Re: Should the Fed Gov break up Microsoft? No

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Roger Johnstone writes ...
> 
> ----------
> In article <20000128162424.23202.00000205@ng-ch1.aol.com>, cturley2@aol.com
> (Cturley2) wrote:
> 
> >"Rubywand" <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote :
> >
> >>      Having the sock to make things rough on the competition is one of the
> >> rewards for success. (That's why they call it "competition".)  So is being
> >> able to "force other companies into decisions they did not want to make".
> >
> >Followed by this from bctimes@hotmail.com:
> >
> >"E.G. Apple being obliged to cancel their BASIC for the Mac when Microsoft
> >threatened to not renew the licence for Applesoft.  (Yikes, a sound business
> >reason to dump the Apple II...)"
> >
 ....
> >
> 
> It's all in Owen Linzmayer's book Apple Confidential, in the chapter "What
> were they thinking?"
> 
> The next paragraph is a summary from Apple Confidential:
> 
> Apple licensed Microsoft's BASIC in August 1977 for $21000 for use in what
> became Applesoft BASIC, but only for 8 years. In 1982 Steve Jobs encouraged
> Microsoft to create a version of their BASIC for the Mac. But Apple also
> started work on their own MacBASIC. Microsoft heard about this and rushed
> their BASIC so it was ready when the Mac was released in January 1984.
> Apparently it wasn't very good though. MacBASIC was available as a beta at
> this time and was much better. In 1985 the license for Applesoft BASIC ran
> out. At this point Apple were still making most of their money from the
> Apple II line and needed Applesoft BASIC. Bill Gates threatened to withdraw
> their license unless Apple canceled the competing MacBASIC. Apple agreed.
> Fortunately Gates demanded no more than this, he later realised how much he
> could have got. Quote "one of the stupidest deals I have ever done".
> 
> This got me to thinking: Did Apple only license Microsoft's BASIC for
> another 8 years? If they did, the license would have run out at the end of
> 1993 about the same time as the Apple II was officially discontinued.
 ....

     Interesting bit of conjecture. It figures that Apple might have finally
officially dropped the II series due to a problem licensing BASIC.

     One problem with the idea is the Tiger LC-- a II clone including BASIC
which was produced with Apple's approval several years after 1993. I guess a
deal involving Apple, Microsoft, and Tiger is a possible explanation. 




Rubywand