Bill Gates and Steve Jobs' unusual friendship: After being saved from bankruptcy by Microsoft, Apple eventually became a rival that did not'sit at the same table.'
In 1997, Bill Gates once saved Apple from the brink of bankruptcy by pouring capital into the company of his late friend - Steve Jobs.
"Bill, thank you. The world’s a better place"
According to CNBC, the rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates is a legend in the technology world. More than two decades ago, the best moment of this troubled relationship came when Microsoft saved Apple from the brink of bankruptcy in August 1997."Bill, thank you. The world’s a better place" are the words of the Apple founder to the Microsoft CEO after Gates agreed to invest $ 150 million.At that time, Jobs' words appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and an editor of The New York Times had to comment: "Even in cyberspace, the moment can only be described as surreal,".
Source: Dominic Maratt
"Because Apple won't beat Microsoft. And we don't have to beat Microsoft"
Ten years later, when great leaders meet again on the D5 technology conference stage. In an interview with Silicon Valley's "most powerful technology journalist" Kara Swisher and the Wall Street Journal's technology editor-in-chief, Walt Mossberg, Jobs said:"Apple was in very serious trouble. And what was really clear was that if the game was a zero-sum game where for Apple to win, Microsoft had to lose, then Apple was going to lose. Apple didn’t have to beat Microsoft. Apple had to remember who Apple was because they’d forgotten who Apple was.”
“To me, it was pretty essential to break that paradigm. And it was also important that, you know, Microsoft was the biggest software developer outside of Apple developing for the Mac. So it was just crazy what was happening at that time. And Apple was very weak and so I called Bill up and we tried to patch things up."
Source: BLOOMBERG
The 1997 Agreement: A turning point for the simultaneously powerful empires
And as part of the settlement, Apple has agreed to drop a lawsuit accusing Microsoft of plagiarizing its operating system. It was the desire to exist that helped Jobs break free from the shackles of a competitive mindset.
Source: Y. Heisler
On the day Steve Jobs announced a Microsoft investment to keep Apple alive, a picture of Bill Gates appeared on the big screen, broadcast by satellite.
For Microsoft, that money has revived one of its biggest competitors. However, this action opened a new door for Microsoft's business. “That’s worked out very well,” says Gates at the 2007 conference. “In fact, every couple years or so, there’s been something new that we’ve been able to do on the Mac and it’s been a great business for us.”The 1997 agreement did not end the competitive battle between the two companies. Instead, two powerful empires came together to shape the computer industry. It is a story that is rarely known, proving that cooperation and competition can still exist side by side.
"I will miss Steve immensely”
After the death of the Apple founder in 2011, Bill Gates paid tribute to his old friend and rival. Gates wrote:“Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”
Source: MIGUEL MICHÁN
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