Five years ago, Apple Computer announced an almost unthinkable pact with Microsoft: The software giant would continue to develop Office software for the Mac, and Apple would bundle Internet Explorer in all new machines.
In addition to the Office-Explorer trade-off, the pact called for Microsoft to purchase $150 million in Apple stock and for Apple to drop a long-standing patent lawsuit. Current Apple CEO Steve Jobs hailed the announcement at Macworld Expo in August 1997 as a much-needed boost for Apple, but many Mac fans were unconvinced.
The agreement, however, expires this summer, raising the question of whether the two companies--which have long had a love-hate relationship--will reaffirm their commitments or begin to drift apart.
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