San Francisco (CNN) -- Much has changed in technology over the past 14 years, including Michael Dell's forecast for the industry's biggest player, Apple. The history of Apple has been a hot topic in the two weeks since the death of its co-founder Steve Jobs. One of the most repeated quotes came from the founder of Dell, a longtime Apple competitor in personal computers. At a tech conference in October 1997, Dell was asked what he would do with Apple if he were in charge of the beleaguered company. "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders," Dell replied after some prodding.
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Michael Dell seems to regret a statement he made about Apple in 1997
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Dell had once said that Apple should shut itself down
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Now, Dell praises Steve Jobs and calls him a friend
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Apple
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Apple
@placeholder's troubles were well known within the industry, so Dell's comment, while brusque, wasn't out of line with other pundits'.
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"It was on the rocks," Jobs said of @placeholder upon his return in 1997, speaking at a conference last year.
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Steve Jobs
But as we know now, @placeholder orchestrated a miraculous turnaround, taking Apple from near-bankruptcy to most valuable company by market capitalization.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
We'll never know how @placeholder would have responded to Dell's about-face.