When Steve Jobs recruited Microsoft to be the first third-party applications software developer for the Macintosh, he was already concerned they might copy Apple's ideas into a PC-based user interface. As a condition for early Macintosh development access, Steve made Microsoft promise not to ship mouse-driven software until at least one year after the Macintosh's release.
Microsoft's Early Involvement
- Lead Programmer: Neil Konzen, a brilliant Apple II hacker from Microsoft's backyard in Seattle suburbs
- Hired while still in high school
- Single-handedly implemented system software for Microsoft's Z80 card (allowed Apple II to run CP/M)
- Role: Integrated Microsoft's byte-code interpreted environment (a Xerox-inspired system favoring memory efficiency) with the evolving Mac OS
1983 Developments
By mid-1983, Microsoft demonstrated working prototypes of:
- Multiplan (spreadsheet)
- Chart (business graphics)
- Word processor (undisclosed, as it would compete with MacWrite)
Author's Observations:
- Konzen frequently asked about Mac internals (particularly region implementation)
- Suspected Microsoft was planning to clone the Mac
- Steve Jobs dismissed concerns, believing Microsoft couldn't implement a decent version
The Windows Announcement (November 1983)
Microsoft announced at Comdex:
- New mouse-based GUI environment: Windows
- Mouse support for Microsoft Word
- Direct competition with "Vision" (by Personal Software)
Steve Jobs' Reaction:
"Get Gates down here immediately... I want him in this room by tomorrow afternoon, or else!"
Confrontation:
- Gates' defense: "We both had this rich neighbor named Xerox... I broke in to steal the TV set and found you'd already stolen it."
- Legal technicality: The 1981 agreement allowed Windows announcement (ship date clause fixed to September 1983)
Windows Evolution
-
Windows 1.0 (Fall 1985):
- Crude implementation (tiling instead of overlapping windows)
- Poor market reception
- Team fired by Gates
-
Neil Konzen's Version (1987-88):
- Improved enough to prompt Apple's 1988 copyright lawsuit
- Microsoft won on technicality (perpetual license granted in November 1985)