that let microsoft live by coping its stuff in the 1980"s and by the way Apple had over a billion dollars cash in 1997. microsoft helped out by not just giving money but by buying stocks Apple was hoping it would increase investors interest. Bottom line....
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Big day
Yeah, I remember that. That was a big day. Big in a good and bad sense as well. But I think it was very interesting, and after all we should all remember, that it was Microsoft in the end of the day, who saved Apple...
Microsoft didn't save Apple.
Microsoft didn't save Apple. It let Apple live. Apple ended up saving itself. I'm sure Microsoft had a gun to Apple's head and didn't pull the trigger the way they had with many other competitors. I'm sure they regret the move now.
As I recall..
I believe it was Apple that had the gun via a font patent infringement (TrueType fonts) that would have cost MSFT a gigantic bundle to deal with.
Apple wanted to calm irrational fears, which lead to the deal of $150M investment + Office dev for Mac for the next 5 years. Look back, $150M in restricted stock was a pretty tiny chunk compared to the outstanding common stock.
That said, the continued development of Office gave customers the confidence to keep buying Apple products because they could read their Word documents from work on their home computers.
well...
But it was Apple first - that let microsoft live by coping its stuff in the 1980"s and by the way Apple had over a billion dollars cash in 1997. microsoft helped out by not just giving money but by buying stocks Apple was hoping it would increase investors interest. Bottom line....
"An error occurred, please
"An error occurred, please try again later".
Hey do you have a problem,
Hey do you have a problem, caller? Is it the YouTube clip not working? If so, where in the world are you as it works fine here??
I'm in ireland. "An Error
I'm in ireland.
"An Error occurred, please try again later" *page refreshes*
I'm in Germany. Doesn't work,
I'm in Germany. Doesn't work, however you could just right click and choose to watch in YouTube. But who wants to do so much. Eh.
i used my mac to open it in a
i used my mac to open it in a new tab, and it opened the 9to5mac.com website in a new tab, but in the original tab it starts playing, theyve accidently put a link over it.
How much did that make them?
So, how much is their investment worth nowadays - did they make money on their $150 million?
Myth!
This whole story of Microsoft "saving" Apple is a myth. At least look stuff up before you post it.
Yes MS gave them $150 million. No, this did not in any way "save" the company. It was a token and fairly small investment. They needed a lot more than this and they got it through other means.
This is like saying you met a homeless guy on the street and gave him a hundred bucks and even though he won the lotto the next day, it was your hundred bucks that "saved" him.
great argument!
great argument!
what money did he use to buy
what money did he use to buy the lotto ticket?
very nice
very nice
Office
IMHO, there were really two big stories that day, and neither one had anything to do with $150 million.
1) Apple needed Microsoft to keep making Office for the Mac. As much as I hate Office, they needed it as a selling point to switchers. My latest iMac has been "Microsoft Free" since I purchased it, and I haven't missed it. iWork does a very good job of converting most Office Docs. Back then, however, Appleworks was not a suitable substitution for Office.
2) Microsoft needed Apple to simply exist. Microsoft was (still is) involved in huge anti-trust lawsuits claiming they are a monopoly. Without Apple, those claims would be much easier to prove (and more true).
Steve Jobs is one of the smartest businessmen in the world. He knew exactly what the reaction would be to this announcement down to the similarity of Bill's appearance to the 1984 commercial.
Even though it didn't seem it at the time, Apple won a huge victory that day. Microsoft would have gone on with or without Apple, but Apple may not have hung on without MS Office.
About your story theory
About your story theory (2):
This was the real big deal. Apple at that point forged it's "underdog" status out of raw steel... that narrative still plays for the apple faithful today.
Steve Jobs is a genius especially when it comes to presentations.
I still remember watching "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" ... pretty enlightening, esp. since I went to the same HS as SJ and SW.
You forgot internet explorer
You forgot internet explorer on every mac....
And it did help save apple
This mess of a blog
Actually, I was there at the time and while it was a long time ago, I think the only detail you got right was the date.
Apple did need Microsoft.
They needed them to not steal QT code which was found in a disassembly of WMP.
In order to keep this matter from blowing up in MS's face in court, they agreed to publicly commit to Apple further development of Office, some large undisclosed payments over a few years, buy 150m of common stock and try to develop some sort of synergy between Apple and MS.
It is all publicly available information now.
This mess of a blog
Actually, I was there at the time and while it was a long time ago, I think the only detail you got right was the date.
Apple did need Microsoft.
They needed them to not steal QT code which was found in a disassembly of WMP.
In order to keep this matter from blowing up in MS's face in court, they agreed to publicly commit to Apple further development of Office, some large undisclosed payments over a few years, buy 150m of common stock and try to develop some sort of synergy between Apple and MS.
It is all publicly available information now.
Please. They helped.
Please. They helped. $150,000,000 might be an important step, but it was an agreement to continue to support Office for five years that made a bigger difference. They got paid back shortly on the investment (which was non-voting stock).
Office made them too much money to call it "saving Apple." They did it because it made them lots of money.
Thanks Microsoft. Now, you want to wrap up some cake to take home?
YOU MUST BE JOKING RIGHT?
Check your facts at roughlydrafted.com
This token investment was part of settling millions of dollars worth of patent disputes, not the least of which was trying to STEAL QUICKTIME. It was also the most memorable part of "promising Office support for five years". And as Apple stock rose through the roof and split shortly thereafter, MS made quite a pile on this investment.
One more crack like this and I'm never hitting your page again. Sorry man.
--Mac SysAdmin since 1989
Cheer up, dude! He posted the
Cheer up, dude! He posted the video and had à little fun with it.
roughlydrafted.com is not
roughlydrafted.com is not really a place I'd recommend anyone ever go for facts. Hagiography and conspiracy theories are more their thing.
"Since We Beleive in Choice" (???)
at 2:53
"Since we believe in CHOICE" ...things have changed indeed, achem.. app store / iphone / DRM
Where's the choice now?
but....
Who will save Microsoft from itself
Technically Apple with Boot
Technically Apple with Boot Camp running Windows XP SP or later, Vista and Windows 7 plus Office for PC running on Boot Camp. Then Mac side Office. people want top buy Mac but still tangible to Windows and other PC apps.
the money quote here: from
the money quote here: from steve jobs "the era of setting this up as a competition between apple and microsoft is over, as far as i'm concerned"
fast forward.....
God Bless Steve
The last two minutes of the video are the best - whether you believe it or not - this is how I see Apple, this is how I see myself and this is why I am proud to be a Mac Geek! (But thank god Internet Explorer died on the Mac - can you imagine life without Safari?)
@stuart harcourt yes yes I
@stuart harcourt
yes yes I can
it's called firefox
True
But it was Apple first - that let microsoft live by coping its stuff in the 1980"s and by the way Apple had over a billion dollars cash in 1997. microsoft helped out by not just giving money but by buying stocks Apple was hoping it would increase investors interest. Bottom line....