Steve Jobs revolutionized the technology industry. He did this by making the first personal computer and marketing it to the world for use by the masses. Although, Jobs did have some hard times. From co-worker problems and employment issues to product failures and business flops, Jobs has been through  many challenges. He also has been very successful. Apple, the company Jobs created, has had impact on the world that is tremendous. There is now a “following” for Apple. Before the Mac, there was no personal computer that was easy to use with a graphical user interface. Also, Jobs made computer products fashionable.  The modern generation would not be the same without Steve Paul Jobs. (1,3)

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Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs and attended Cupertino Junior High School. In 1976, Steve Jobs met Stephen Wozniak, and founded Apple with funding from multimillionaire Mike Markkula. Jobs had a vision to make a computer that anyone could use, and was just as beautiful as powerful. When Woz and Jobs made the “Apple 1” it was a huge hit. The idea was almost instantly accepted by the costumers. The personal computer was the brilliant idea that became one of the most influential aspects of the 20th and 21st century. As Apple grew, Jobs needed to find a CEO for Apple Computer. (2,3)

Jobs eventually found the right CEO. His name was John Sculley, and he was, at the time, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola. In a meeting with Sculley, Jobs said, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water to children, or do you want a chance to change the world?”, (Sculley, John. “John Sculley” . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sculley. 2008.) and those words swayed Sculley to come to Apple. After the hit Super Bowl ad “1984”, that is today known as the “best commercial”. It symbolized that unique and original creative expression was what the “Macintosh” would provide. Apple fans went crazy. Soon after that, the Macintosh was born and became the first successful small computer with a graphical user interface, now known as a personal computer. Thing were going great. Steve won the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan in 1985, and was named the most powerful person in business by Fortune Magazine. But towards the end of the year, the Mac stopped being so popular, and lead to one of the most traumatic moments in Jobs life. The board of Apple fired Steve jobs. (3,2,1)

Jobs was expelled from the company he created. The board made this decision because Jobs and Sculley where fighting, so they had to get rid of one of them. Steve Jobs, of course, was devastated. But in the long run, it was a good thing. Jobs created Next step, a new computer company aimed at enterprises. The Nextstep software was the original object-oriented, multitasking operating system that you now see on all operating systems on the market. This was probably the most important software company in computer history. The OS Nextstep made introduced the dock, which is now used in Windows and OS X, the icon, which is now a standard for all computers, and most importantly the graphical user interface. Before the graphical user interface all you would see on your computer would be text. No pictures, cursor, videos, or color. This text based operating system is called Unix, and is still at the core of the most robust computers today. With Unix, the only thing used was the keyboard, because at the time the mouse was not yet invented. Nextstep was a very important aspect to the modern computer. (1,2)

Jobs also bought Pixar, a small start up for animation, which developed into more than he could ever imagine. It’s first Computer Generated Image (CGI) or “animated” film, Toy Story, was a gigantic hit in the box office. Pixar has always been on the cutting edge of animation techniques. With Jobs as the CEO of both Pixar and Nextstep, it was hard for him. Jobs spent most of his time at Nextstep, but he would drop by on Pixar periodically. He did contribute a lot to Pixar not by helping the films, but by making negotiations. He had a hard time dealing with Disney, in with which Pixar was partnered. Jobs had trouble with the CEO of Disney at the time, so it was hard to make a deal. Jobs was the kind of man who is ruthless, and holds grudges. After a new CEO came to Disney, negotiations started again. Finally, both companies agreed that Disney would buy Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion. This agreement involved Jobs leaving Pixar, but it made him the biggest private shareholder in Disney, with 7%, bigger than what Walt Disney had owned himself. (3,2)

Meanwhile, Apple bought Nextstep. Not only did that mean that Jobs was back at Apple, but they made him CEO of the company. This was a huge stroke of luck, and since Nextstep was not doing well, it worked out perfectly. But after he got back to Apple, Jobs had a lot of work to do. He needed to save Apple, which was now in very bad shape.

Apple was worse off than it had ever been. Jobs was in a very hard situation. He thought of all the things he could do to save Apple. First, he organized the Mac into two groups: Consumer and Professional. Instead of having fifty different models to choose from, Jobs made only three different models in each group, and that helped customers pick between Macs. This was a good step, but he knew he needed more. After much thought, he decided he would take Apple into the music business. He produced the iPod, a mp3 player “for the rest of us”. The iPod was a amazing hit. It lifted apple out of it’s ditch it had dug. The iPod was the second product Apple made that changed the world. It overtook the walkman and became the new standard for music and mp3 devices. (3,1)

Apple’s main competitor was Microsoft. Bill Gates was the CEO, and made windows, and is an extremely successful operating system that runs on basically all except the Mac. Microsoft tried to copy the iPod, and called there copy the Zune. It has not done half as well as the iPod. Bill Gates and Microsoft copied more than just the iPod. Apple sued Microsoft when the found apple copyrights in the Windows software. Basically, they just copied and pasted the Apple OS code right into Windows. They eventually settled the debate, and Apple made Microsoft promise that they would give Microsoft Office for Mac. Without Microsoft Office on the Mac, the customer appeal would go down greatly, so there was a silver lining to the copyright infringement’s Bill gates made. (1,2)

Jobs has had a hard time with his health. He has had pancreatic cancer. At first, the doctor said he was going to die. He had Tim Cook take over Apple and went home to be with his family. He tried some alternative methods but they didn’t work. After further investigation, the doctors found out that he had a extremely rare variation of pancreatic cancer that is treatable. He had to take the pancreaticoduodenectomy or “Whipple procedure”, where they move the organs in your body to bypass cancer. Even though the treatment is temporary, it was a success. Steve fully recovered from the procedure and went back to Apple. Two years later, the symptoms started again. Steve is currently at leave from Apple again, with Tim Cook as the CEO. Many shareholders are concerned. In a press release Jobs said that it was just a hormone unbalance . There are many  rumors about what the real problem is, but none can be proven. (3,2,1)

Before Steve Jobs, computers were for nerds. If a person knew anything about computers they where instantly not cool. Steve Jobs brought fashion into products. The Mac is “sexy” compared to a Dell which is a big gray hunk of plastic. Jobs made a brilliant move by bringing “sex appeal” into all Apple products.  They spend the same amount of time designing Apple products as much as they spend creating that actual hardware. Steve Wozniak, who was the guy who built the first Apple with Jobs, didn’t even think about design at first. Steve has a great talent with making things desirable. The fashion in the products is one of the main reasons why Apple has a huge fan base. (1,2)

It is true that Apple and Steve Jobs have a cult. The “Apple cult” is well known in the tech community. These people are refereed to as “Mac-Heads”. Steve Jobs was the main reason that Apple has the following that it has today. Steve did this through marketing, and product design. Steve Jobs thinks everything through, from the way you un-package the product, to how you throw it away. It is all planned, and that is what you pay for. The commercials are simple and minimalist, which draws you in to thinking that you had that apple product that life would be easy, or simple. Every apple store has a atmosphere that welcomes you into trying the products, as though they are already yours. These techniques work. Whenever there is a rumor a Apple product will come out, the internet is buzzing with excitement. Steve has created a cult, and everyone inside it believes that Apple’s products are flawless, and perfect. As Steve Jobs said, “people don’t know what they want until you tell them”. (3,2)

Steve Jobs has accomplished a lot in his life time so far. He has broken records, invented key concepts, and most importantly invented the graphical user interface in a personal computer, which made it accessible to the average person. Through all of his accomplishments he has made quite a lot of money. At this moment his personal net worth is 3.4 billion dollars. Even through hard times, Steve Jobs has proven that he is good at what he does. Steve Jobs will go down in history, as the man who shifted the technology world from it’s focus on stockholders and enterprises, to the costumers that the products are made for in the first place. (1,3,2)

Bibliography

1. Kahney, Leander. Inside Steve’s Brain. London: Penguin Group, 2008.

2. Young, Jeffrey. iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business. New Jersey: Wiley, 2005

3. “Steve Jobs”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs (5/1709).