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For someone who said “We do no market research. We don't hire consultants,” Steve Jobs sure did manage to make products that tapped the computing needs of millions. Here is a look at the life of the man who revolutionised personal computing.
Timeline
24{+t}{+h} Feb, 1955 – Born to a Syrian Muslim father and Swiss-German mother, he is given up for adoption and taken in by Paul and Clara Jobs.
1960 - The Jobs family relocates to Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley.
1972 – Steve Jobs meets Steve Wozniak, an employee of Hewlett-Packard, while working at the company as a summer employee.
1973 – Steve spends one semester at Reed College, Oregon, and then drops out.
1974 – Steve gets a job at Atari, and makes a trip to India to seek enlightenment.
1975 – 1975, Jobs and Wozniak begin working on the Apple I in Jobs' bedroom.
1977 – Apple is incorporated by its founders and a group of venture capitalists. It unveils Apple II, the first personal computer to generate colour graphics. Revenue reaches $1 million.
1983 – The Lisa is launched , only to be pulled two years later. Jobs lures John Sculley away from Pepsico Inc. to serve as Apple's CEO.
1984 – The iconic 1984 Macintosh computer goes on sale.
1985 – Jobs and Sculley clash, leading to Jobs' resignation. Wozniak also resigns from Apple this year.
1986 - Jobs starts Next Inc., a new computer company making high-end machines for universities. He also buys Pixar from Star Wars creator George Lucas for $10 million.
1989 - First NeXT computer goes on sale with a $6,500 price tag.
1991 - Apple and IBM Corp. announce an alliance to develop new PC microprocessors and software. Apple unveils portable Macs called PowerBook.
1996 –Apple announces plans to buy NeXT. Jobs is appointed an adviser to Apple.
1997 - Jobs becomes interim CEO at Apple.
1998 - Apple launches the candy-coloured iMacs, discontinues the Newton.
2000 – Jobs is appointed as the CEO.
2001 - The first iPod goes on sale, as do OS X and iTunes.
2003 - The iTunes Music Store is launched with 2 lakh songs at 99 cents each and sells 1 million songs in the first week.
2004 – Jobs undergoes surgery for a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer.
2005 – Apple expands the iPod line with the tiny Nano and an iPod that can play video.
2007 - Apple releases its first smartphone, the iPhone.
2009 – Steve Jobs announces he is taking a six-month leave of absence to focus on his health.
Jan 2010 – Steve Jobs unveils the first iPad. What was looked at by critics as a giant iTouch sold about 1 million units in less than a month.
Aug 2011 – Apple announces that Jobs is resigning as CEO. Tim Cook takes the CEO title, and Apple names Jobs chairman.
Oct. 5, 2011 – Jobs dies at 56. Apple announces his death without giving a specific cause.
From the man himself
A couple of quotable quotes that reveal a lot about him.
Fascinating foresight
“You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.”
(Interview with Inc. Magazine, 1989)
Money matters
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me.”
(The Wall Street Journal, 1993)
Peer pressure
“The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.”
(Triumph of the Nerds, 1996)
On Apple products, while he was away
“The products suck! There's no sex in them anymore!”
(BusinessWeek, 1997)
On computers
“We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”
One Dollar CEO
“I make 50 cents for showing up ... and the other 50 cents is based on my performance.”
(AppleInsider, 2007)
His magic mantra
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.”
(COMPILED BY TEAM E-WORLD)
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