[jacquesm]

Good example, thanks! Apple in fact did nearly crash and burn and all that kept them alive at some point was a hand-out from Microsoft.

And from a utility point of view: if all the apple hardware in the world would disappear tomorrow we'd get on just fine, but if all the IBM hardware (and software) would disappear tomorrow the world would grind to a very swift halt and it would be quite a while before we could say we're past the worst.

[IBM]

Microsoft's investment was too small to save Apple at that time, their revenue and losses were in the billions. The $150 million was symbolic, the more important thing was their commitment to the platform.

This article says that the investment was actually a result of a legal settlement.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/stop-the-lies-the-day-that-micr...