7: Apple's Mac OS Crisis: Plan Be (Part 3)

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Apple rushes the iPod to the finish line and then introduces it to an uneasy and uncertain world.

Just in the nick of time, the design of the iPod begins to emerge--but will Steve Jobs give it his seal of approval? And Apple designer Jony Ive turns away from the brightly colored plastic that made his name and learns to love pure white.

Apple begins a crash program to build a music player by the end of 2001, aided by a fortuitous discovery in Japan. Hardware chief Jon Rubinstein recruits a brash young product manager, Tony Fadell, to figure out how all the parts fit together.

Guiding Apple through its comeback, Steve Jobs comes up with a clever strategy to make the Mac the center of everyone's digital life. The problem is, he's failed to integrate music into the mix--and Apple will have to scramble to catch up.

Two decades after the Walkman had revolutionized personal audio, a new compressed digital audio format emerged that would redefine how we listen to music. We kick off our series about the origin of Apple's hit MP3 player, the iPod.

In this bonus episode, Jason interviews former Apple SVP of Retail Ron Johnson about why Steve Jobs wanted to get into retail, understanding what Apple's brand represents, the customer-service model of the Apple Store, and much more.

Gil Amelio and Steve Jobs make a deal that will change the future trajectory of Mac OS, Apple, and the tech industry. But is Steve happy to be the CEO at Pixar, or is he secretly plotting to take over Apple?

Torn between Be and NeXT, Gil Amelio tries to analyze it all scientifically, including final demos from both teams. But was the end result a foregone conclusion?

Just up the road from Apple in Redwood City, Steve Jobs's NeXT is fading and flailing, but has a modern operating system just like the one Apple desperately needs to buy to replace Mac OS. An unlikely person makes an unlikely phone call to save the day.

Apple desperately needs a replacement for Mac OS, but negotiations with Jean-Louis Gassée's Be are at the breaking point. But does CEO Gil Amelio have any other options?