Steve wasn’t the CEO yet. He changed the board, added guys like Larry Ellison, and most important of all, Apple partnered with Microsoft. Think about this. Apple fans were skeptical of anything that Apple had done prior to Jobs’ return. And when Jobs did finally come back, he made one of the most controversial move (at least to Diehard Apple fans anywhere), but this was probably one of the most important moves too. It helped shape Apple and allowed Apple to come back. This was a risky move for Jobs. Fans were waiting for his return, but this move could have turned the fans away. But Jobs probably knew. He knew that this was the right move, and he bet on his fans’ loyalty to buy into this critical move. And one of the things on this deal was …. the IE would be the DEFAULT BROWSER for all Macs!!
This was historical.
and he said in the speech, “Apple is a great brand. If you ask people what are the 5 greatest brands in the world? Nike would be on everybody’s list (Disney, Coca Cola, Apple)”. 😀