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Originally Posted by jcroft
That whole thing was made WAY too big a deal of, anyway. Jobs bribed Gates into buying the stock (and into continuing to make Office for Mac) in exchange for Jobs not going back to court with Microsoft over trademark infringment. $150 million was small change to Apple, which was about an $11 Billion company at the time. And, of course, it was VERY small change to Gates and MS. The media painted it as if Gates swooped in and saved Apple from the brink of extinction, or something. If I had a penny for every time someone has said Apple was on their detah bed...
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Yeah, Jobs out-played Gates.
The move buy Gates was PURELY business. At the same time it happened they announce Mac Office. Boom, M$ profits. Then they dump a boat load of cash in to Apple, and Apple begins a fast upsurge in sales.
All of a sudden, this VERY small change amounts to HUGE DOLLARS in the M$ monopoly court case because they once again have a thriving competitor and simply get slapped with fines rather than being split up.
I'm not saying Apple was on its death bead, or even close, but to say M$ didn't make out like gang-busters is incorrect. To deny the success brought about by the "collaboration" efforts (Jobs plans, Gates $$$), is to seriously overestimate where Apple was at the time.