I read that the NeXT, let's call it, "adventure", is the reason Apple went with a Linux distribution as basis for their new OS and thus, we're all using OSX now?
Linux distribution? I think you mean *BSD distribution.
20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
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Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's great to hear. Have you read Jobs' biography and do you think everything said about Pixtar around those times are accurately portrait?
Sadly, I haven't gotten to it yet. That's embarrassing to admit, but my time for pleasure reading has gotten frustratingly short.
It actually reads like a solid fiction book, except that it isn't. You can skip a few dozen "romance" pages here and there and then it's really worth your while.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#33I read that the NeXT, let's call it, "adventure", is the reason Apple went with a Linux distribution as basis for their new OS and thus, we're all using OSX now?
As far as I know, Apple has never used Linux for anything in any capacity. OSX's kernel is XNU, and it's a hybrid of BSD code and Mach.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#34I read that the NeXT, let's call it, "adventure", is the reason Apple went with a Linux distribution as basis for their new OS and thus, we're all using OSX now?
Uhh OS X is based on BSD and NeXTSTEP. As is iOS.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#35I read that the NeXT, let's call it, "adventure", is the reason Apple went with a Linux distribution as basis for their new OS and thus, we're all using OSX now?
As far as I know, Apple has never used Linux for anything in any capacity. OSX's kernel is XNU, and it's a hybrid of BSD code and Mach.
So OSX has nothing to do with unix/linux?
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#36The standard snark is that NeXT bought Apple for -$400 million.
This is great. I mean, the fact that NeXT tech was preserved and made popular is great.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#37You mean Apple bought back Steve Jobs, right?
Considering the contributions NeXT technology has made to OS X and iOS, no that's an oversimplification.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#38"I’d argue that this is probably the single most important tech acquisition of all time."
However, it was not Apple's first choice. They first attempted to acquire Be Inc. (BeOS) but Jean-Louis Gassée held out for $275 million and lost the deal in a surprise move when Apple, instead, bought NeXT.
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#39My father's most regretted financial move is ignoring his weird thought to buy 10 shares of Apple stock at this time.
My dad remembers his broker calling him up at various times and trying to get him to buy Apple because it was basically worthless (which is also why he didn't buy it). Wouldn't have taken much to make a lot of money. Of course, most people, even if that lucky, would have sold early iPod era thinking "This can't continue" and wouldn't have made the profits they would if they held until the last year or two.
What I really don't understand is why I didn't select the right lottery numbers at the last draw. I could have made millions.
You should only have regrets for decisions that would have made sense with the knowledge at that time. Buying Apple stock in the 90s wouldn't. But when I first saw an iphone, my first thought was "Wow, I need to buy one". My second thought then should have been "and I need to buy Apple's stock".
Re: 20 years ago, Apple bought NeXT
#40It would be great if someone wrote an article about the alternate histories where Apple chose other strategies. For instance, what an Apple-Be merge would have resulted in, what kind of products and tech. And how NeXT would have lasted without Apple.
Wow, I haven't heard someone mention BeOs in over a decade. That was a pretty OS, but I'd take that black NeXT case any day. Those NeXT boxes were so cool.