A nice take on MS and  over the past 10 years

Here is the full article (with a sound file of the author reading the article)
I, Cringely Blog Archive Masters Tournament - Cringely on technology

And here is the Mac Daily news summary of said article.
MacDailyNews - 1998 Bill Gates: I can?t figure out why Jobs is even trying to be Apple CEO; he knows he can't win

And here are a few points from tha article I want to make.

June, 1998. Microsoft stock $29, market cap of $250 billion.
Apple’s stock was at $7.25, market cap of only $6 billion.
And today: Microsoft shares now around $27, market cap of $240 billion
Apple's stock is around $240, market cap of $220 billion
(figures have been adjusted for share splits).

So MS's shares have lost 6.9% in those 12 years and Apple's shares have gained 3300% or have risen to 33x their old 1998 value. So if you're a long term investor it's clear who of the 2 companies to invest in.

Going by that alone it's clear to see who won in the past 12 years.

And here are some more random quotes from Bill Gates.

The one thing Apple's providing now is leadership in colors. It won't take long for us to catch up with that, I don't think. - Bill Gates, commenting on iMac in colors debut, circa July 2000

• You can't come up with a new OS. - Bill Gates on why Microsoft chose to put Windows inside Tablet PCs instead of a different operating system designed specifically for tablet use, November 2002

• There's nothing that the iPod does that I say, 'Oh, wow, I don't think we can do that.' - Bill Gates, September 2004

• I don't believe the success of the iPod is sustainable in the long run. - Bill Gates, May 2005

Mr. Original can't even help copying his own sarcastic and proven wrong quotes:
• There’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, 'Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.' - Bill Gates, February 2010

Click to expand...

Well, Mr. Bill Gates can do a lot of things right, like building a multi-billion dollar empire, but he can't correctly predict the success of his competition.

Apple is clearly a very innovative company and the best way to get to your opponents is by proving them wrong, many times over.

Apple has done this to Microsoft time and time again.

And remember if it was not for Mr Gates and Microsoft investment in Apple back in 1997, the company may well have sunk glug glug glug. Don't get too wrapped up in this argument the8thark.

Microsoft to invest $150 million in Apple - CNET News

harryb2448 said:

And remember if it was not for Mr Gates and Microsoft investment in Apple back in 1997, the company may well have sunk glug glug glug. Don't get too wrapped up in this argument the8thark.

Microsoft to invest $150 million in Apple - CNET News

Click to expand...

You make it sound like they invested that money at their own will!! You can't expect to make a statement and not expect replies…unless you don't want to be taken seriously!

All I know is I wish I had bought some Apple stock back in '98. A LOT of it!!!

harryb2448 said:

And remember if it was not for Mr Gates and Microsoft investment in Apple back in 1997, the company may well have sunk glug glug glug. Don't get too wrapped up in this argument the8thark.

Microsoft to invest $150 million in Apple - CNET News

Click to expand...

You do realize that money hardly saved Apple and in fact let MS off the hook from multiple pending infringement lawsuits from Apple, right? $150 Mil was, and is, a drop in the bucket.

What Apple DID gain, was MS support for Office for a guaranteed 5 years (and still going) and allowed them to stop spend money on legal costs/battles. The money wasn't the issue, the software support was.

All that being said, I bought 10 shares of Apple at $12.91 in 1996. Guess how many shares I have, and their value, today. My initial investment was $129.10.