Microsoft to Apple: why not adopt ASF

Date: August 1997

Synopsis
These mails about ASF need to be seen in context, with adjacent exhibits. Microsoft and Apple both strive to control media formats (patents, lock-in, etc). They almost collude.

Snippet
Subject: FW: Growing the Multimedia market Sent: 08/26/97 9:03:51 AM Received: 08/26/97 11:45:10 AM From Avadis Tevanian, avie@apple.com To Tim Schaaff, tims@apple.com Peter Hoodie, hoodie@apple.com

CC

Message These guys sure have balls to ask...

How do you want to reply to this..~. Just ask them to adopt QuickTime?

Avie

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ben Novak  To: "’Avadis Tevanian’" , "’Peter Hoddie’"  Subject: FW: Growing the Multimedia market Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 18:19:11 -0700

Avie, Peter,

I’d like to discuss the prospects for Apple supporting ASF as a delivery format. I believe if we really look at the effect our mutual support would have on the multimedia industry we’ll see that this is positive for both our companies. What Microsoft wants to do is grow this industry so the market increases in size. Clearly Apple is now and will remain an important platorm for content authors. I believe direct support from Apple for authoring ASF is the real win for Apple. This keels you in firm control of the larger and more important elements of multimedia on Apple systems and allows your supporters to target content for multiple platforms. I’d like to see ASF independent of Microsoft, DirectShow, Apple, and QuickTime. A common multimedia delivery format should not be a platform or multimedia subsystem issue.

We have an opportunity here to really unify the marketplace. You have an opportunity to adopt a new format that is quickly becoming a standard and to position Apple as a co-developer and founder of this format. You have an opportunity in ASF to keep Apple the center of content development for multimedia. Microsoft's win in ASF is to grow the market place, reunify the tools industry, and create what we believe will be seen in the marketplace as a safe viable choice for content delivery. Is there any reason the,same same goals don't apply to Apple? We can make ASF something that's good for both our companies.

Full Exhibit
http://boycottnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/px02762_b.pdf