Cutting It Close Apple's scramble to come up with a plan for upgrading its operating system offerings in time for the MacWorld trade show, which starts Jan. 7 OCT. 23: Apple CEO Gil Amelio meets Be Inc. Chief Jean-Louis Gassee to discuss the possibility of Apple buying Be. Convinced Be is Apple's only option, Gassee later snubs a sub-$100 million offer. NOV. 25: With talks stalled, Apple chief technologist Ellen Hancock gets a pitch from a midlevel marketer at NeXT. She agrees to take a look at NeXT's operating system. DEC. 2: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs meets with Amelio, pitches the NeXT system. DEC. 10: Jobs and NeXT technical chief Avie Tevanian make their case to Apple's top execs at a Palo Alto hotel. For the next five days, Amelio and Jobs discuss strategy and technology. DEC. 16: After two weeks of technical reviews at NeXT, executives spend an afternoon at Apple laying out product plans. The basic idea: combine NeXT technology with resurrected bits of Copland. DEC. 19: Apple agrees to acquire NeXT. DEC. 20: After a lengthy Apple board meeting, the companies race to tie up the details. Jobs and Amelio break the news at a 7:15 p.m. press conference, attended mostly by NeXT engineers. Return to main story

Updated June 15, 1997 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1997, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use