Michal Ždanský A former executive reminisced over a former and current boss at a restaurant in California over dinner Sun Microsystems, Ed Zander, to the 1990s, when Apple was fighting for its existence and how he almost managed to buy it.
The year was 1995. Apple was in charge then Michael Spindler and he didn't do too well. It was a time when Apple began licensing its operating system to third-party manufacturers due to concerns about competition in the form of Windows 95. Plus, that's when Apple came out with one of its worst products in history. His name was power book 5300 and he was suffering from a very unpleasant illness. It contained a defective Sony battery that caused the entire laptop to catch fire. The computer was therefore nicknamed the “HindenBook” after the famous airship Hindenburg, which burned just before landing.
Pike-Perch he remembers the day when he was hours away from buying an entire company teetering on the brink, when its stock was trading between $5-6. Sun it was already preparing to announce this acquisition at the upcoming analyst meeting. However, the whole event was thwarted by an investment banker who rushed into the company literally at the last minute.
"We wanted to do it. But there was this investment banker from Apple, which was a complete disaster, he basically blocked the whole thing. He put so many conditions in the contract that we couldn't afford to sign it," he recalls Pike-Perch.
This is how one unnamed banker changed the fate of the entire Apple. When asked if Sun would develop an iPod, iPhone or iPad, the current director answered Scott mcnealythat no. If they had really bought Apple, it would have been destroyed and we would never have seen any iDevices, as he claims.
Source: TUAW.com
"If they had really bought Apple, it would have been destroyed and we would never have had any iDevices..."
Then I'm glad it didn't happen... :-)
As a "geek" company, Sun came into the world with amazing products, and its absorption by Oracle was a very sad thing for me. but for apple products and philosophy it would probably be a real disaster :-)
only luck that the fruit remained an apple :-D
Well, at least it's not overrated..:-D