MacBasic (1985)
MacBasic was a BASIC programming language developed for the original Macintosh, but it was canceled in 1985 after legal disputes between Apple and Microsoft over licensing rights. The project was ultimately scrapped, leaving the Mac without a first-party BASIC interpreter until much later.
Background
- MacBasic was a version of the BASIC programming language that Apple planned to ship with the original Macintosh in 1984. The project was led by Randy Wigginton, an early Apple employee and one of the original authors of AppleSoft BASIC for the Apple II.
- Microsoft was already developing its own BASIC for the Mac, and when Apple decided to cancel MacBasic in 1985 — partly because Microsoft threatened to withhold other key Mac software if Apple competed with its BASIC — Bill Gates reportedly called Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to "tell him that he was going to kill MacBasic," according to folklore.org.
- This event is remembered as a pivotal moment in early Mac history: by ceding the BASIC language to Microsoft, Apple lost control over a key developer tool, and Microsoft gained a stronghold on the Mac (and later, PC) software ecosystem that would eventually make it the dominant software company.
- The story is documented on Folklore.org, a site by Andy Hertzfeld (a member of the original Macintosh design team) that collects firsthand anecdotes about the Mac's development.