Agreed. You look at Apple now, and it's barely even recognizable. We're all still using the same products he brought to the masses. Yes, they've been refined. But they're still the same products. That says something.
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25 Years Ago, Apple Acquired NeXT and Brought Back Steve Jobs
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I believe it was Ellen Hancock’s call, not Amelio’s. Gassée overplaying his hand on price and then not putting the hard yards in on the final presentation to the Apple Board (as opposed to Jobs and the NeXT team who were ultra-focused and had rehearsed their presentation to perfection) shouldn’t be forgotten either.True, you have to credit Gil Amelio for directing the then sinking Apple towards the right direction.
It was always more about consumer confidence: “look, Microsoft has invested in us”. Well, that and keeping Office on Mac for an agreed period (although with IE as the Mac’s default browser quid pro quo).
OK, you got me! I was exaggerating for effect… but Jobs did license key design elements of the Mac OS. And, that did happen. It's a fact.
“Because of the close relationship between the two companies, however (Microsoft’s productivity software was a heavy driver of sales for the Macintosh), they eventually came to an agreement, wherein Apple licensed Macintosh design elements to Microsoft to be used in Windows.”
Apple's lawsuit against Microsoft in 1988 | Legal Blog
In 1988, Apple sued Microsoft for copyright infringement, claiming the latter's Windows 2.0 operating system copied design elements from Apple's Macintosh OS.
legal.thomsonreuters.com
There was even a later major lawsuit by Apple against Microsoft for intellectual property theft… but Apple lost due to its licensing agreement! Jobs gave away the keys to the kingdom…
But thanks to his — and his teams' — brilliance, they orchestrated one of the most successful company turn-arounds by introducing a string of amazing, innovative, groundbreaking products.
Yet, to reiterate what others noted, the company became the most valuable one under Cook, not Jobs!
Yeah, that's a good point, actually. I never really think about it anymore because I've totally given up on them updating them.
NeXT!!!
****Hops in the time machine****
Back when I was in art school, there were a few rooms scattered across campus called "Computer Labs." Inside, there were hundreds of computers (at that time, it was rare that a student had a personal commuter) - the vast majority of which ran Windows. There was one lab that housed a handful of Macs, clones and NeXT work stations. Those NeXT boxes were SO COOL (all-black, in an all-beige era). Looking back, I'd like to thank whomever decided we needed a Mac computer lab, approved that decision, ordered, configured and maintained that lab. It's where all of the artists and designers would hang when doing "computer stuff." It forever changed the course of my life. I have since spent my entire professional career behind a Mac and am grateful to have discovered Apple. Their tools have allowed me to carve out a career, make and create, connect and express, start and raise a family. It's one of the reasons I am a shareholder. Been such a great run. Excited for what's next.
****Hops in the time machine****
Back when I was in art school, there were a few rooms scattered across campus called "Computer Labs." Inside, there were hundreds of computers (at that time, it was rare that a student had a personal commuter) - the vast majority of which ran Windows. There was one lab that housed a handful of Macs, clones and NeXT work stations. Those NeXT boxes were SO COOL (all-black, in an all-beige era). Looking back, I'd like to thank whomever decided we needed a Mac computer lab, approved that decision, ordered, configured and maintained that lab. It's where all of the artists and designers would hang when doing "computer stuff." It forever changed the course of my life. I have since spent my entire professional career behind a Mac and am grateful to have discovered Apple. Their tools have allowed me to carve out a career, make and create, connect and express, start and raise a family. It's one of the reasons I am a shareholder. Been such a great run. Excited for what's next.
Apple should have immediately fired Jobs again. Sure, he could do a great keynote presentation, but he was really a one-trick pony, he screwed up almost everything else.
Not firing Jobs was the worst decision Gil Amelio ever made.
Not firing Jobs was the worst decision Gil Amelio ever made.
BeOS was just a good wrapper of a UI it didn’t offer anything significant to Apple beyond that. Nothing within its underpinning or kernel was worth it.
Curious why it was painted as a completely different light in public by Jobs?
Jobs has been filmed stating that Apple was days from Bankruptcy - having 'cash or cash reserves' is just liquidity, it doesn't state anything about a balance sheet of liabilities, debts, investments/investment payments due. There is also dividends as well (not sure if Apple actually stopped those, if so that is a TRUE sign of poor health of a company whom has 'case reserves').
Well, I dunno. I take it as given that the CFO who signed off the deal (Fred Anderson) knew what he was talking about when he said that. Actually it seems like Apple never had to touch said 1.2 bn, corroborating Andersons statement.
Anyway, if the situation were indeed as dire as the picture you painted suggests, 150 mn would hardly have saved them, would it?
What really saved them in the end was the iMac and ultimately the iPod, not Microsoft
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Still the most beautiful UI ever… I have GNUSTEP running on a Raspberry Pi and have tried to get WindowMaker running, just for old times’ sake… strange to think that even a $50 Raspberry Pi is more powerful that the $10,000 NeXT Cube…