Steve Jobs

I chose an amazing man, Steve Jobs, as my hero because he was an extraordinary visionary and showed resilience in all that he did. He has created unique technology since the first personal computer. Today, his iPads and iPhone are in high demand.

As a child Steven was put up for adoption by his mother Joanne Simpson and father Abdulfattah Jandali. Soon Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs who then named their son Steven Paul Jobs. Steve’s father would work on electronics in the garage and show Steve how to take apart and reconstruct them. In fourth grade Steve was a prankster so the only way his teacher could make him learn was by bribing him with candy and $5.00 bills that came out of her own wallet. Steve was now able to skip school and go up to middle school but his parents had wanted Steve to complete fifth grade then go to middle school.

Steve is in the middle of the group (http://www.waybeta.com/news/35968/it-giants-of-youth-%E2%80%94-steven-%C2%B7-steve-jobs-_cnbeta-character-steve-jobs/)

For high school Steve attended Homestead High School and joined a highly popular electronics class. There he met a person named Bill Fernandez, a friend of Steve Wozniak who was older than Bill and had seen potential in Steve. He told Wozniak about him. When the two met, they had great respect for one another. They would talk about computers, jokes and pranks that they had pulled. Steve and Wozniak created an invention that would intercept AT&T long distance calling services so they could get free calls. Steve and Wozniak named them blue boxes. They went dorm to dorm asking if anyone wanted to buy them. Steve had then attended Reed College for six months until he dropped out because it was too difficult. In the next 18 months Steve went to what he called creative classes.

The Fist Apple computer (http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/rare-apple-i-computer-sells-for-216000-in-london-20101124-1861g.html)

In 1974 Steve went to a video game designer named Atari but had left for spiritual enlightenment in India. In 1976, Steve and Wozniak were working on a computer in Steve’s bedroom and garage. They successfully created the first personal computer with a separate monitor, keyboard, and case. Steve wanted to sell their new invention. They were stumped on what to name the computer and their newly found company. Steve thought to name the company Apple because it was his favorite food. They put a bite in the apple to represent a byte. They sold the computer for a price of $666.66 each and made about $774,000 dollars. Later, Steve and Wozniak created the Apple II, Apple Lisa, and the Macintosh. The Macintosh was the first computer ever to have a mouse. Sculley had just been assigned to Apple. Employees at Apple said that Jobs was an erratic and temperamental manager. He would have meetings go until midnight and call a meeting at 7:00a.m. Due to low customer satisfaction Sculley believed Jobs was hurting Apple and let him go. While Jobs was away he found a job with George Lucas with an animation company named Pixar. He created wonderful animations like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Jobs invested 50 million dollars of his own money. Apple said not having Steve was like Walt Disney not having Walt Disney and hired Steve back to Apple. Pixar then merged with Disney and Steve was back at Apple, but without Wozniak. Steve already knew what to do and created amazing technology that we use everyday like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. While he worked at Apple, Steve Jobs paid himself a $1 salary a year at Apple.

Steve Jobs shows the iPad (http://www.examiner.com/cultural-trends-in-national/steve-jobs-calls-new-apple-ipad-magical-revolutionary-video)

People that inspired him were Steve Wozniak because without Wozniak he probably would have never started the Apple computer or even the company. In 2003, Jobs learned he had a tumor called neroendocrine. It was a rare but operable type of pancreatic cancer. Instead of Jobs getting the tumor removed, he postponed the surgery and went to find other treatments for it. Employees at Apple were nervous because if word got out that the CEO of Apple was sick shareholders might pull their stocks. Finally, Jobs received surgery and the tumor was successfully removed. Sadly, Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011. St. Croix Collections, who makes the black turtleneck that Steve has made famous, will donate $20.00 to cancer for every shirt that sells.

Steve Jobs has inspired me because he created outstanding technology and I am a person that loves up-to-date gadgets. When I read about him I am amazed that he created the first personal computer at his house with a few electronic devices and a good wiz-kid to help him. He made the touch screen work to its full potential when he made the iPhone and iPod. Jobs never gave up on what his goals and standards were. I believe that we will look back at his life 20 or 30 years from now and think of Steve Jobs as the man who changed the history of computers and technology forever.