Steven Paul Jobs, born as a human, living on as a legend. His journey cannot be anything lesser than odyssey’s. The man realized what we wanted before we understood it ourselves; changing the contemporary consumer technology, and setting the bar for standards. Jobs left us in 2011, 5th October, losing his battle to rare Pan creating cancer. The Cupertino genius was 56.
Imagine what the computers meant for common people in 80s-- some complex electronic device, an obsession of geeky hobbyists-- filling the basement of house by cluttering noise of keyboard. Well, Jobs knew, the computers meant more than that. Now these devises are part of not only office space but of homes too. From Macintosh to latest iPhone 4, his journey never fails to inspire and excite.
He not only brought the change in world of tech, but the way new devices were unveiled to the public. Spectacular! His stage presence completely drew audiences like a gravity which pulled an apple. It was 24th January 1984. Young Jobs, in dark suit and bow tie (his then trade mark), unveiling his brand new device—a beige plastic box called Macintosh, the next big thing.
He stands in center stage, then verbal fireworks-- the rhetoric “you have to see this display to believe it. It’s incredible;” the potshot “and all of this power fits in a box that is one-third the size and weight of an IBM PC;” the tease “now I’d like to show you Macintosh in person. All of the images you are about to see on the large screen will be generated by what’s in that bag.”
Jobs retreating in to the shadows pull the satchel off the Macintosh. He inserts the disk and boosts it up. The screen gets animated with roughly pixelated display, which was a new thing then. Jobs make computer to speak. It says “hello, I am Macintosh. It’s great to get out of that bag. It’s considerable pride that I introduce a man who’s been like a father to me, Steve Jobs.”
The place fills with the applause; the moment of triumph for jobs; and a grin escapes.
Raw Charisma of Jobs was intact all the time, only later he presented himself in black mock turtleneck and blue jeans, till his last unveiling of Apple iPhone 4s.
The musings are all about this and much more—in to jobs epic journey. The Macintosh, iPods, iTunes, Nanos, Shuffles, Classics, Touches, iPhones, iPads, the Apple store and rainbow of memories.
Some tit-bits from Jobs Biography by Isaacson
How Apple Got Its Name
"Executek," "Matrix," and "Personal Computers Inc." were the options, for company’s names Jobs and Woz first considered. Jobs after returning from All One Farm, where he in his gypsy days used to tend apple trees, came up with “Apple” name. He even had a statement “I was on one of my fruitarian diets; I had just come back from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited, and not intimidating.”
Clinton Asked Jobs' Advice On Lewinsky Scandal
During late night phone conversation with Jobs, Clinton asked Jobs advice on Monica Lewinsky scandal, the reply was-- "I don't know if you did it, but if so, you've got to tell the country." The president was silent.
Why Jobs Wore Black Turtlenecks
Jobs' signature black turtleneck was initially inspired by a visit in the early '80s to a Sony factory in Japan, where the Apple co-founder noticed that all of the employees wore uniforms.
Jobs liked the idea, and ordered Japanese designer Issey Miyake to design vests for his employees and ordered black turtlenecks for him. The designer complied, and Jobs' trademark look was born.
Jobs Was Disappointed By Obama
Jobs was a supporter of Obama's -- he offered to help the president with his ads for the 2012 campaign -- he was "disappointed in Obama" who was "having trouble leading because he's reluctant to offend people or piss them off." He wanted the president to be tough decision maker.
Jobs Refused Potentially Life-Saving Surgery To Treat His Cancer
Jobs initially refused to undergo what could have been a life-saving surgery to treat his pancreatic cancer. For months, Jobs instead opted to treat the cancer with other, non-invasive therapies, including unusual diets, herbal remedies, and acupuncture."The big thing was that he really was not ready to open his body," Jobs' wife Laurene Powell explained.Powell did attempt to talk her husband into the surgery."The body exists to serve the spirit," she told Jobs."The big thing was that he really was not ready to open his body," Jobs' wife Laurene Powell explained.
Jobs Initially Opposed Apps
The thousands of applications available on iTunes have become a defining feature for Apple and have earned developers billions of dollars.
Jobs, however, initially opposed the idea of offering third-party apps.
Art Levinson, a member of Apple's board, recalled phoning Jobs "half a dozen times to lobby for the potential of the apps." Isaacson writes that Jobs "at first quashed the discussion, partly because he felt his team did not have the bandwidth to figure out all the complexities that would be involved in policing third-party app developers."
Jobs Was 'Depressed' By Lukewarm Reaction To iPad
Though iPad has been an unqualified success for Apple, the initial reaction to the tablet was lukewarm at best. People mocked its name, dismissed it as little more than an overgrown iPod touch, and speculated that it could be Apple's second Newton--a big, giant flop."I kind of got depressed today. It knocks you back a bit," Jobs told Isaacson the night after he unveiled the iPad.
Jobs' Bizarre Interview Question: 'Are You A Virgin?'
Isaacson writes that Jobs enjoyed asking job candidates "offbeat" questions to test their ability to think on their feet and gauge whether they had the right personality mix to succeed at Apple.The author recounts how on one occasion, Jobs began peppering a potential hire, who was "too uptight and conventional," with unusual questions -- and even interrupted his answers with "Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble." "How old were you when you lost your virginity?" Jobs asked. He continued, "Are you a virgin?" adding, "How many times have you taken LSD?"
Google 'Wholesale Ripped Us Off'
The animosity towards Google was clear, he thought Android as a "grand theft" that stole from the iPhone."Our lawsuit is saying, 'Google you f***ing ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off,'" Jobs told Isaacson in a conversation about a patent lawsuit Apple had filed. "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product.""I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this," Jobs added.
A small time travel:
Steven Paul Jobs was born on 24thFebruary, 1955 in San Fransisco California, to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, unwed couple. He was put to adoption. Adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a lower middle class couple, he moved to suburban city of Mountain View , Santa Clara county, a couple of years later. This place came to famously known as Silicon Valley, mushrooming with semi-conductor companies. This incites flare for electronics in Jobs who starts working on electronic gizmos in his garage. And when he was13 he met Woz, five years senior than his age who was an electronic whiz kid and prankster like Steve.
Five years later, Steve Jobs joined Reed College, an expensive liberal arts college up in Oregon. Steve after one semester at Reed, dropped out, and joined a hippie commune in Oregon where his main activity was cultivating apples, and learning eastern philosophy.
Jobs made trip to India with one of his college friends, in order to 'seek enlightenment'. Returning back disillusioned, he started to take interest in his friend Woz's new activities.
Woz, after attending Homebrew meetings on electronics started building his own computer board. Jobs took interest in his work, and on April 1, 1976 started their own computer company at Jobs’ garage in the name of Apple Computer Inc. Jobs convinced Mike Markkula, a former Intel executive and business man to invest $250,000 in 1977. Thanks to the Apple II, their company could be one of the Fortune 500 in less than two years.
In 1981, Jobs formed a small group of brilliant engineers who made Macintosh possible. And it proved to be big hit.
Steve hired John Sculley, the former Pepsi CEO to have a better market grip in 1983. By early 1985, sales were plummeting, but Steve Jobs refused to acknowledge it and continued to behave as if he had saved Apple. Jobs tried to convince board of directors to fire Sculley, but instead got himself fired.
After getting fired, he founded an animation company by name Pixar, in late 1985. At the time, George Lucas, who was in the middle of an expensive divorce, was selling the computer graphics division of his Lucas film empire. Steve Jobs had millions in the bank, after having sold all his Apple stock, and was interested. In early 1986, he bought the small group of computer scientists, and incorporated it as Pixar, which was a success story.
His next venture was NeXT computer. He built the machine with best hardware, built in the world's best factory and ran on UNIX OS. The machine did good, but not a hit.
In August 1997, Jobs took the stage at Macworld Boston putting forth his plans for Apple. He had gotten rid of the old board of directors, and settled a patent deal with Microsoft for $150 million. One month later, on September 16, 1997, Jobs accepted to become Apple's interim CEO.
Jobs did not turn back since from then; the friendly acquisition of Pixar by Disney, and then series of Apple hit products. Apple was grown into an untamable giant.
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