by Paul Suggett
Born February 24th 1955, and passing away on October 5th, 2011, Steve Jobs was co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. His impact on the technology industry, entertainment, advertising and pop culture was vast, and he leaves behind an empire that is changing the way we all live and work.
The Beginning of Apple
It all started with three men - Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Markkula - who together in the late 1970's designed and marketed the Apple II series of computers. It was the first commercially successful line of personal computers, and led to theApple Lisa in 1983 - the first computer to use a mouse-driven GUI (graphical user interface). One year later, the Apple Macintosh was born (launched by one of the greatest ads of all time, 1984), and with it, the Apple legend began to grow.
The Fall and Rise of Steve Jobs
In 1985, after a long and drawn-out fight with the Apple board, Steve Jobs "left" the company that he helped create. Some say he was pushed or ousted, others say he left simply to pursue other projects. That being said, his next move was NeXT, a tech company he founded that specialized in higher education and business.
One year later, in 1986, Steve Jobs took a major interest in a small division of Lucasfilm Ltd. Focused on the development of computer generated graphics for animated movies, the company now known as Pixar was acquired by Jobs. It was a master stroke for Steve, who instantly saw the potential for the company (which we now all know as one of the greatest movie-making studios of our time). After many small projects and lots of trial and error, Pixar released Toy Story in 1995 (crediting Jobs as the executive producer) and the rest is history.
One year after the release of Toy Story, in 1996, Apple bought the NeXT company that Jobs owned, and asked him to come back in a leadership role. He was interim CEO from 1997 to 2000, becoming the permanent CEO from that point until his eventual resignation in August of 2011.
Steve Jobs and Apple Begin World Domination
When Jobs came on board in 1996, Apple was still very much a niche computer platform. Windows-based PCs were owned by the vast majority of consumers, with the higher-priced Apple computers mainly being used by the creative industries, including advertising, design and motion pictures.
However, that all changed when the iPod came along in November of 2001. Out of nowhere, Apple was suddenly on everyone's lips. The idea that thousands of songs could be stored digitally on one small device much smaller than any Walkman or CD player was mind-blowing. Steve Jobs had spearheaded a product that literally changed the way music was played and shared.
Within a few years, Apple was the technology that everyone wanted to own. And then came the iPhone in 2007, which took Apple from a major player to the company everyone was trying to emulate. Overnight, the iPhone reinvented cell phone technology, and it was yet another crushing victory for Steve Jobs. His company, Apple, was the brand leader and the one leading the field.
In 2010, after many variations of the iPhone, the iPad was launched to an initially luke-warm reception. People didn't see the need for it, but Steve Jobs knew it was going to have a big impact. And it did. By March of 2011, over 15 million iPads were on the market.
Steve Jobs Loses His Fight With Cancer
The health of Steve Jobs had been in question since around 2006, when his gaunt, frail appearance and lackluster delivery were the focus of his WWDC keynote address. In actuality, Jobs had announced his condition (pancreatic cancer) to his staff in mid 2004. Between 2003 and his death in August 2011, Jobs underwent many procedures and therapies to try and beat the cancer, but it was too aggressive. He stepped down as CEO of Apple on August 24th, 2011, and died just a few weeks later on September 11th (the 10th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers).
Steve Jobs was a visionary, an entrepreneur, a savvy advertising client, and from what everyone who knew him has said, a good friend. He will be missed by many.
0 comments:
Post a Comment