November 26, 1984: “The next generation of interesting software will be done on the Macintosh, not the IBM PC,” predicts Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a BusinessWeek cover story. Gates’ praise for the Mac would seem almost unthinkable coming out of Gates’ mouth just a few years later.
However, the interview arrives at a time when Microsoft is best known as one of the biggest Mac developers.
Bill Gates praises Mac as Apple aims for business market
The BusinessWeek article was all about Apple’s plan to unseat IBM, and it came during an interesting period in Cupertino’s history. In August 1981, the IBM Personal Computer arrived on the scene. It quickly gained ground on Apple’s machines, due to IBM’s reputation as a business computer giant.
A few years later, in early 1984, Apple launched the first-generation Macintosh, which met with critical success and impressive early sales. Notably, it was accompanied by Ridley Scott’s iconic “1984” ad, in which the sinister Big Brother figure represented IBM.
By the end of the year, however, Mac sales started to stall. Inside Apple, the decision was made to focus more on business customers. (Apple previously tried — and failed — to crack the biz market with the Apple III.)
To do this, Apple CEO John Sculley dreamed up the “Test Drive a Macintosh” campaign. The goal? Encourage average customers to give Apple’s revolutionary new computer a chance.
The real rival was Microsoft
While Bill Gates‘ quote about the Macintosh’s superiority was only a small part of the BusinessWeek article, it provides a fascinating snapshot of his time as a Mac developer. It also reveals a massive blind spot on Apple’s part.
After Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, Sculley struck a damaging deal in an effort to keep Gates happy. The disastrous pact let Microsoft use “worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual” elements of the Mac operating system in its Windows operating system. Before long, the two companies became archrivals.
Meanwhile, hostilities cooled between IBM and Apple. By 1991, the two rivals agreed to work together in partnership.
Funny how these things work out, isn’t it?
