I'd say by the third iteration of both OSX and the iPod that it was clear Apple had turned itself around. There were obviously still a lot of gains to be made,

I'd say by the third iteration of both OSX and the iPod that it was clear Apple had turned itself around. There were obviously still a lot of gains to be made, but by 2004 the company was strong and there was a clear foundation laid. Apple started to skyrocket shortly after. Granted, this was a longer time frame, between 1997 and 2003/4, but there were consistent signs along the way that improvements were happening and Jobs' decisions on where to make cuts and where to focus were correct. I think it's hard to say the same thing for Yahoo.