August 18, 1997

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COVER

GOOD INTENTIONS, MIXED RESULTS

Danny Homer’s calm, detached tone belies the fact that he is talking about the murder that put him behind bars for life. The prisoner, now 38, explains that he was a teenager living in Regina in January, 1977, when he killed Ira McDonald, a 23-year-old partner in crime. McDonald was buying stolen goods from him, then reselling them, Homer tells a visiting reporter at Bath Institution, a medium security prison 20 km west of Kingston, Ont. By D’ARCY JENISH10 min

Business

Biting the Apple

Russians and Americans. Israelis and Palestinians. Hatfields and McCoys. Until last week, Microsoft and Apple were locked in the computer world’s most publicized example of a long, bitter and sometimes pointless feud. But all bad things, it seems, must come to an end—and so it was for Steven Jobs and Bill Gates as they ended two decades of sniping at each other and opted instead for an awkward embrace.

Opening Notes

It may come as a surprise to former prime minister Brian Mulroney, to whom the federal government apologized last January for dragging his name through the mud, but the RCMP is still investigating the Airbus affair. Last week, RCMP commissioner Philip Murray told Maclean’s that a team of seven investigators is working on the case full time. By BARBARA WICKENS5 min