I was going to point that one out too. However, I think its success had more to do with Steve Jobs having returned to the helm than anything else. Perhaps they would have been ok without the MS deal, too.
I think dagw's point mostly stands, with Apple being somewhat of an anomaly.
Thinking out loud: Steve Jobs has always been a "man with a plan", and so his deal with MS was one step along the road to recovery, whereas a lot of the other MS deals have been companies that, lacking a coherent plan, started thrashing around grabbing at anything to stay afloat.
I think dagw's point mostly stands, with Apple being somewhat of an anomaly.
Thinking out loud: Steve Jobs has always been a "man with a plan", and so his deal with MS was one step along the road to recovery, whereas a lot of the other MS deals have been companies that, lacking a coherent plan, started thrashing around grabbing at anything to stay afloat.