December 20, 1996

In a surprise move at the time, Apple Computer Inc. announces their intention to purchase Steve Jobs’ company, NeXT, and bring Steve Jobs on board as an advisor to CEO Gil Amelio. The purchase was completed on February 4th of the next year and brought with it the core technology that formed the basis of the future Mac OS X operating system, which itself is the foundation of the iOS operating system that runs the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Along with the leadership of future CEO Steve Jobs, the resurgence of Apple in the 2000’s and the emergence of The New World of Technology can be traced back to this major event in technology history.