It's easy to think of Apple and Microsoft as bitter rivals, but that's not always the case. The two companies have a very complicated relationship, and a very long history. This connection goes all the way back to the 1970s and a product called Applesoft BASIC. It would become stock software on nearly every Apple II computer ever sold, it kept Apple competitive in the early home computer market, and it may have saved Microsoft from bankruptcy.

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Important dates in this episode:

1997: Bill Gates saves Apple from Bankruptcy 1976: Apple I hits shelves, Integer BASIC soon follows 1977: Apple II Released 1978: AppleSoft BASIC Ships