There are individuals in this world who require no introduction, such as Steve Jobs, who was born on February 24, 1955, and passed away on October 5, 2011. As a co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.) and a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era, Jobs was raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, California, situated in what is now known as Silicon Valley. Although he had a keen interest in engineering, his youthful passions were diverse. Jobs dropped out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, began working at Atari Corporation as a video game designer in early 1974, and saved enough money to embark on a pilgrimage to India to explore Buddhism.
Journey to India
Steve Jobs went to India with the apparent intention of meeting Neem Karoli Baba, also known as Maharaj-ji, who was a revered guru and an inspiration to Steve's acquaintances Larry Brilliant and Robert Friedland, as well as other spiritual seekers. However, Maharaj-ji had passed away shortly before Steve's arrival, which left him feeling deeply disappointed. Steve's time in India was scattered and lacking direction, as is common among many young people who seek a broader perspective than the one they were taught as children. He attended a religious festival that was attended by millions of other pilgrims, donned flowing cotton robes, ate unfamiliar foods, and had his head shaved by a mysterious guru. Unfortunately, he contracted dysentery. During this time, he read Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi for the first time, a book that he would revisit several times throughout his life.
Apple was Born
Upon his return to Silicon Valley in the autumn of 1974, Jobs reconnected with Stephen Wozniak, an old high school friend who was working at Hewlett-Packard Company. Together, they built the Apple I, a logic board that they created in Jobs' family garage using the money they had acquired by selling Jobs' Volkswagen minibus and Wozniak's programmable calculator. After Wozniak designed an improved model, the Apple II, complete with a keyboard, Jobs helped obtain financing, distribution, and publicity for their new company, Apple Computer, which was incorporated in 1977. The Apple II was a huge success, becoming a symbol of the rise of personal computers. In 1981, the company had a record-breaking public stock offering, and in 1983, it made history by quickly entering the Fortune 500 list of America's top companies. To help run the company, Apple recruited John Sculley, the president of PepsiCo, to be its CEO in 1983, and implicitly, Jobs' mentor in managing a large corporation.
Leaving Apple
In 1979, Jobs took a small team of Apple engineers to Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to observe a technology demonstration that showcased how graphical user interfaces could improve computer efficiency and ease of use. Afterward, he left the engineering team working on Lisa, a business computer, to head a smaller group that aimed to build a more affordable computer. Both computers were redesigned to leverage and refine the PARC concepts, but Jobs was particularly fond of the Macintosh, or Mac, which ultimately became the new computer's name. Despite early disappointment in sales due to the Mac's underpowered and costly nature, as well as the limited software applications available, Apple continuously refined the machine until it became the company's cornerstone and served as a blueprint for all future computer interfaces. However, Jobs' perceived inability to remedy these issues caused strife within the company, and in 1985, Sculley persuaded Apple's board of directors to oust the renowned cofounder.
Pixar and NEXTSTEP
After leaving Apple, Jobs founded another company, NeXT Inc., which specialized in designing high-powered workstations for the education market. He received funding from Ross Perot, a Texas entrepreneur, and Canon Inc., a Japanese electronics company. Despite the NeXT computer's impressive engineering design, it struggled to compete with more affordable options from companies such as Sun Microsystems, Inc. In the early 1990s, Jobs shifted NeXT's focus to its innovative software system, NEXTSTEP.
In addition to NeXT, Jobs acquired a controlling stake in Pixar in 1986. Pixar was originally a computer graphics division of George Lucas's production company, Lucasfilm Ltd. Under Jobs' leadership, Pixar became a major animation studio over the next decade, producing groundbreaking films such as Toy Story, the first full-length feature film to be entirely computer-animated, in 1995. Pixar's public stock offering in that same year made Jobs a billionaire for the first time. Jobs eventually sold Pixar to the Disney Company in 2006.
Back to Apple
In the late 1990s, Apple faced significant financial losses and was close to collapsing. Gilbert Amelio was hired as CEO but discovered that the company had failed to develop a replacement for the Macintosh's outdated operating system. Amelio purchased Jobs' company, NEXTSTEP, for over $400 million, and Jobs returned to Apple as a consultant. However, the board of directors was unhappy with Amelio's inability to turn the company around, and Jobs was asked to lead the company once again.
Jobs formed an alliance with Microsoft, simplified the company's product line, and introduced the iMac, an egg-shaped, one-piece computer that offered high-speed processing at a modest price. He also launched an advertising campaign that urged customers to "think different" and buy Macintoshes. Jobs resisted the temptation to create machines that ran Windows OS or spin off Apple as a software-only company, believing that Apple's unique position as the only major computer maker with its operating system would enable the company to innovate.
The iMac became the nation's highest-selling personal computer by the end of the year, and Jobs announced consistent profits for the once-struggling company. He followed up the iMac's success with the stylish iBook and the powerful G4 desktop computer. Though Apple did not regain its former dominance in the industry, Jobs saved the company and reestablished himself as a visionary and a master high-technology marketer.
Apple revolution
In 2001, Steve Jobs began to revolutionize Apple for the 21st century. That year, Apple unveiled iTunes, a software application for playing and converting music to the widely used MP3 digital format. In the same year, Apple released the iPod, a portable MP3 player that quickly became the market leader. In 2003, Apple launched the sale of downloadable copies of major record company songs in MP3 format over the Internet, and by 2006, Apple's online iTunes Store had sold over one billion songs and videos. Recognizing the company's shift in focus, Jobs changed the name of the company to Apple Inc. in 2007.
In that same year, Jobs led Apple into the telecommunications market by introducing the touch-screen iPhone, a mobile phone with the ability to play MP3s, videos, and access the Internet. Later in 2007, Apple introduced the iPod Touch, a portable MP3 player and gaming device with built-in Wi-Fi and a touch screen similar to the iPhone. Apple's iTunes Store was used to sell Apple and third-party software, resulting in the iPhone and iPod Touch boasting the largest number of games of any portable gaming system. In 2008, Jobs announced that future releases of the iPhone and iPod Touch would offer improved game functionality. This move into the gaming business was ironic since Apple had initially refrained from supporting game developers for fear of its computers not being perceived as serious business machines.
Rather than associating Steve Jobs with his passing in 2011 due to health issues, I prefer to remember him every time I utilize my iPhone for various tasks in my daily life.
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