Apple’s main competitor being practically forced into giving them money is what saved them.
That’s a myth. Microsoft bought $150 million in non-voting stock. First, it didn’t save them, even then, $150 million wasn’t much money to Apple. Having Microsoft committed to supporting Office on the Mac for the next 5 years was a trade for Internet Explorer being the default browser for the Mac during those 5 years. That’s when the best version of IE ran on the Mac.
Of course after the 5-year period expired, Apple launched Safari 1.0.
Second, Microsoft made a huge profit when sold the stock.
What “saved” Apple was the success of the iMac in 1998 and then iPod.
That’s a myth. Microsoft bought $150 million in non-voting stock. First, it didn’t save them, even then, $150 million wasn’t much money to Apple. Having Microsoft committed to supporting Office on the Mac for the next 5 years was a trade for Internet Explorer being the default browser for the Mac during those 5 years. That’s when the best version of IE ran on the Mac.
Of course after the 5-year period expired, Apple launched Safari 1.0.
Second, Microsoft made a huge profit when sold the stock.
What “saved” Apple was the success of the iMac in 1998 and then iPod.