David Rosenthal: belief

Transcript context

…To this point, Microsoft has not changed their business model. They simply vanquished a potential future that was dangerous for them. They’re still doing the same thing as ever selling Windows licenses through OEMs and to consumers at retail. There are a couple of more fun little tidbits from this era. In August 1997 is when the famous Macworld happens where Steve Jobs returns to the company. Bill Gates shows up on the satellite feed, and of course this moment is legendary. But studying it from this lens, I realized there’s this whole other aspect to it that I didn’t know before. What Bill and Steve announced on stage, it’s also so telling that Bill couldn’t even be there in person, he joins by satellite. There are four points to the partnership. One is the $150 million investment from Microsoft and Apple. Two is the five year commitment on the part of Microsoft to ship Office for Mac. Those are the big ones that everybody talks about. Which by the way, saved Apple. The company would’ve been completely out of business because it was so existentially important to anyone using an Apple computer to use Office, that if Microsoft decides, oh, we’re going to stop developing Office, people stop buying Macs. The company’s already in such a tenuous financial position, it’s just over.…

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