The Historic Apple & Microsoft Deal of 1997

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• 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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