The Historic Apple & Microsoft Deal of 1997

• Google Search:
• Apple Microsoft Deal 1997

I reckon Bill Gates was smart enough to know to not Kill the Competition, just Dominate them (at the time anyway).  Had Microsoft held onto their $150 Million investment of "non-voting shares" made in 1997, which basically saved Apple Inc. from extinction (they sold-out their stake by 2008)... In 2014 that investment would have translated into a total worth of $21.86 billion.  Not a bad return for that initial $150 million investment made just 17 years earlier.

Apple has made a huge comeback since that 1997 deal.  Continuing their style of unique & innovative design of very solid products.

Since the 2001 release of the Mac OS-X operating system, Apple has released a whole string of extremely popular tech products, including:

• iPod - 2001
• Mac Mini - 2005
• Change-Over to Intel CPU's - 2006
• Now you can run MS Windows on a Mac!
• iPhone - 2007
• iPad - 2010

For a more detailed timeline see my blog post:

A Few Computer Tech Milestones

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Microsoft. It’s complicated.

• This page at "EverySteveJobsVideo.com" is a synopsis of the business relationship between Steve Jobs & Bill Gates.  It is a relatively short read (with several embedded videos), and if you only read one page linked to in this post, this is probably the one to see.

The Microsoft Deal – Macworld Boston (1997)

• Start at time index 25:38 to see just the actual announcement.
• You will probably want to watch it from there to the end.
• This video shows about 37 minutes of the "Historic Keynote [address where] Steve Jobs announces a partnership with Microsoft and hinted to the Think Different campaign."
• This video also from "EverySteveJobsVideo.com".
• August 6, 1997
• Location: Bayside Expo & Executive Conference Center, Boston
• Steve was 42 years old.

Aug. 6, 1997: Apple Rescued — by Microsoft

• Wired.com - 2009-Aug-6
• A short yet interesting look back... a handy summary.
• Includes a 12 minute video clip of just the "Meaningful Partners" segment of that 1997 keynote address.

Stop the lies! The day that Microsoft 'saved' Apple

• ZD-Net - 2010-May-30
• A relatively short article targeting the "serious urban myth: that Microsoft "saved" Apple in the summer of 1997."
• Illustrates some of the gains Apple has made since that 1997 deal, including "Apple overtaking Microsoft in market capitalization" a week prior to the article's publication.

What ever became of Microsoft's $150 million investment in Apple?

• Engadget - 2014-May-20
• Short and sweet.
• Theorizes on the gains Microsoft could have made had they held onto their 1997 investment.

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A Few Computer Tech Milestones

A Few Computer Industry Milestones to Consider.

This list is heavily slanted toward Apple products, as they have driven the market in many ways.

Most of the links below go to Wikipedia pages.  A few do not.

The dates given mostly refer the actual market release of the product.

• 1976-Apr-11
• Apple I
• 1979-June
• Apple II Plus
• 1981-Aug-12
• IBM PC model 5150
• CPU = Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz
• 16-bit architecture
• RAM = 16 KB ~ 256 KB
• 1983-January
• Apple IIe
• CPU = MOS Technology 6502 @ 1 MHz to 2 MHz
• 8-bit architecture
• RAM = 64 KB (up to 1 MB)
• 1984-January
• Macintosh Computer
• Mac OS - "System 1" - GUI
• CPU = Motorola 68000 @ 7.8336 MHz
• 16/32-bit CISC architecture
• RAM = 128 KB
• 1985-Nov-20
• Windows 1.0 - GUI
• 16-bit architecture
• 1989
• CD-ROM - Optical Data Disk Standard
• Compact Disc - Read Only Memory
• Capacity = 194 MB (8 cm), 650–900 MB (12 cm)
• Read = 150 KB/s (1×), 10,800 KB/s (72×)
• 1990-May-22
• Windows 3.0
• 1991
• Linux OS
• Free and Open-Source Software
• A Unix-like OS
• 1992
• PowerPC CPU
• A product of the Apple-IBM-Motorola (AIM) alliance.
• RISC Design
• 32-bit/64-bit architecture (32 → 64)
• 1995
• DVD - Optical Data Disk Standard
• Digital Video / Versatile Disk
• Capacity Start = 4.7 GB (single-sided, single-layer – common)
• Read = 10.5 Mbit/s (1×)
• 1995-August
• Windows 95
• CPU = Intel 80386 @ 12 to 40 MHz
• 32-bit architecture
• 1997
• USB 1.0
• Universal Serial Bus
• 1.5 Mbit/s to 12 Mbit/s data rates
• USB Connector Types
• 1997-January
• Mac OS 7.6
• A major transition in the Mac OS.
• First branding of the "Mac OS" name, dropping the use of "System x".
• 1997-August
• Apple Partners with Microsoft
• See my blog post:
• The Historic Apple & Microsoft Deal of 1997
• 1998-June
• Windows 98
• First truly stable release of the Microsoft "Multitasking" OS.
• 1998-Sep-4
• Google
• Mission Statement:
• "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful,"
• 2000-Mar-10
• Dot-Com Bubble Burst
• This date was the NASDAQ peak.
• The actual bubble was April-1997 - June-2003.
• Dot-Com Bubble Summary (Google Search)
• Article at MoneyCrashers.com
• NY Times - Opinion
• 2000-April
• USB 2.0
• 480 Mbit/s data rate
• USB Connector Types
• 2001-March
• Mac OS-X (10, pronounced "ex")
• 2001-October
• iPod
• 2002-December
• HDMI - Digital Audio/Video/Data Connector
• High-Definition Multimedia Interface
• HDMI Connectors
• 2005-January
• Mac Mini
• An extremely compact replacement for large "Desktop Boxes".
• Small Form Factor style Motherboard
• 2006-January
• Apple begins switch to Intel CPU's
• MacBook Pro ... and
• iMac ... "Core Duo" Line
• An "All-in-One" style computer.
• 2006-June
• Blu-ray - Optical Data Disk Standard
• Capacity = 25 GB (per-layer)
• 50 GB (dual-layer) is the video industry standard.
• HD (High Definition) Video
• 1080p resolution (1920×1080 pixels)
• HDTV
• 2007-January
• "Apple Inc." brand created
• Renamed from "Apple Computer, Inc.", originally incorporated on 3-Jan-1977.
• 2007-June
• iPhone
• 2008
• USB 3.0
• 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s) data rate
• USB Connector Types
• 2008-September
• Android OS
• Primarily by: Google
• Popular Smartphone and Tablet Computer OS
• Based on the Linux Kernel
• 2009-August
• Mac OS X v10.6 ... "Snow Leopard"
• Intel-only
• Ends support for the PowerPC architecture.
• 2009-October
• Unibody iMac
• 16:9 aspect ratio screen in 21.5" and 27" models.
• With the Intel CPU you can run both the Mac OS and Windows on this system!
• Not the 1st iMac to do this, but this was a front-runner marketing-wise.
• 2009-October
• Windows 7
• 2010
• iPad
• 2011-February
• Thunderbolt (interface)
• Dual-protocol I/O
• 10 Gbit/s per channel (20 Gbit/s total) data rate
• Mini DisplayPort
• Designer = Intel
• a.k.a. "Light Peak"... mostly used by Apple Inc.
• 2013-January
• USB 3.1
• 10 Gbit/s data rate
• USB Connector Types
• 2013-August
• Thunderbolt 2
• 20 Gbit/s aggregated channels (20 Gbit/s in total) data rate
• Mini DisplayPort
• 2015-16 ... due for release
• Thunderbolt 3
• 40 Gbit/s (5 GB/s) data rate
• USB Type-C

You may want to also consider viewing:

• Timeline of Apple Inc. Products
• List of iOS Devices
• Predecessors to the IBM PC
• History of the Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• History of Personal Computers
• The Soul of a New Machine - by: Tracy Kidder (Book)
• Pirates of Silicon Valley - 1999 (Movie)
• Some Additional Suggestions

Notes:

Software Advances drive the Hardware Market.

Mac OS and Windows 95 were both huge leaps forward in the GUI OS market, capitalizing on the 32-bit CPU chips (IC) of the time.  These OS releases would also set the stage for the rapid growth of the Personal Computing Industry Boom of the 1990's.

USB... Universal Serial Bus ... Greatly improved connectivity of "Peripheral Devices" such as printers, cameras, keyboards, etc....  Replaces serial and parallel ports.

Google has become a major force in the industry.  Developing both Software and Hardware products in a very innovative fashion.  They are a leader in "Cloud-Based" technologies.

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Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0

OK

Check out these articles

• Thunderbolt vs. USB 3.0: The Definitive Showdown
• Jan-2013
• USB vs Thunderbolt: Which is better?
• Jul-2014

For more...

• Google: Thunderbolt vs USB 3.0

Both are fast, but T-Bolt is basically 2x faster (or better).  This is the clear winner for super-fast Drives and amazing Video Connections, and beats simple Full HD HDMI by a decent margin (though HDMI v2.0 sports a 18 Gbit/s throughput).

USB is more common... and plenty fast in most cases... especially where high portability is needed (as in visiting another site with your data in your pocket).


Thunderbolt

• Bitrate - Thunderbolt v1
• 10 Gbit/s per channel (20 Gbit/s in total)
• Connector... 20-Pin
• Mini DisplayPort, USB Type-C (Thunderbolt v3)
• Dual-protocol I/O
• Designed by: Intel ... 2011
• Made Popular on Apple / Mac
• Hot Swap = Yes
• Daisy Chain... up to 6 devices
• Signals = Data, Video, Audio

For more on the Thunderbolt in a compact package... check out the Mac Mini.


USB 3.0

• Connector... 9-Pin
• Various Connector Types... including:
• Standard-A
• Standard-B
• Mini-A
• Mini-B
• Micro-A
• Micro-B
• I/O Bus ... Serial
• Designed by: Intel (and others)
• Introduced in 1996
• Popular on the PC and Mac Platforms
• Hot Swap = Yes
• Daisy Chain... up to 127 devices
• Though you may need some power boosters to go that high.
• Signals = Data, Video, Audio
• Pointers (Mouse / Trackball)
• Drives
• Cameras
• Printers
• Audio
• Network Adapters
• Game Consoles
• etc.

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