Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic

Apple + Microsoft = ?

Aug 19, 1997

This week much of the computer industry was taken aback when Bill Gates and Steve Jobs announced a Microsoft/Apple partnership at the annual MacWorld convention. To many, this new team felt something like David teaming up with Goliath. How could Microsoft, the powerful multi-billion dollar monster, cooperate with ailing Apple, which is going through the hardest time in the history of the company, with constant CEO and board member changes? The Mac fans at MacWorld gasped. Microsoft fans around the world were amazed. Just what was Bill thinking?

When you look deeper into the deal, it actually makes a lot of sense. Call Bill Gates anything, but don't call him stupid. With just one measly investment (150 million is mere pocket-change for Gates), he has captured almost 100% of the home computer market. With Internet Explorer to be the default web browser in both PCs and Macs, Gates has every computer user in his grasp.

When it comes down to it, this partnership means better products, for Mac and PC users alike. Could it be possible that with Microsoft's large entertainment division, some good games might start coming out for the Mac? While it's unlikely, it is a possibility. Now that Microsoft has free use of Apple's patents (as does Apple with Microsofts patents), can we expect Windows 97 to look even *more* like the MacOS? These are all possibilities with this new partnership. We will have to wait and see.

Go To Page: 1

The copyright of the article Apple + Microsoft = ? in Computer Gaming is owned by . Permission to republish Apple + Microsoft = ? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

Here's the follow-up discussion on this article:

View all related messages

2. Aug 11, 2001 4:55 PM
What have been the fruits of this joining that we see today? Did everything it promised really come to pass?

-- posted by Wolvie27

1. Aug 19, 1997 7:26 PM
As far as gaming goes, Microsoft has said that the deal is only for "buisness" applications. But on a brighter note, Apple's next generation operating system is going to be cross platform, it will wor ...

-- posted by Jude

For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Dan Finkelstein's Computer Gaming topic, please visit the Discussions page.