Apple's Partnership with Microsoft at Macworld Boston, 1997
Steve Jobs handled a lot of tough crowds (a recent example was , which was easily quelled by handing out free iPhone 4 cases). But perhaps Jobs' toughest situation came in 1997, after Bill Gates and Microsoft bailed Apple out of impending bankruptcy with a $150 million stock purchase -- and a few added provisions.
Some of those provisions were positive: Microsoft Office arriving on Apple's platform was greeted with cheers. But as soon as Jobs announced that Internet Explorer would become the Macintosh's default Web browser (around minute 2:23), the auditorium fills with boos and groans.
Ever the master, Jobs laid on the charm and made the problem disappear with just one line, delivered with a smirk: "… since we believe in choice" (2:42), reminding his grumbling audience that Mac users can, of course, change their default browser settings. And change they did: Internet Explorer is no longer available for the Mac.
The "one more thing" moment (4:29) isn't a new product, but a special guest: Bill Gates, who appears on the big screen much like . This, too, caused a wave of dissent from the crowd, and Jobs, who had looked defeated up until Gates' visage left the screen, followed through with words advocating a complete change (around minute 7:15).