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Steve Jobs: The Personal Computer Era

by Justin from San Diego

 (http://www.youthedesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/steve-jobs-apple-logo.png)
(http://www.youthedesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/steve-jobs-apple-logo.png)

At the age of twelve, a young boy named Steve Jobs joined a Hewlett-Packard computer/software club and immediately knew he wanted a profession in computers. That young boy grew up to become the founder of Apple Computer, which now stands as the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of over 346 billion dollars. Born in 1955, it was a lucky coincidence for Steve that his adoptive parents, Paul and Clara, moved the family from San Francisco to just south of Palo Alto, California. Mountain View, California, where Steve grew up, was considered a center for technology and would one day be called "Silicon Valley".  During his childhood, Steve Jobs had many opportunities to explore electronics, and he soon found interest in computers by working in the garage workshop of his electronics manufacturer neighbor. Jobs' newfound hunger for computers was stimulated by learning directly from engineers each week and creating basic technology products as a member of the Hewlett-Packard Explorer Club. These early experiences were the building blocks for Steve Jobs' life. He accomplished many things, and the accomplishments that were the most significant were the ones that only Steve Jobs could have envisioned. Nearly all of his technological advances came from Steve's unique vision of products that would put technology at your finger tips, but it was Job's passion and the ingenuity that brought products to the market and made Jobs a success. Steve Jobs is a hero because he revolutionized the world by transforming his visions into products that changed the way everyone lives.

The Rise of Apple (http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AAPL+Interactive#symbol=AAPL;range=my ())
The Rise of Apple (http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AAPL+Interactive#symbol=AAPL;range=my ())

Steve Jobs was passionate about computers from an early age, but this was only one of his passions.  He strived to infuse all his passions into his life's work, to become a true pioneer of the personal computer era.  Jobs' passions included the aesthetic, which he learned from a college course in calligraphy, and the esoteric, which he pursued in a spiritual quest in India.   After returning from India, Jobs was driven back to his first passion:

In Silicon Valley in the autumn of 1974, Jobs reconnected with Stephen Wozniak, a former high school friend who was working for the Hewlett-Packard Company. When Wozniak told Jobs of his progress in designing his own computer logic board, Jobs suggested that they go into business together, which they did after Hewlett-Packard formally turned down Wozniak's design in 1976. The Apple I, as they called the logic board, was built in the Jobs' family garage with money they obtained by selling Jobs' Volkswagen minibus and Wozniak's programmable calculator.  (Jobs, Steve. Britannica Biographies) 

With almost no money, no car, and little privacy Steve Jobs had a rough draft of his life's work, at least his life's work with computers.  Jobs devotion to his product and insistence that it be simple yet elegant shows the drive he had to create something of real value.  Several times Jobs faced disappointment, including being fired from Apple, but Jobs passion for technology kept him in the game. With Apple on the brink of bankruptcy due to his absence, Jobs returned to the company and his passion for products enabled him to innovate with yet another marvelous product, the iMac. His continued passion propelled him to make some of the most remarkable advances of his career when most men would have quietly retired.  Not even cancer could stop him from fulfilling his dreams.

In June 2009 the Wall Street Journal reported that Jobs had received a liver transplant the previous April. Not disclosed was whether the pancreatic cancer he had been treated for previously had spread to his liver. The operation was performed in Tennessee, where the average waiting period for a liver transplant was 48 days, as opposed to the national average of 306 days. Jobs came back to work on June 29, 2009, fulfilling his pledge to return before the end of June. (De Anza College) 

Jobs' body of work in the computer industry was already remarkable yet he did not leave the business simply because of health issues.  He still had work to do and his passion led to the culmination of his career:  the iPad.  During times of difficulty and times of luxury Jobs came into "work" with an open mind and passion for technology, which led him to his success.  

Jobs on Time Magazine (http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_2780671/time-magazine-united-states-18-october-1999/ ())
Jobs on Time Magazine (http://www.whosdatedwho.com/tpx_2780671/time-magazine-united-states-18-october-1999/ ())

Steve Jobs' vision came when the average person didn't even realize he wanted a computer, much less have any idea that he could own one.


Jobs had realized there was a huge gap in the computer market. At that time almost all computers were mainframes. They were so large that one could fill a room, and so costly that individuals could not afford to buy them. Advances in electronics, however, meant that computer components were getting smaller and the power of the computer was increasing. Jobs and Wozniak redesigned their computer, with the idea of selling it to individual users. Because jobs was able to be a step ahead of his opponent, Jobs was able sell it to individual users and it went on to make over 200 million dollars over the next 3 years. (Jobs, Steve.UXL) 


Jobs transformed the computer industry into something it had never been before. personal.  The realization of Jobs' vision was to become the most valuable company in the world: Apple Inc.  Jobs' bold ideas led to the creation of many advances in technology such as the graphic user interface or "GUI", the laptop, the mouse, touch screens, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, which have forever given a new meaning to the personal computer.  However, Jobs' vision was not limited to personal computer products. He took a risk on a struggling animation company, which turned out to be another one for the record books, when he bought Pixar and turned it into a movie making success story.


In 1986 Jobs purchased a small company called Pixar from filmmaker George Lucas (1944-).  Pixar specialized in computer animation. Nine years later Pixar released Toy Story, a huge box office hit. Pixar later went on to make Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life, which Disney distributed, and Monsters, Inc. All these films have been extremely successful. Monsters, Inc. had the largest opening weekend ticket sales of any animated film in history(Encyclopedia of World Biography)


 Jobs saw something in Pixar that not even movie making legend George Lucas could foresee: the widespread popularity of bringing imagination to life on the screen in a strikingly realistic way.  Jobs went "to infinity and beyond," as Buzz Lightyear would say, with ground breaking graphics and amazing animation that changed the way that technology is used in yet another part of our lives. Today CGI (Computer graphics illustration) technology developed at Pixar makes it possible to fly above Hogwarts castle and go down with Titanic, all in one afternoon.  It is difficult to imagine what the world would be like today had we not had the vision of Steve Jobs.

The Face of Apple (http://themancavedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Steve-Jobs.jpg)
The Face of Apple (http://themancavedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Steve-Jobs.jpg)

Steve Jobs was a clever and ingenious man who never hungered for fame and fortune; instead he thrived on innovation. In 1984, Jobs had already tasted success with the first Apple computers, but he knew that something was missing from the computer.

In 1984 Apple introduced a revolutionary new model, the Macintosh. The on-screen display had small pictures called icons.  To use the computer, the user pointed at an icon and clicked a button using a new device called a mouse.  This process made the Macintosh very easy to use. (Encyclopedia of World Biography)

 Where does someone come up with an idea so out of context from the binary, linear computer standard as the mouse?  In the mind of a genius named Steve Jobs of course!  This revolutionary contraption called a "mouse" has been in use ever since and in my mind is one of the many ways to remember the great Steve Jobs as a person who "thinks different". Later in Jobs' career, he took Apple on the road - literally. "Apple created innovative mobile media products as the ipod, which revolutionized mobile technology." (De Anza College)  The ability to go mobile relied not only miniaturization, but also the replacement of mechanical pointers, like the mouse, with touch-screen innovation. The iPod crushed the portable music industry and left lowly "Walk-mans" in the dust.  I, like many others, think the iPod it is the simplest, if not the only way, to carry your entire personal music library in your pocket. These are just a few examples of how Jobs used his ingenuity to create products that he envisioned but were not supported by the technology of the time.

http://blog.mason23.com/bid/119211/Leadership-and-Brands-What-made-Steve-Jobs-a-great-leader ()
http://blog.mason23.com/bid/119211/Leadership-and-Brands-What-made-Steve-Jobs-a-great-leader ()

We will never know what more Steve Jobs could have envisioned, would have been passionate about, or what genus he could have devised had he lived another 20 or 30 years. We were robbed of Steve's gifts all too soon when he died at the age of 56. But I can imagine that he's shaking things up on the other side. As he was leaving this world on October 5, 2011, his last words were "oh wow, oh wow, oh wow" (Isaacson). Was that a realization of the immense contribution that he made to this world? Or was it a passionate reinvigoration of vision when presented amazing new opportunities to continue innovating on the other side? Steve once said "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." (Isaacson).  Steve Jobs was not a great philanthropist or salesman military leader, but he changed the world, and for that, he is a hero.

Works Cited

De Anza College. "California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Newsroom Notable Alumni Steve Jobs." California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office Newsroom Notable Alumni Steve Jobs. California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 2011. Web. 22 May 2012

Encyclopedia of World Biography. "World Biography." Steve Jobs Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. .

Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Print.

"Jobs, Steve." Britannica Biographies (2011): 1. Biography Reference Center. Web. 8 May 2012.

Jobs, Steve ." UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Laura B. Tyle. Vol. 6. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 1007-1010. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 May 2012.

http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/Newsroom/NotableAlumni/SteveJobs.asp.

Page created on 5/25/2012 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/25/2012 12:00:00 AM

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