There's a meme going around the internet right now basically saying Steve Jobs and/or Apple should run a car company. Here's my question though, didn't Apple need a bailout not too long ago?
You make a good point, but keep in mind Steve had just returned to a badly damaged Apple. You can't really blame him for how he entered. I think it's the result that matters most in this specific example.
Chris, You bring up another big point when it comes to Apple as a business. Apple has proven that it needs Steve Jobs and, at least in the past, Steve Jobs has proven his strength is not creating a business that can survive or thrive without him.
So, even if we take this thought experiment a little further and say Apple buys GM. Would this new company (we will call it Apple G) need a bailout five years after Steve Jobs leaves the company.
I would argue that history would say yes.
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I guess it depends on how you define "bailout" as we know it today in terms of government financial intervention. This was a business to business "bailout" or rather "investment." I have very strong feelings and reservations about my tax dollars being used to help out private companies. I normally pay that "tax" when I am buying a product or service from a company. I can see these government bailouts as a "necessary evil" but I'm not totally thrilled with it.
The motivations were also totally different. In addition to producing a product on a specific platform Microsoft also was doing what they could do to not look like a monopoly.
Yes, Microsoft gave Apple some good cash flow in the deal but it seems like th biggest "bail out" was Apple bailing out NeXT by acquiring them and their CEO and other key people.
All that being said I was never a fan of Apple in the 90's but after the NeXT acquisition occurred I took definite notice and what in my eyes is really NeXT 2.0.