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Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by kalleboo on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @08:36AM (#37913987)
The only reason that mobile went the way it did was because Microsoft was so afraid of government Antitrust action that they let Apple survive
Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by nickpp on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @08:45AM (#37914072)
Apple survived thanks to Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs alone. He could've built his vision in any company or startup though, when he took over Apple was a few weeks away from bankruptcy.
Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by kalleboo on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @09:06AM (#37914351)
Without Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, the Mac would have been dead. Gil Amelio negotiated their continuation (as settlement for the old Look & Feel and QuickTime lawsuits) with Microsoft and Jobs closed the deal by letting up on some of Amelio's demands. Microsoft could have just said no and the Mac would have been useless to both education and business and they would have been dead in weeks as you said.

NeXT would never have built the iPhone, they had given up on hardware.

Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by nickpp on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @09:19AM (#37914558)
It’s not possible to know what other factors would’ve or wouldn’t have come into play, who would’ve done what else in this alternate history of yours. It’s just speculation.
Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by kalleboo on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @09:21AM (#37914595)
And you can't possibly know what would have happened without government Anti-trust pressure on Microsoft.
Re:The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by nickpp on Tuesday October 17, 2023 @09:32AM (#37914773)
Indeed, maybe Microsoft would’ve created an even better smartphone, putting us today a position with 3 major competing mobile platforms! And just imagine what else after that…