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25 Years Ago, Apple Acquired NeXT and Brought Back Steve Jobs
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Maybe his contributions directly to the company weren't great, but he recognized Steve and NeXT's value and brought them on board. It was a great move, credit where it's due.
True, you have to credit Gil Amelio for directing the then sinking Apple towards the right direction.
I am fairly confident that Apple would no longer exist as a company had Steven Jobs not returned.
In a way it was NeXT that acquired Apple.
If by "on the verge of bankruptcy" you mean they only had $104 million cash in the bank, then I guess OK. And that was when a hundred million was pretty big money. They certainly had other issues, but they weren't broke.
Does appointing someone else better than you make you greater than them, because you appointed them?
You can run NeXTSTEP on VMware for x86 or you could use the Previous emulator to emulate actual NeXT hardware.
I have NeXTSTEP, OpenStep, Rhapsody DR 1 and Rhapsody DR 2 - all in VMware.
Here's a pic that I posted on Instagram:
www.instagram.com
Richard Harris on Instagram: "And here’s the result. NeXTSTEP 3.3 on Previous emulator. OpenSTEP 4.2, Rhapsody DR1 and Rhapsody DR2 in VMware :D Last post for Rhapsody for a while ;) #emulation #retro #virtualisation #retro #retrocomputing #retro
175 likes, 2 comments - richsrandomretroreviews on May 4, 2021: "And here’s the result. NeXTSTEP 3.3 on Previous emulator. OpenSTEP 4.2, Rhapsody DR1 and Rhapsody DR2 in VMware :D Last post for Rhapsody for a while ;) #emulation #retro #virtualisation #retro #retrocomputing...
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I worked for an organization which had deployed the original grayscale NeXT computers & some of the first color models. It was night & day better than the SunOS and AIX OSes we'd been stuck with for years prior to that. Some of us even got to go to their Pittsburgh office near Carnegie Mellon for training, which was pretty laid-back and actually enjoyable.
I'm still bummed that they didn't have any etched NeXT logo coffee mugs. I do still have about half of a NeXT pencil; my kids, unfortunately, found and used the rest of the pack
At the end of 1994 with zero computer experience I began working everyday on the Mac platform. It was frustrating at times but also never a dull moment. Sticking with it has changed my life in so many ways. Thanks for the ride Steve!
Quote: „The day before the announcement (of the Microsoft deal) Apple had a market cap of $2.46 billion, and had ended its previous quarter with quarterly revenues of US$1.7 billion and cash reserves of US$1.2 billion“
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Inc.#Microsoft_deal
Shortly thereafter the iMac hit. So 1.2 billion was around the closest they came to bankruptcy. And no, Microsoft did not save Apple
You mean that same Steve Jobs who almost destroyed the company by licensing the Mac OS to Bill Gates for Windows? That Steve Jobs?! ?
Anyone care to fact-check this claim in the article?
Anyone care to fact-check this claim in the article?
”Under the leadership of Jobs, Apple went from near bankruptcy to becoming the world's most valuable company.” ❌????
Pretty sure that happened under Tim Cook not Jobs!
It’s hard to overexagerate how important this was, not to Apple, but to the world.
without Jobs and NeXT, apple would have failed. and the world would be run by the scum of Facebook, Twitter, and the data industry working in the shadows. Today, apple is the only beacon of light against this darkness.
without Jobs and NeXT, apple would have failed. and the world would be run by the scum of Facebook, Twitter, and the data industry working in the shadows. Today, apple is the only beacon of light against this darkness.
BeOS wasn't a bad option. But Jean-Louis Gassée overestimated Apple's desperation for an operating system and turned down $125 million (thinking he had them over the barrel). Apple then chose NeXT for $429 million and the rest was history.
Mac OS has never been licensed to Bill Gates (or Microsoft). So no, can‘t be that Steve Jobs coz this never happened
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This week marks the 25th anniversary of Apple announcing that it had agreed to acquire NeXT for $400 million. The stunning move brought Steve Jobs back to Apple over a decade after he left the company following an internal power struggle.
"The acquisition of NeXT is the start of a new chapter in Apple's history and represents a milestone in our transformation as a corporation," said former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, when the deal was announced December 20, 1996. "Today Apple welcomed back its most talented visionary Steve Jobs, someone who can inspire a new generation of customers and software developers and show that Apple remains the industry home for innovation and excitement."
A key reason Apple acquired NeXT was to gain access to its Unix-based NeXTSTEP operating system, which served as the foundation of Mac OS X.
"With this merger, the advanced software from NeXT will be married with Apple's very high-volume hardware platforms and marketing channels to create another breakthrough, leapfrogging existing platforms, and fueling Apple and the industry copy cats for the next ten years and beyond," said Jobs. "I still have very deep feelings for Apple, and it gives me great joy to play a role in architecting Apple's future."
Jobs initially returned to Apple as an advisor, making his first appearance at Macworld San Francisco in January 1997 to announce details of how Apple planned to incorporate NeXT technology into future releases of Mac OS. Jobs went on to replace Amelio as the company's interim CEO just nine months later, and he ended up dropping the interim title and remaining CEO until stepping down in August 2011 due to health issues.
Under the leadership of Jobs, Apple went from near bankruptcy to becoming the world's most valuable company, introducing iconic products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad along the way. Without acquiring NeXT, Apple's fate may have been far different.
Steve Hayman, a longtime Apple and NeXT employee, reflected on the 25th anniversary of the two companies merging in a blog post earlier this week.
Article Link: 25 Years Ago, Apple Acquired NeXT and Brought Back Steve Jobs
I always loved Jean-Louis Gassée's witticisms.
One in particular, and I may not have the circumstances correct... During an Apple meeting, Gassée suggested a marketing person cut back on their dietary fiber as it was bringing out the best in them.
One in particular, and I may not have the circumstances correct... During an Apple meeting, Gassée suggested a marketing person cut back on their dietary fiber as it was bringing out the best in them.