aresant's last link is very interesting. I have a suspicion that a lazy lawyer posted that thread, and never bothered up to follow up on licensing.

$625M later...

Wow, Longhorn is cited as putting them out of business. If only they could've seen the future...

You've just touched on why the 'release early, release often' mantra, in some cases, makes sense.

If he were in fact going to be beaten by Longhorn (who knows), it's likely that Apple would have gotten him anyway, but this proves that giving up on the rumor that Microsoft is swinging into your space is naive, pussy-footed thinking at its finest.

If, in fact, Longhorn WAS his only threat, he would have had what, 6 years in which to prosper, and possibly even dominate as a 'preferred' alternative to what Microsoft was offering.

He did just fine on his own, of course, so the conversation is moot.