Re: Should the Fed Gov break up Microsoft? No

["Roger Johnstone" <rojaws@es.co.nz>]

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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...)"
>
>To which I reply:  Hey, folks...Apple dumped the Apple II long before Microsoft
>threatened to not renew the licence for Applesoft.  And, we
>in the IIgs area of theworld do have Mike Westerfield's GSoft available
>which seems to be a very good basic for the IIgs.  And, I venture to say that
>Microsoft can't threaten Mike Westerfield - like they did Apple.
>
>Right Mike???
>
>Cheers,
>Tom
>

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.

p.s. for anyone who hasn't seen this book there are a couple of chapters
available for download at http://www.netcom.com/~owenink/confidential.html

Roger Johnstone, Invercargill, New Zealand
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~rojaws
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The three most dangerous things are a programmer with a soldering iron, a
manager who codes, and a user who gets ideas.