History of Apple 1997-1998 – Most Significant Events
In July 1997, Apple announces the resignation of Gil Amelio, following another multi-million dollar quarterly loss. The time and place for the most ground breaking announcements, however, would be MacWorld Boston in August 1997. Jobs, who by now was being referred to as “interim CEO,” makes the keynote speech, and speaks of the company’s upcoming aggressive advertising campaign, upcoming new Macs, and Rhapsody. He announces an almost entirely new Board of Directors, including Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle. But he saves the best for last. In a ground breaking decision, Jobs announces an alliance of Apple Computer with Microsoft. In 1997, Apple Computer Inc. creates a new advertising slogan: Think different. Indeed, it is not easy to think outside of the box, but it is worth trying. Much later, in an interview with Peter Burrows in Bloomberg Businessweek, in 2004, Steve Jobs will say: “We, Apple, do things where we feel we can make a significant contribution. That’s one of my other beliefs”. (more…)