Peace breaks out between Apple and Microsoft?

[HarryT]

Very interesting new article on the BBC News web site today:

Microsoft versus Apple, a rivalry dating back more than three decades, pitching two different visions of what is important in technology against each other.
...
Which made one feature of Wednesday's Apple event all the more startling. The new iPad Pro had just been unveiled, a tablet which looked to many like a rip-off of the Microsoft Surface Pro, with its keyboard cover and stylus - or rather "Pencil".
...
... who should stride onto the stage in San Francisco but Microsoft executive Kirk Koenigsbauer, keen to show off what his firm's Office software could do on this new device.
...
There could not have been a better illustration of the new strategy under Satya Nadella, the chief executive who has come in and steered the software giant on a new course. Microsoft's future is about offering its very profitable enterprise software in the cloud on all sorts of devices - and that means collaboration not competition.
...
So with no major territory for the two sides to scrap over, peace is breaking out. Apple's "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" adverts", poking fun at Windows customers, and Microsoft's ripostes now seem echoes of a forgotten war.

Full story at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34207105

[cvkemp]

I believe Microsoft is trying to become a true Software company. It has created fairly good apps for both Android, and IOS. And it has for a long time created the Office products for Mac. I hope finally it is learning that it is much better at software than hardware. It has even asked Dell and HP to help it sale the Surface pros. And I can see possibly a time coming that it will allow Dell and others to built the surface pros and make it into a really great device.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I believe Microsoft is trying to become a true Software company. It has created fairly good apps for both Android, and IOS. And it has for a long time created the Office products for Mac.

Yes, "Office" has, I believe, been the best selling Mac software for decades. Microsoft have always made a shed-load of money out of the Mac. Now it seems they're trying to extend that to the iPad, too.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I believe Microsoft is trying to become a true Software company. It has created fairly good apps for both Android, and IOS. And it has for a long time created the Office products for Mac. I hope finally it is learning that it is much better at software than hardware. It has even asked Dell and HP to help it sale the Surface pros. And I can see possibly a time coming that it will allow Dell and others to built the surface pros and make it into a really great device.

Software is the bread and butter, sure, but they have made excellent hardware. I'd argue from a design and quality standpoint their hardware is much, much better than their software. Distribution has been an issue.

[Cinisajoy]

Wait, that is not news if they have been playing together for years.
Great title though.

[Teknikal]

I don't see any surprise here haven't they basically shared patents since Microsoft bailed them out of trouble, I think Microsoft still owns some stock there as well although nowhere near as much as they used to.

Most of the rivalry after that point was more for marketing than anything else in my opinion.

[fjtorres]

Microsoft supported the Apple II with a CP/M card.
They supported Atari with their original product, MS Basic.
They sold Xenix at the same time they sold MS-DOS. They were actually the biggest *nix vendor on the planet in the 80's.
They were in at the creation of the Mac GUI and several Finder features were lifted from the Word for Mac beta.
When Lotus didn't do 1-2-3 for Mac, MS did Excel which didn't come to Windows for years.
They supported Atari again, with MS Write.
When IBM tried to break the clones with MicroChannel, Gates told Jobs to license Nubus and MacOS and offered to help.
In the 90's they were open to supporting Solaris (but MacNeally blanched at the minimum guarantee).
And all along they've supported the Mac with the best office Suite their coders can produce, even when the Mac version had features the Windows version lacked.

This whole Mac vs PC thing has always been more of a fanboy and media creation than anything of substance. (With a bit of Jobs product libel thrown in.)

MS has always been a tools and platforms company.
And they have always hedged their bets.

Money is money.

Besides, why bother being petty when there's room in the market for both?

[cromag]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

...
Besides, why bother being petty when there's room in the market for both?

Reminds me of an encounter between Gary Kildall (of Digital Research and CP/M fame) and Bill Gates during an interview. They were asked about the future of computers and Kildall said there would be room for several operating systems. And Bill Gates said no, there would be only one.

(I'm sure the exact quote and full context is out on the internet, somewhere. After I have a mug of tea I'll look for it.)

[David Munch]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

This whole Mac vs PC thing has always been more of a fanboy and media creation than anything of substance. (With a bit of Jobs product libel thrown in.)

This. It was good for the small Apple fanboy crowd to have something to float on, and it worked quite nicely, and Apple also danced the same dance to a big extent, likely guided by Jobs' own illusions.

But the last minor tent pole was just removed - Steve Ballmer. He was assured they could do better than Apple, instead of just working side by side. Now there is nothing at all that keeps Apple and Microsoft from each other.

[murg]

Originally Posted by David Munch

But the last minor tent pole was just removed - Steve Ballmer.

Exactly!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I believe Microsoft is trying to become a true Software company. It has created fairly good apps for both Android, and IOS. And it has for a long time created the Office products for Mac. I hope finally it is learning that it is much better at software than hardware. It has even asked Dell and HP to help it sale the Surface pros. And I can see possibly a time coming that it will allow Dell and others to built the surface pros and make it into a really great device.

Yep, particularly with the free upgrade to Windows 10 and an emphasis on selling Office, Windows Media Center (or moving it to Xbox) etc....

I think they are concentrating more on applications and less on the OS. With the OS they are trying to integrate it to play on all devices and are getting close....

I really do think they are rethinking their position and the way to the future and that's a big part of working with these other companies.

Hopefully good things will result!

[harriska2]

The apple announcement had a short demo of office working on the iPad pro. I wonder how much that will cost.

[Barty]

MS Office kept the Mac afloat. MS also wanted Apple to stay in business to get the DoJ off their back. Now, Apple is hoping the pro iPad running business software will help falling sales, while MS realizes revenue is revenue and the hardware division will need to fend for itself.

They've always been frenemies