The compromise has been to build the Macintosh with a SuperDrive floppy disk that can read MS-Dos files, such as word processing documents, and convert them to its own format. There is still a big difference between being able to convert files and being completely plug and play compatible. There is an increasing number of cross-platform programs that help in this respect. Microsoft Word and Excel is available for both MS-Dos and Macintosh formats, and both can read each others' file structures. On a network this is especially useful.
Users can freely move or share common documents from one architecture to another.
This is an important step towards the blurring of the differences between the systems. Many people feel this is bad for Apple since the same job can be done on a MS-Dos computer. Apple has to keep offering new innovative features to set themselves apart. After several major product failures, most notably the Apple III, Mike Scott, then Apple's president, decided to reorganize. Instead of having a division for all hardware, a division for all the software, and all of marketing in a third, Scott reorganized the company along product lines.