Way back in 1997, James Daly wrote an article titled "101 Ways to Save Apple", published in Wired Magazine (there are actually a whole 101 points). If you needed confirmation of the crazy turnaround the company has made since the Return of Steve one year later, this is it.

Some of the advice is laughable, ten years on, but it shows us what a pickle Apple had got itself into back in its dark days. For instance.

1. Admit it. You're out of the hardware game. Outsource your hardware production, or scrap it entirely, to compete more directly with Microsoft without the liability of manufacturing boxes.

Otherwise, it seems to be an oddly prescient article. It's almost as if Apple used it as a check list for recovery:

34. Port the OS to the Intel platform 12. Build a fire under your ad agency. People don't need warm, fuzzy infomercials about the Mac family. And who cares what's on Todd Rundgren's PowerBook? 14. Do something creative with the design of the box and separate yourselves from the pack. The original Macs stood out because of their innovative look. 62. Build a computer that doesn't crash. (Ouch!) 83. Develop proprietary programs that run only on Macs. Crow about them.

Spooky, no? Hit the link for the full 101.

101 Ways to Save Apple [Wired via FSJ]