Gadgetory

Apple's late 90s comeback didn't just save the business it established a template for success that would propel the company into the stratosphere sit back and relax this is Tech's greatest comeback story the mid-90s Apple was as good as finished hemorrhaging cash and dallying with weird side projects even as its key product the Mac was sliced into dozens of dull gray variants that became almost impossible to tell apart in 1996 Apple lost eight hundred and sixteen million dollars then over a billion a year later desperate the board turned to co-founder Steve Jobs who'd been kicked out a decade earlier but was now back as a consultant Apple having bought his other computer company next back in the driving seat Jobs was ready to forge a comeback the getting Apple shipshape again would prove a messy business in his first year back jobs fired over 3,000 people wiping out projects and products left right and center apples Pippin platform which had been turned into a games console by Bandai was axed as was the Newton PDA and style writer printers jobs also put a stop to Mac clones a scheme that had seen the Mac OS licensed out in a bid to make it more widely used and sorted out the Mac lineup pairing the strategy down to a simple grid of four computers for at home or on-the-go for personal or business use cuss so simple we should do that for more stuff as a majority of Delegates agree there are simply too many animals the UN proposes a new taxonomy it hopes will be less confusing Apple had cleared its decks but confidence in the company was low jobs proved his determination however revealing a partnership with Microsoft at Macworld in 1997 the two companies had been warring over patents for years but agreed to squash the dispute forging a deal that saw Microsoft invest a hundred and fifty million dollars for a stake in Apple and to keep making office software for Mac in return Jobs made Internet Explorer the default browser on Apple computers you can hear how well that went down decided to make Internet Explorer its default browser on the Macintosh almost as well as deploying a giant video feed of Bill Gates looming over everyone an on-stage gaffe that called to mind a futuristic dystopia in which Microsoft rules the world the tie-up worked giving Apple breathing room to create the products that would define its comeback and wash away the memory of those boring beige computers having killed off the performer range Apple needed something new to sell to families the colorful iMac fit the bill with a futuristic translucent blue curved casing that cost three times as much to build as a regular computer case but proved it's worth when it was unveiled wowing onlookers and bringing to the forefront a plucky designer called Jonathan Ive who later admitted he'd been on the verge of quitting before Jobs returned the iMac was the public face of Apple's comeback and it worked like a charm Apple sold 800 thousand before the end of 1998 and began raking in profits Apple's comeback strategy didn't just save it from financial ruin it established a template that worked and over the next decade a focus on fewer better products strong design and powerful marketing would turn Apple from a company on the brink of destruction to one of the most powerful on the planet what are your thoughts on Apple's comeback and how do you feel about Apple today let me know and check back next time for another adventure in tech