At 11:19 AM -0500 1/25/01, Michael Lorrey wrote:
>Apple is now 50% owned by M$
This is an urban legend. In 1977, Bill Gates bought $150 million of
stock and paid an estimated $200 million in cash to Apple to finally
end infringement claims once and for all. The stock was only 7% of
the company. It was specially limited to be non-voting stock,
non-sellable for three years, and Apple has buy-back rights in 5
years.
Before the deal was made public, there was wild speculation that
Microsoft was buying Apple. After the deal was made public, many
people misinterpreted the cash and stock purchase as confirming the
rumors. Even when corrections to these stories were reported in the
media, many conspiracy theorists claimed that Microsoft did indeed
buy Apple, but was keeping the purchase secret. The rumors were made
worse by April Fools jokes and false news items that reported this
story as fact. This is one of those Internet rumors that just won't
die. Many people still believe that Microsoft bought Apple.
Here are articles that debunk the claim that Microsoft bought part of Apple:
<http://www.macteens.com/exclusives/jul00/reversal.html>
<http://www.rc3.org/archive/1m2f/keynote.html>
<http://www.mir.com.my/mpug/res1.htm>
Hear are some in-passing references to this as a common false belief:
<http://www.mactoday.com/july_aug/dep1.html>
<http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/mac/testimonials/Doug-Carter.html>
<http://msbc.simplenet.com/news/00_06_19.shtml>
<http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/qed/apple.html>
Here are some humorous claims that Microsoft bought Apple:
<http://www.patsjokes.com/toptens/ms_buys_apple.html>
<http://www.macmilitia.com/features/aprilfools.shtml>
<http://www.ozemail.com.au/~lbrash/msjokes/joke5.html#1>
-- Harvey Newstrom <HarveyNewstrom.com>
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