On the eve of yet another Apple event, one in which it introduces a collection of iPhone 16 handsets probably not hugely different from the year before, and the collective technology consumer leaps into buying action because, well, it's Apple, it's worth remembering that, perhaps, none of this would've been possible without an act of charity or calculation by Apple's once greatest rival: Microsoft.
I was reminded of the era when Apple, its heyday in the rearview, was relegated to failed Newton Handhelds, poorly conceived partnerships with Bandai (Pippin game console/internet appliance), and near irrelevance.
