Here's how I remember my part of the linked story (I was active in Apple II development in those days). After my program Apple Writer (http://en.wikipedia.org/

Here's how I remember my part of the linked story (I was active in Apple II development in those days). After my program Apple Writer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer) became a best-seller and the IBM PC was about to appear, IBM called me up and asked if I would write a version of Apple Writer for their machine. At the time of IBM's call I was making well over a million dollars per year in Apple Writer royalties. I asked IBM, "What royalty terms are you offering"? This caught the IBM people somewhat off guard, unaccustomed as they were to speaking to programmers who had any business sense. They replied, "Well, you get $100,000 in royalties, after which we own your program." I thought for a minute, and replied, "I don't know -- right now I'm making that much from Apple Writer every two weeks." The IBM people realized I wasn't a likely candidate for their standard deal. I heard the next chapter of the story third-hand, and I can't verify its truth. It went like this -- they next called John Draper and offered him the same deal. He accepted. The result was somewhat mediocre and IBM wasn't terribly happy. According to the story, Draper said, "IBM wanted a $100,000 program, and I gave them one." It might be myth, but I heard it from several sources.