Re: Perspective on Technology

["Beard, Samuel" <Samuel -dot- Beard -at- GSC -dot- GTE -dot- COM>]

At 09:34 PM 5/25/99 -0500, Tom Huffman wrote:
<snip>
Apple seems to be making a comeback, so there's some hope there, but I
doubt it.
<snip>

jarnopol responded:

but only after a serious infusion of cash from Uncle Bill.


In many ways, the "serious infusion of cash" is an overstatement. At the
least, it doesn't accurately reflect the situation. Microsloth invested $150
million in Apple and agreed to produce a version Office for the Mac for the
next five years. In return Apple dropped its lawsuit against MS alleging
infringement on the Mac OS's "look and feel." By all accounts, what has
turned Apple around has been the success of the iMac, the G3 computers, and
return of Steve Jobs. Of these, the first two would not have been likely (or
even possible, considering the iMac was Steve Jobs' baby) without Jobs'
return. Granted, the release of MS Office 98 for the Mac has garnered
significant attention and praise from users. Most notably, the fact that MS
invested the money to begin with lends some legitimacy in the eyes of some
users and developers, however wrong that perception may be. My point being
that, IMHO, the "serious infusion of cash" in and of itself is a pittance to
both Apple and MS. It's more about the behind the scenes advantages for both
companies that really prompted the transaction. And make no mistake, the
continued survival of Apple in the marketplace is DEFINITELY to the benefit
of MS. Witness the DOJ lawsuit as proof, not to mention the added income of
all the iMac and G3 and PowerBook owners out there that think they
absolutely have to have MS Office 98 for the Macintosh to do any work
whatsoever.

Sam Beard
Technical Writer
GSC, GTE (soon to be Bell Atlantic-GTE, soon to be something else
entirely!!)

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