Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were two gods fathers of modern computing: the first with Microsoft and Windows and the second with Apple, iPhone and Mac, have revolutionized the consumer electronics landscape over and over again. A widespread myth has it that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were bitter enemies, but the coasts are not quite like that.
On the contrary: Microsoft and Apple have worked together for a long time, since the former produced various software for the Apple II, while Bill Gates himself often visited Apple’s “headquarters” in Cupertino to stay updated on the latest news Jobs was working on. The latter, for his part, met several times with Microsoft executives in Seattle, proposing that the company produce its own software for the Macintosh’s new GUI: Gates, however, refused, unconvinced of the success of such a UI.
The relationship between the two IT visionaries does broke in 1985, at the launch of Windows. Jobs was in fact furious with his (now ex-) friend for having created an operating system which, according to him, copied that of the Macintosh. Meanwhile, Gates had changed his mind about graphical interfaces: the CEO of Microsoft had begun to consider them the future of PCs, and did not believe that Apple could have an “exclusivity” on them.
Actually, even Steve Jobs didn’t invent anything: Graphical user interfaces had first been devised at the Xerox labs, frequented and admired by both Jobs and Gates. The latter, well aware of the genesis of Apple’s revolutionary UI, brusquely replied to the CEO of the Bitten Apple: “You see, Steve, I think there are various ways of looking at this. I think it’s more likely that we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox. When I broke into his house to steal his TV, I found that you stole her time primaAn apparently unsolvable feud had developed between the two.
It took ten years for things to change: in the mid-nineties, Apple was in danger of bankruptcy, while Microsoft was one of the most successful companies on the planet. Steve Jobs, who resigned from Apple in 1985, had founded NeXT, which had turned out to be a flop. At that point, the old CEO of the Bitten Apple was recalled to his position in an attempt to save the company.
And he did, but with the help of an unexpected actor. During Macworld 1997, Steve Jobs announced that he had accepted an investment from Microsoft to “keep up” Apple, presenting in satellite connection none other than Bill Gates, who was booed by the audience. Despite this, the two announced a partnership, which continues today, to bring the Office suite to Mac.
Behind the agreement, of course, there was much more: the needs had prompted the two CEOs to bury the hatchet and resume cordial relations. Years later, Bill Gates would recall Steve Jobs talking about a “healthy rivalry“, but also of a deep friendship. A story with a happy ending, therefore: if you want to see the two CEOs who give each other a thrashing (at least verbally), instead, we recommend the hilarious Epic Rap Battle of History between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.