November 21, 1985: Following Steve Jobs’ departure, Apple comes close to signing its own death warrant by licensing the Macintosh’s look and feel to Microsoft.

The deal, between Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple CEO John Sculley, comes hot on the heels of the Windows operating system’s release. The pact gives Microsoft a “non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, nontransferable license to use [parts of the Mac technology] in present and future software programs, and to license them to and through third parties for use in their software programs.”

Oh, boy!

In an unexpected development, SwiftKey is back on the App Store just a month after Microsoft removed the virtual keyboard app.

The move comes following customer feedback about the discontinuation of SwiftKey for iOS.

November 11 (“11.11”) is a special discount day for many products sold all over the world. And so it is for Microsoft software when you visit the 11.11 Sale at software activation keys provider CDKeylord.com. Better yet, as a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and get an even better deal on Windows 10.

Plus, you can score big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software.

In order to maximize your savings, enter promo code CULT at CDKeylord.com. That will take an extra 30% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and more.

November 10, 1983: Microsoft tells the world about an upcoming product called Windows that will bring the graphical user interface to IBM PCs. Although Microsoft’s announcement about the new operating system comes before Apple launches the Mac in 1984, Windows 1.0 won’t actually ship until November 1985, earning it a reputation as “vaporware.”

At the time, Apple doesn’t view Windows as much of a threat. That doesn’t take long to change, however.

Thanks to cooperation between Apple and Microsoft, the Windows 11 Photos app is now able to access photos and videos from iCloud.

This is one of several recent cross-platform collaboration moves by the two tech titans.

All over the world, November 11 (“11.11”) is a special discount day for many products. And so it is for Microsoft software when you visit the 11.11 Sale at software activation keys provider CdkeySales.com. As a Cult of Mac reader, you can click on the links below and get a great deal on Windows 10 that gets you a free upgrade to Windows 11. And you can dig up big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software, too.

In order to maximize your savings, enter promo code CULT at CdkeySales.com. That will take an extra 30% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and more.

Microsoft and Apple are cooperating to enable the Windows 11 Photos app to access photos and videos from iCloud. In addition, the Apple Music and the Apple TV applications are also coming to Windows.

The Apple vs. Microsoft war is truly over.

Microsoft is killing SwiftKey for iOS, one of the most popular third-party keyboard apps for iPhone. The company will remove the app from the App Store and end its support on October 5.

SwiftKey first became available for iPhones in 2014. Microsoft acquired the keyboard app in 2016 and eventually discontinued its own Word Flow keyboard for iPhone.

September 11, 2009: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly snatches an iPhone from a Microsoft employee during a meeting and pretends to destroy it.

This isn’t the first time Ballmer behaves in a wacky way and incurs negative publicity as a result. However, it’s an embarrassing moment for a man who ranks among the tech world’s most powerful people.

September 6, 1995: The newly launched Windows 95 operating system dominates software sales, sending virtually every other company scurrying for cover — Apple included.

Microsoft’s $85 PC operating system only went on sale at the end of August. But by early September, the company reportedly sells a massive 1.63 million copies of Windows 95, according to excited analysts. It represents a massive triumph for Apple’s biggest rival of the 1990s.