1996 - what's next

On Dec. 20, 1996, Apple announced that it had purchased NeXT Computer: Apple Computer, Inc. today announced its intention to purchase NeXT Software Inc., in a friendly acquisition for $400 million. Pending regulatory approvals, all NeXT products, services, and technology research will become part of Apple Computer, Inc. As part of the agreement, Steve Jobs, Chairman and CEO of NeXT Software, will return to Apple–the company he co-founded in 1976–reporting to Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio, Apple’s Chairman and CEO.The acquisition will bring together Apple’s and NeXT’s innovative and complementary technology portfolios and significantly strengthens Apple’s position as a company advancing industry standards. Apple’s leadership in ease-of-use and multimedia solutions will be married to NeXT’s strengths in development software and operating environments for both the enterprise and Internet markets. NeXT’s object oriented software development products will contribute to Apple’s goal of creating a differentiated and profitable software business, with a wide range of products for enterprise, business, education, and home markets. When Apple CEO Gil Amelio hosted a press conference in Cupertino's Garden Room to announce the $429 million cash-and-stock acquisition of NeXT, I was right in the middle of my senior year of high school. At the time, my digital world was entirely defined by Windows 95, split between a generic home desktop and a basic laptop. In fact, I hadn't actually touched an Apple product since using an Apple IIc back in the mid-1980s. Yet, this news felt incredibly compelling. I had grown thoroughly bored with Windows, and the acquisition sparked a genuine wave of excitement. I began tracking every development through online tech sites and monthly magazines, while my dad would pass along relevant articles he found in the daily newspapers, including the Sunday edition of The New York Times.