[ugh]

For all the Gruber haters out there, here he is, arguing that Apple could never have been Microsoft (old article from 2004 but very relevant to the topic at hand): http://daringfireball.net/2004/08/parlay

[pohl]

Apple, on the other hand, seldom even attempted (let alone succeeded) to parlay any of their successes into further successes.

This change in character is the key to their change in fortune.