Bill Gates and Apple

[bondipete]

Correct me if I'm wrong....
But does Bill Gates own shares in Apple?
If so, how much?
And what are the terms of the arrangement?
Is Apple contractually bound to, eg, not release a wp app in competition with Word?
And can we buy him out?

 

[janey]

I believe bill gates does indeed own shares in apple.

If i'm not mistaken, Gates and Jobs can't hate each other too much because they write programs for each other's software.

 

[Macette]

things must be a little strained with all the competitive iApps tho... ical, keynote, mail, and Safari of course.

faster apple, kill kill.

 

[vniow]

I think that either he or Miscrosoft owned a certain percentage of no-voting shares in Apple, but I think that deal ended last July if I'm not mistaken.

 

[janey]

Originally posted by vniow
I think that either he or Miscrosoft owned a certain percentage of no-voting shares in Apple, but I think that deal ended last July if I'm not mistaken.

i don't think it was last july.

 

[000111one111000]

that deal is done

It ended in August of 2002, but Microsoft said it's still committed to the Mac.

I believe what Microsoft bought were 150 million shares (or maybe just dollars worth) of non-voting stock in Apple. In return, Apple would make IE the default browser and Microsoft would continue making Office.

I remember last summer there was a big thing about it because there was a rumor that Microsoft was going to abandon the Mac completely, causing the MacBU of Microsoft to continually state that they are indeed going to continue to support the Mac.

enoch

 

[zoetropeuk]

Apple and Microsoft

I believe what Microsoft bought were 150 million shares (or maybe just dollars worth) of non-voting stock in Apple. In return, Apple would make IE the default browser and Microsoft would continue making Office.

As I remember the deal had nothing to do with IE and Office. Microsoft was caught with it's pants down, it had copied over 1,000,000 lines of quicktime code into media player almost verbatim. The settlement ordered microsoft to invest the money into Apple and continue making Office for the Mac. It in no way forced Apple to use IE as the default browser.

 

[MacQuest]

Good catch Zoe-

Never heard that one before, but if true, it would seem that IE became the default browser as a gesture of Good Faith on our behalf because Apple really did need that 150 million to survive back in '97.

The agreement between MS and Apple did end last August BTW, Bondipete.

Apple already does have it's own word processing [Word]/spreadsheet [Excel]/slide show [PowerPoint]/database [Access]/drawing/painting program.

It's called AppleWorks [formerly ClarisWorks] and sells for 80.00, but comes free on all consumer level macs [iBooks, iMacs] and the eMac.

I KNOW that AppleWorks' Word Processing and Spreadsheet programs pale in comparison to MS Word and Excel, but fear not.

Just like Apple released Keynote, which puts Powerpoint to shame, and owns FileMaker, a database alternative to Access, I would expect an updated version of AppleWorks to have very enhanced versions of their Word Pocessing and Spreadsheet Programs.

There have been quite a few rumors about this floating around for some time now so I would expect something to come of it.

Maybe Apple will do what it did with the iApps, and release each product individually, starting with Keynote, and offer them in a suite similar to Appleworks later on.

But their price points will definately be a lot more appealling.

MS sells each individual component of Office individually for $360.00, or the entire suite for $500.00 [was $460.00 until the current MS Office promotion].

If Apple sold each comparable Office component [Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage is the equivalent to Outlook on Windows, but iCal, Address Book, and Mail nullify that component] individually for the $100.00 that Keynote is going for, then I could see Apple selling the entire Suite for a reduced price of $250.00, exactly half of what Office X for Mac currently costs.

Just my speculation though. Sorry so long, but the more i think about it, the more it makes sense.

"By only the components you need for $100.00 each, or the entire suite for HALF of what Office costs."

And each component is, or will be, considerably better...naturally...because it's made by Apple!

 

[000111one111000]

Taken from Microsoft's "Press Pass" section of their site

Microsoft and Apple Affirm Commitment To Build Next Generation Software for Macintosh



Companies Announce Patent Cross-License Agreement; Microsoft Announces Office 98 for Macintosh; Apple Announces Internet Explorer To be Bundled With Mac OS. Product Commitment Backed Up With $150M Microsoft Investment in Apple Computer



BOSTON - Aug. 6, 1997 - In a keynote address delivered today at MacWorld Boston, Apple Computer Inc. director and co-founder Steve Jobs and Microsoft Corp. chairman and CEO Bill Gates announced a broad product and technology development agreement between Apple and Microsoft including the following:
Microsoft will develop and ship future versions of its popular Microsoft Office productivity suite, Internet Explorer and other Microsoft tools for the Mac platform.


Apple will bundle the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser with the Mac OS, making it the default browser in future operating system software releases.


The companies agreed to a broad patent cross-licensing agreement. It paves the way for the two companies to work more closely on leading-edge technologies for the Mac platform.


Apple and Microsoft plan to collaborate on technology to ensure compatibility between their respective Virtual Machines for Java and other programming languages.


To further support its relationship with Apple, Microsoft will invest $150 million in non-voting Apple stock.








"In 1985, Steve Jobs and I stood together when Microsoft announced Microsoft Excel, an application that is widely credited with helping to define the potential of the Mac as a great applications platform," said Gates. "Today's announcements underscore our continued belief in the Mac as a platform for applications and leading -edge Internet technologies. Microsoft has millions of customers who rely on Macintosh technology and they can be assured that Microsoft products for the Mac will continue to be available."



"We are thrilled at the prospect of working more closely with Microsoft on applications and Internet software" said Jobs. "We are confident that this is the beginning of a much closer relationship between the two companies, which will greatly benefit our common customers."