Recording of Steve Jobs's 1997 Macworld Boston keynote, in which he reviews Apple's status and announces the partnership with Microsoft, including a $150 million investment and a five-year Office commitment. The audience reaction is part of the draw.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN shares it for a firsthand view of Apple's near-bankruptcy moment and the crowd's booing of the Microsoft deal.
“Announcing a Deal with Microsoft as de facto CEO in August, booed by the crowd”
Jobs announcing the Microsoft deal, part of a Jobs-return presentation series.
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Basically, you get a corporate drama, a human drama and a tech drama all wrapped up in one series of presentations: Jobs' return (as a consultant) 1997, promoting technologies from NeXT. Watch basically everyone asleep at the wheel except Jobs, the man with a plan. link WWDC Q&A - 'the art of saying no' link Jobs' hostile takeover in July by doing a (probably illegal?) stock dump link Announcing a Deal with Microsoft as de facto CEO in August, booed by the crowd this video Internal meeting in September 1997 link iMac introduction 1998 - Apple is back link Macworld 1998 - Apple is essentially saved as a company link OSX Strategy reveal (if you only have time for one presentation, watch this one) link 1999 - OSX Server launch link 2000 - OSX launch link
Recommendsm_muellerDec 2016
“Announcing a Deal with Microsoft as de facto CEO in August, booed by the crowd”
Jobs announcing the Microsoft deal, booed by the crowd.
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I copy from a comment of mine from last week. In case you wanna procrastinate on a fascinating story about how Apple transitioned to NextStep's stack without completely annihilating their already weak developer base, here's a few links: You get a corporate drama, a human drama and a tech drama all wrapped up in one series of presentations: Jobs' return (as a consultant) 1997, promoting technologies from NeXT. Watch basically everyone asleep at the wheel except Jobs, the man with a plan. link WWDC Q&A - 'the art of saying no' link Jobs' hostile takeover in July by doing a (probably illegal?) stock dump link Announcing a Deal with Microsoft as de facto CEO in August, booed by the crowd this video Internal meeting in September 1997 link iMac introduction 1998 - Apple is back link Macworld 1998 - Apple is essentially saved as a company link OSX Strategy reveal link 1999 - OSX Server launch link 2000 - OSX launch link
RecommendsLammyAug 2022
“Worth watching for the crowd reaction”
Crowd reaction to the Internet Explorer announcement.
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> Apple will publicly announce that […] it will make Internet Explorer the default Worth watching for the crowd reaction: this video
Cites itjmellerOct 2016
“He enumerates the assets the company still has at its disposable to claw its way out of almost imminent bankruptcy.”
Jobs lists Apple's remaining assets including creative professionals and educators, with stats.
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> This idea of creatives being the core market for Apple during its early years is often floated. I'm not questioning its veracity, though I'm curious if anyone knows of references that backs this up with numbers or research? Check out Steve Job's first keynote after returning to Apple in 1997 starting at 18:35. He enumerates the assets the company still has at its disposable to claw its way out of almost imminent bankruptcy. He specifically mentiones creative proffesionals and educators and backs them up with some interesting stats. this video
Cites itKaiMagnusApr 2026
“I just watched a 1997 Macworld recording and the audience has really been something that I missed since COVID.”
1997 Macworld recording with a lively audience.
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I’m gonna keep my expectations in check, but this would be a good opportunity to get back to live presentations. I just watched a 1997 Macworld recording and the audience has really been something that I missed since COVID. this video
