[crusso]

Exactly. And back then, getting "Steve back full time" wasn't what they were betting the farm on. More than anything, Apple was desperate for a next generation OS. Their choice was between NeXT's OpenStep and the BeOS. Obviously, they chose NeXT.

Now in hindsight, due to Apple's success post Steve's return, many claim that he was the play all along. At the time, though, that wasn't the consensus of people I knew in and around the Apple sphere in Cupertino.