Apple's Most Famous Rival Turns 50 Today

Microsoft contiguous marks its 50th anniversary, during which clip it has been 1 of Apple's longest-standing and astir prolific competitors.


Microsoft was founded connected April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, starting retired arsenic a bundle institution processing a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. It rapidly go cardinal to the idiosyncratic computing revolution, including done its aboriginal collaboration with Apple, wherever Apple licensed Microsoft's BASIC for the Apple II successful 1977.

Microsoft's astir important aboriginal engagement with Apple came with the improvement of applications for the archetypal Macintosh, including Word and Excel, which helped legitimize the Mac arsenic a productivity tool. The 1985 motorboat of Microsoft Windows, which featured a graphical idiosyncratic interface akin to the Macintosh, prompted accusations from Apple that Microsoft had copied cardinal elements of its design.

The ensuing ineligible and nationalist disputes would specify the rivalry for years. In 1988, Apple filed a suit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, claiming infringement of its Macintosh GUI, which it yet lost.

Despite the rivalry, Microsoft invested $150 cardinal successful Apple successful 1997, erstwhile the institution was successful fiscal situation pursuing years of declining marketplace stock and interior missteps. As portion of the agreement, Microsoft committed to continuing improvement of Office for Mac and making Internet Explorer the default browser connected Macintosh systems. During his keynote astatine Macworld Boston 1997, Steve Jobs announced the deal, stating:

We person to fto spell of the conception that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. We request to clasp a conception that for Apple to win, Apple has to bash a truly bully job.

Throughout the 2000s and aboriginal 2010s, Microsoft and Apple continued to vie connected aggregate fronts with operating systems, productivity software, mobile devices, and later, unreality services. Apple's resurgence nether Jobs was driven by the occurrence of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, portion Microsoft struggled to summation traction with mobile devices similar the Windows Phone and Surface. Apple has developed alternatives to Microsoft products, including iWork, but Microsoft Office continues to beryllium prevalent and play an important relation connected Apple devices, including the Vision Pro.

Today, some companies remained ascendant successful their respective ecosystems. Microsoft's absorption connected bundle licensing, large-scale concern use-cases, and endeavor unreality computing with Azure present forms a concern exemplary that contrasts sharply with Apple's accent connected consumer-facing products, hardware-software integration, and idiosyncratic experience.
This article, "Apple's Most Famous Rival Turns 50 Today" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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