I've been reading this story every Christmas for nearly a decade now. To properly enjoy it, you need to appreciate the historical context: When this was published in December of '97, Apple hadn't released the iMac, let alone the iPod or iPhone. A year earlier at Macworld Boston, Jobs had been booed on stage when he introduced the new Apple/Microsoft partnership. The clones had been killed. Apple's next-gen OS plans at least appeared to still be in constant flux and confusion. AAPL was trading at under $5 a share.

Now, sit back and enjoy, It's a Wonderful Machine.

Merry Christmas!