Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at 56
Visionary had uncanny ability to foresee tech trends and take advantage
CBC News, October 5, 2011
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died Oct. 5, just weeks after stepping down as
CEO. Here, Jobs waves during the launch of the iPad2 tablet on March 2,
2011. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died at 56, the company announced
Wednesday.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,"
Apple said in a brief statement.
"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless
innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is
immeasurably better because of Steve."
He had stepped down from Apple in late August to deal with the effects of
an
unspecified illness.
Jobs had been treated earlier from pancreatic cancer. He was first
diagnosed
in 2004.
Jobs's storied career followed a remarkable series of twists and turns -
from a meteoric rise in the late 1970s and '80s to a bleak nadir in the
'90s
followed by his ascent to the status of tech guru.
Described by some as arrogant, temperamental and brutally honest about
employee performance, Jobs was known and respected for his business acumen
and an almost mystical ability to predict where tech trends are headed.
Early life
Jobs was born on Feb. 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah Jandali,
an unwed couple who put their first-born son up for adoption. Raised by
Paul
and Clara Jobs, Steven Paul Jobs grew up in California and displayed a
keen
interest in electronics from an early age.
In high school, he met a kindred spirit in Steve Wozniak, a man who shared
his passion for technology as well as practical jokes. The friendship
would
play a key role in the development of Apple and the career trajectory of
Jobs.
The two got their feet wet in the tech world by selling so-called "Blue
Boxes," devices that gave users the ability to make free long-distance
calls.
After graduating from Homestead High School in Cupertino, Calif., Jobs
enrolled at Reed College in Oregon in 1972. He dropped out after one
semester, but remained in the area for another 18 months auditing classes
like calligraphy.
In 1974, he returned to California and began working at Atari, an early
video game company. He also went on a spiritual journey to India with a
friend, marking the start of his interest in Eastern philosophy and
religion, including Buddhism.
The story of Steve and Steve
While Jobs was working at Atari, the company offered a bonus to anyone who
could reduce the number of computer chips in its popular game Breakout.
Jobs
and Wozniak, who was working at Hewlett-Packard at the time, managed to
eliminate a large number of them, which earned them a substantial reward.
Jobs, however, took a larger percentage of the cash reward, but did not
tell
his friend about the unequal distribution. Some say Wozniak was devastated
when he learned later of the deception.
Beginning of Apple
In 1976, Wozniak and Jobs opened Apple Computer Company. The tech giant's
spectacular rise, fall and resurgence would mirror Jobs' own life.
The company's first model, Apple I, was a simple circuit board, which was
sold to computer enthusiasts. Its follow-up, however, turned out to be a
huge success, vaulting the company from a relative unknown into a
household
name. Created in 1977, the Apple II was the first-ever complete home
computer, which came fully functional right out of the box. It
revolutionized the emerging industry.
Many credit Apple, and also Jobs, with changing the perception of what a
computer can be - from a high-tech tool used only by the business or
science
world to a commonplace device used by ordinary people.
Apple and the economic fortune of its co-founder continued to grow. After
the company's initial public offering in 1980, Jobs was worth over $200
million US.
Apple stalls
Personal life
. In 1978, Jobs's first daughter, Lisa, was born - although initially
he denied he was the father.
. In the 1980s, he began the process of reconciling with his daughter
- and learned of his birth parents.
. He married his current wife, Laurene Powell, in 1991.
. They would have three children together.
Following the initial success of the Apple II, the company - and Jobs -
suffered a series of setbacks. The Apple III did poorly sales-wise. When
IBM
entered the market in 1981 with its personal computer, it put pressure on
Apple, with the PC eventually grabbing a larger piece of computer sales.
Apple launched the Macintosh in 1984, the design of which was overseen by
Jobs. Despite some initial success, the computer did not sell as well as
expected.
During this time, many at Apple became disgruntled with Jobs's management
style, especially after several of his engineers on the Macintosh project
learned they were paid less than teams on other projects. Much of this
came
to a head in 1985, when Jobs struggled with CEO John Sculley for control
of
the company. Jobs attempted a boardroom coup, but it backfired. He was
left
with no managerial responsibility at Apple but remained chairman. He
resigned from the company that same year.
NeXT Computer and Pixar
Jobs's next venture was starting NeXT Computer, in which he hoped to
design
an advanced computer for higher education and research. Much like the
computers that followed Apple II, the NeXT Cube turned out to be largely a
commercial failure, despite its impressive computing power.
During this time, Jobs also came into contact with a small group of
graphics
experts who were keen to begin making computer-animated movies. In 1986,
he
bought the little-known company, Pixar, from George Lucas for $10 million
US. Much like NeXT, the company was initially unsuccessful and Jobs was
forced to reduce its size.
Things started to turn around for Jobs after Pixar signed a contact with
Disney to create the first computer-animated feature film, Toy Story.
Launched during the holiday season in 1995, the movie proved to be a
blockbuster and helped propel Jobs back into economic success - and the
spotlight.
Return to Apple
Jobs found himself back at the company he helped found when NeXT was
purchased by Apple in 1997 for 1.5 million shares of stock and more than
$400 million US. That same year, Jobs was named interim CEO of Apple,
after
the company posted huge losses. He would go on to re-organize the company
and once again turn it into a profit-making enterprise.
During the restructuring, many employees said they worried about meeting
Apple's new boss in the elevator, for fear they would not have a job by
the
time the doors opened.
In 1998, Apple released the iMac, a great improvement over previous models
with an aesthetically pleasing design. It was well received and helped
re-establish the company's brand.
Jobs was named CEO of Apple in 2000. He jokingly referred to himself at
the
time as the iCEO.
Throughout the next few years, the company continued to produce a series
of
successful products, most notably the iPod, which would come to dominate
the
MP3 player market.
Success and commendation would follow Apple and Jobs through the decade.
In 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone, to great acclaim. The company followed
up this success with the launch of the iPad in 2010.
In 2010, Jobs was ranked as the 42nd-richest person in the United States,
with a net worth of over $6 billion US. He was also ranked 17th on a list
of
the world's most powerful people.
Health problems
In 2004, Jobs announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He took a month off for treatment and recuperation.
He took another medical leave of absence between January and June of 2009,
during which he underwent a liver transplant.
In an email sent to Apple employees on Jan. 17, 2011, Jobs said he was
taking a third medical leave and would be putting Tim Cook in charge of
day-to-day operations. In the note, Jobs said he would still be involved
in
major strategic decisions for the company.
A month later, Jobs was part of a group of a dozen top tech CEOs invited
to
a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in San Francisco, as part of
his
effort to focus on high-tech initiatives.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/05/apple-jobs-death.html
Jobs introduces the Apple II computer in Cupertino, Calif., in this 1977
photo. Jobs co-founded Apple the previous year. (Apple/AP)
Jobs stands in front of a photo of himself, right, and Apple co-founder
Steve Wozniak during an Apple event in San Francisco in 2010. (Paul
Sakuma/AP)
Jobs resigned from Apple in 1985 but returned when the company acquired
Next
Software, which Jobs formed after leaving Apple, in 1996. (Lou
Dematteis/Reuters)
Jobs stands by the new iMac computer as he addresses the Apple Expo in
Paris
in September 1998. (Mousse Mousse/Reuters)
Jobs poses with Apple's iBook portable computer at the MacWorld show in
New
York on July 21, 2001. The iBook, with a base price of $1,599 and weight
of
2.72 kg, was offered in tangerine and blueberry colours. (Peter
Morgan/Reuters)
Jobs announced the launch of the Apple retail store in 2001. (Linda
Spillers/AP)
Jobs underwent cancer surgery in 2004. Here, he visits Apple employees in
Palo Alto, Calif., shortly after returning to work. (Paul Sakuma/AP)
In 2006, Jobs defended Apple's handling of a stock options-backdating
scandal. (Paul Sakuma/AP)
Jobs unveiled Apple's iPhone in 2007. (Paul Sakuma/AP)
Jobs turned heads in 2008 when he unveiled the Macbook Air by producing it
from a manilla envelope. (Paul Sakuma/AP)
Jobs, right, shows Russian President Dmitry Medvedev an iPhone at Apple
headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., June 23, 2010. (Dmitry Astakho/AP)
