If You Think Apple and IBM Were Never Rivals, Steve Jobs Has a Funny Story for You [UPDATED]
by John Paczkowski
Posted on November 7, 2008 at 9:10 AM PT
UPDATE:
Mark Papermaster’s memory of Apple and IBM old rivalry is quite a bit better than originally thought. Turns out the quote that inspired this post was excerpted from a longer, far less contentious statement by an Information Week reporter.
What Papermaster said in his declaration was this:
Until this litigation effort by IBM, aside from the divested IBM personal computer business and a single sale several years ago of Apple’s Xserve product to a university, I do not recall a single instance of Apple being described as a competitor of IBM during my entire tenure at IBM.”
What Information Week reported him as saying was this:
I do not recall a single instance of Apple being described as a competitor of IBM during my entire tenure at IBM.”
A juicy quote, to be sure, but without the caveat that preceded it, an inaccurate one. My apologies to Mark Papermaster.
This is pretty funny.
Mark Papermaster, the 26-year IBM (IBM) veteran being sued by his employer for taking a job at Apple (AAPL), is convinced Big Blue’s suit is entirely without merit. Why? Apple doesn’t compete with IBM and never has.
“I do not recall a single instance of Apple being described as a competitor of IBM during my entire tenure at IBM,” Papermaster said in a court filing.
Now, I know Apple’s famous “1984″ ad (see below) is a few decades old now, and memories of the company’s 1984 Annual Shareholders meeting are well faded, even at Apple. But surely someone, somewhere in Cupertino must recall CEO Steve Jobs’s comments at that meeting.
The early 1980s. 1981–Apple II has become the world’s most popular computer, and Apple has grown to a $300 million corporation, becoming the fastest-growing company in American business history. With over 50 companies vying for a share, IBM enters the personal computer market in November 1981, with the IBM PC.
1983. Apple and IBM emerge as the industry’s strongest competitors, with each selling approximately $1 billion worth of personal computers in 1983. The shakeout is in full swing. The first major personal computer firm goes bankrupt, with others teetering on the brink. Total industry losses for 1983 overshadow even the combined profits of Apple and IBM.
It is now 1984. It appears that IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers, after initially welcoming IBM with open arms, now fear an IBM-dominated and -controlled future, are turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom.
IBM wants it all, and is aiming its guns at its last obstacle to industry control, Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right?
I’d say that qualifies as an instance of Apple being described as a competitor of IBM, wouldn’t you?
Apple legal must be on a class trip or something….
Comments
I think there is a lot of ill-will towards IBM. The iPhone does not allow IBM Lotus Notes email access, unlike Microsoft, which has Outlook email access. That leaves Blackberry as the only option. Was this intentional? A leftover from an earlier rivalry?
As an IBM Lotus Notes email user, I am looking at the Blackberry Storm: http://blog.maysoft.org/blog.n.....PAO-7K9JBT
Posted by Frank Paolino at November 11th, 2008 at 9:50 am