I simply do not agree on many of these points.

> Jobs' reaction was to hold on to every proprietary hardware innovation 
> he
> could and drive a hard bargain with Gates for everything else. For 
> example,
> even now Windows doesn't have the menu across the top of the desktop 
> as a
> constant resource. Windows still can't use the Duplicate command. 
> Windows
> doesn't have Scrapbook -- which I'm very fond of.

These are not hardware innovations, nor do I know of any evidence that 
MS has not copied these do to actions taken by Jobs or Apple.

>  Gates was very innovative
> in creating tool bars, which Jobs is now copying to his credit.

On this point I have mixed emotions and need to consider it more.

>  Now there's a
> lot of exchange of features between the Mac OS and Windows. The MS 
> two-key
> mouse is sure to wind up on the Mac -- if it hasn't already. The 
> competition
> is advantageous to us.

There is a ton of exchange now, I will agree with that. MS did not come 
up with the 2 "key" mouse as you put it though, and it has been 
available on the Mac for close to ten years now from 3rd parties, Apple 
hasn't ever done it though, and for good reasons. Competition in 
innovation is generally good for the buyer, but what we are talking 
about here is not exactly competition and innovation.

> Gates did concentrate on applications and produced Word, which has 
> become the
> standard for the industry; I see it everywhere.

It is everywhere yes, so is the rest of MS Office, but concentrate is 
the wrong word. Excel was acquired/bought as was PowerPoint, Word I do 
not recall. Windows is also the standard for the industry but this does 
not indicate that Gates concentrated on operating systems. The clear 
indication in the context is that MS forged relationships that allowed 
them to distribute MS Office and MS Windows in greater quantity than 
Apple could distribute Macintosh and AppleWorks. Apple drove for 
innovation, MS drove for market share.

> Apple concentrated on hardware and innovation, it needed Jobs' genius 
> to do that.

I would argue against this. Jobs is a genius, I concur. Apple did not 
concentrate on much of anything while Jobs was gone in my opinion. There 
was logical evolution, the Mac OS evolved, LocalTalk and AppleTalk were 
supported, and many innovations were included first in Macintosh. 
Ethernet, CD-ROMs, and others, much, like PowerPC, was developed outside 
of Apple. But no massive revolution like the Macintosh, nothing close. 
The Newton was an incredible concept, as was the Knowledge Navigator 
that it came from, but nothing was driven as the Mac was. The Newton 
could have been incredible as a product but it was not driven, I own a 
Newton and I love it, but consider what it would be if Apple had 
concentrated on hardware as they did with their first Mac project? Jobs 
genius is managing. I know, I know. No one will agree with that, but 
consider that it was not his technical skill but his ability to drive 
others to do greatness, his greatness is others' greatness. And that is 
a rare gifl.

>  Frankly, had not
> Gates found a way to simulate the Mac OS, the major PC builders, like 
> Dell
> and Compaq, IBM and Sony, would have made their own deal with Apple to
> license its OS.

Not true, Apple, under Jobs, Scully, and others refused clones and 
licensing. It is unlikely it would have happened the same or with the 
same outcome through those means.

> So the picture wouldn't be much changed for how it looks now.
> Apple could never have held onto a monopoly through patents and 
> copyrights
> because the courts would have declared the industry too large to be
> controlled by one corporation.

Ah, you mean like it is now? Reconsider this, MS controls the industry, 
they are one corporation and the courts are letting it.

>  There were too many players on the other side
> with tremendous financial power. If you think about Apple in this 
> context,
> Jobs accomplished a miracle. Which why we're here to appreciate it.

He did, I concur.

> br


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