History of the Apple SPECIAL brand. Steve Jobs, "Think Different" story of Apple

The future computer genius was born in 1955. His childhood can hardly be called the childhood of a prosperous child. The birth mother of little Steve left the child as soon as he was born, and he was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs. Interesting fact: decades later, a wealthy Jobs specifically hired a private detective to find his real mother. But not only the mother was found. Unexpectedly, Jobs found out that he also has a sister, Mona Simpson. Moreover, she turned out to be not just anyone, but a well-known American writer. Subsequently, Mona wrote, among other things, the short story "The Ordinary Guy" - a story about Steve Jobs, who had become widely known by that time. But the very fact that the matured Jobs found his mother and sister and established family relations with them says a lot about him as a person.

But then, as a child, Jobs was a big bully who had every chance of becoming a juvenile delinquent. However, the school and the wonderful teachers in it changed everything. They showed the kid that mastering knowledge and creating something new is much more interesting than just breaking the law. And soon there was a story that was repeatedly described in special literature and has already become a classic.

When Steven Jobs was twelve years old, he wanted to build an electric current frequency indicator for his school physics classroom. But the necessary details, as it turned out, were not available. Then young Jobs took and called directly William Hewlett himself - a legendary personality in the United States, the leader of American business, one of the founders and president of the famous corporation Hewlett-Packard. The conversation began (according to Steve's recollection) something like this: Hello, you know, uh, I'm twelve years old and I'm trying to solder a frequency sensor here...". The unusual conversation lasted about twenty minutes, and as a result, Jobs received not only all the details he needed, but also a summer job at Hewlett-Packard. Jobs now receives occasional phone calls from teenagers who share their ideas about computers and mobile devices with him. Steve Jobs comments on this: Of course I talk to them. It's the only way I can repay my debt to Bill Hewlett.».

Well, a few years later, a truly historic event happened: Jobs met his now no less famous namesake. The namesake's last name was Wozniak and he attended the same Homestead High School in Cupertino. Despite the difference in characters, the boys quickly became friends, as they had common interests - science fiction, radio electronics and video games. But first of all - computers. As it turned out, at the age of 13, Stephen Wozniak independently assembled not the easiest calculator. And at the time of meeting Jobs, Wozniak was already thinking about the concept of a personal computer, which did not yet exist in principle. Not surprisingly, both Steves soon began attending lectures held in Palo Alto by Hewlett-Packard employees, and in the summer they worked in the same corporation - they gained experience.

The youth of the cyber-prophet.

The youth of Steve Jobs fell just at the heyday of the hippie movement - with all the ensuing consequences. In 1972, Steve Jobs graduated from high school and entered Reed College, and Steve Wozniak went to work as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard. But just a semester later, Jobs dropped out of college and in 1974 joined Atari as a video game designer. However, a few months later he quit his job, and with his hippie friends left to "expand consciousness" in India - then it was a very fashionable occupation.

What Jobs saw and learned in India still remains unknown, but the fact that he returned from there a completely different person is a fact. Returning from India, Jobs became a regular visitor to the Homebrew Computer Club, a well-known community of electronics enthusiasts at that time. Even then, the idea of ​​making a personal computer completely captured him. Moreover, one of the founders of the mentioned club was Steve Wozniak, who also thought about the concept of the future PC, which did not yet exist in nature. Together, friends and embodied their idea "in iron". But commercial success proved more difficult to achieve.

First, in 1975, Wozniak demonstrated the finished personal computer model to the management of Hewlett-Packard. However, the authorities did not show the slightest interest in the initiative of one of their engineers - everyone then imagined computers solely as iron cabinets stuffed with electronic components and used in big business or the military. No one thought about home PCs. In Atari, Wozniak was also given a turn from the gate - they did not see commercial prospects for the novelty.

And then Steve Jobs made the most important decision in his life - he persuaded Steve Wozniak and his colleague from Atari Ron Wayne to create their own company and engage in the development and production of personal computers.

Apple: early years and early successes.

A company with a frivolous name Apple Computer was established on April 1, 1976. The first logo designed by Ron Wayne himself was the image of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. Like Hewlett-Packard once upon a time, Apple started in a garage that Paul Jobs gave to his adopted son and his associates; he even brought along a huge wooden workbench, which became the first "assembly line" in corporate history. To work on Apple I young people had at night. " There were only two of us - Wozniak and me. We were both the production department and the delivery service, literally everyone at once“, Jobs now recalls. After some time, Jobs managed to attach a batch of Apple I computers to the owner of the first ever computer store called Byte Shop - Paul Terrell. Then these computers were simply boards to which the user / buyer had to independently connect the power, keyboard and monitor.

But Paul Terrell was extremely interested in the concept of a personal computer. He stated that he was ready to purchase 50 Apple I computers from the new company at once for $500 each, and then sell them for $666.66 - such an unusual price was approved by Steve Jobs himself. In order to buy the radio components needed for assembly, the founding friends sold all the most valuable things and borrowed money. I had to work at night, but in a month all fifty sets were assembled. True, on the twelfth day of existence Apple, Ron Wayne left the Steves, selling them his ten percent stake in the seed for $800. Here is how Wayne himself later commented on his act: “ Jobs is a hurricane of energy and determination. I was already too disappointed in life to ride through it in this hurricane.».

Despite all the difficulties, because no one produced computer components then, and for night work, Jobs and Wozniak saw the prospects for the PC as a market product. Especially since Apple I was a huge success with buyers. In total, friends produced about six hundred computers of this brand, which allowed not only to distribute debts, but also to raise a new company to its feet. However, first things first...

Becoming.

One way or another, the company had to develop. Both Steves decided what to do next. As a result, the personal computer appeared in the form in which we know it - with a color graphic monitor, a mouse and a plastic keyboard. But then no one released anything like this, although the need was clearly ripe. The very idea of ​​such a computer was perceived by large businessmen with open skepticism. As a result, it turned out to be very difficult to find funding for a release created by friends. Apple II. Both Hewlett-Packard and Atari again refused to fund the unusual project, although they considered it "fun". Apparently, they are still biting their elbows ...

Indeed, the young Steves did not then have the slightest experience in doing business, and often acted at random. But always good. As Jobs himself said, Apple's roots were in making computers for people, not corporations". But there were also those who picked up the idea of ​​a computer that would be accessible to the general population. So, the famous financier Don Valentine brought Steve Jobs to the equally famous venture capitalist Armas Cliff "Mike" Markkula. The latter helped young computer entrepreneurs write a business plan, invested $92,000 of his personal savings in the company, and secured a $250,000 line of credit with Bank of America. All this allowed the two Steves to “get out of the garage”, significantly increase production volumes and expand the staff, as well as launch the fundamentally new Apple II into mass production.

Then, in the late 70s, few people even imagined what a personal computer should be like. All this is reflected in the Apple advertising campaign - on twenty-year-old yellowed posters with the image of the Apple II, you can read the question: “ What is a Personal Computer?". At the same time, the Apple logo, now known to the whole world, appeared - a bitten apple, painted in all the colors of the rainbow. This logo was created by Regis McKenna's advertising agency and personally edited by Steven Jobs. The new logo was supposed to indicate that the Apple II worked with color graphics. Subsequently, Jean-Louis Gasse, ex-president of several Apple divisions and founder of Be Inc., said: “ It was impossible to dream of a more suitable logo: it embodied lust, hope, knowledge and anarchy...».

The success of the Apple II was truly grandiose - the novelty was sold out in hundreds and thousands of copies. Recall that this happened at a time when the entire world market for personal computers did not exceed ten thousand units. Over the 18 years since their production began, several million of these models have been sold, and the share of Apple II in American schools in 1997 was about 20% of the entire computer fleet.

By 1980, Apple Computer was already an established and established computer manufacturer. Its staff consisted of several hundred people, its products were exported outside the United States, and its shares were highly quoted by stockbrokers, having received the AAPL index. However, financiers could not understand then the reasons for Apple's success. Too unusual was the company created by the two Steves. Unusual but successful. Personal computers quickly broke into the daily life of people in developed countries. For two decades, they have firmly taken their place among people, becoming indispensable assistants in production, organizational, educational, communication and other technological and social affairs. The words spoken by Steve Jobs in the early 80s became prophetic: “ This decade saw the first meeting between the Society and the Computer. And for some crazy reason, we were in the right place at the right time to do everything for this romance to flourish.».

Apple Inc. ("apple") is a corporation with a special reputation. Thanks to innovative technologies, exceptional quality and aesthetic design of its products, this company has become a real cult among electronics consumers. Tablets and personal computers, telephones, audio players, Apple software - everything is invariably popular in all corners of the planet. How was this legendary corporation created? Who was the ideological inspirer of its appearance? What was the original name of Apple? You will learn about all this from this article.

First corporate name

Apple's Apple logo has become one of the most recognizable in the world. There are many rumors and legends around its name. Among the most common versions, there are some really interesting ones. There is no disagreement about how Apple was originally called. The officially registered first name of the company is Apple Computer. It existed under this name for 30 years until it was renamed simply Apple. This step was quite logical, by that time the corporation produced not only computers. But why did the company get the "apple" name? This is discussed ahead.

Why Apple?

According to one version, Steve Jobs decided to stop at the "apple" name because it automatically appeared on the first lines of telephone directories, immediately before the name of Atari, a manufacturer of computer games. In addition, the apple symbolized the environmental friendliness of the company's products. Apple was one of the first to recycle old computer components. All this is true, but if you look at the first logo of the corporation, then other answers will arise to questions about how Apple was originally called, why it was named that way. The symbol of the corporation was a man sitting under a tree, over whose head an apple hung menacingly. The plot is reminiscent of the story of Isaac Newton, right? This means that the name of the company also hinted at the extraordinary ingenuity inherent in its creators. In addition, biblical motifs can be traced in the name of the company. A bitten apple symbolizes temptation. Apple's popular Macintosh product line was also named after the variety of apples favored by its creator, Jeff Raskin.

How it all began

The history of the creation of Apple is covered in rumors and legends. It all started back in 1970, when two comrades, Steve Jobs, created a personal computer based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. It was essentially a motherboard and looked very unpresentable. However, enterprising friends, one of whom (Wozniak) was a gifted electronics engineer, and the second (Jobs) had an outstanding commercial streak, managed to sell several dozen of their products. On the proceeds in 1976, on April 1, a new company for the production of personal computers was officially registered. We already know how Apple was originally called.

Computer for every home

In 1976, the first Apple 1 microcomputer was released. Apple's original products were not revolutionary at all. In parallel with it, personal computers were produced by Tandy Radio Shack and Commodore. However, it was the creators of Apple who managed to make their products so bright and desirable for people that they were happy to buy. Steve Jobs introduced into the mind of the consumer the idea that a personal computer is a thing necessary in every home. He ensured that the computer became interesting not only to professional electronics engineers, but also to ordinary people. Apple has managed to make its brand legendary. Computers of the second generation, produced in this company, became the best-selling on the globe. At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, more than five million Apple-branded electronic machines were sold.

Sales problems

In 1980, the office where Apple was located was in disarray and vacillation. Steve Jobs had to lay off forty employees of the company, as the release of third-generation computers was extremely unsuccessful. True, at the same time, the company made the largest initial public offering in the history of the stock exchange. But this did not help the situation. The press predicted the imminent disappearance of Apple. In 1983, Scully John, a talented top manager who had previously held a similar position at PepsiCo, was invited to the post of president of the company. Friction immediately began between the main ideological inspirer of the corporation, Steve Jobs, and the new leader.

Company development in the 1980s

In 1984, the original Apple products were supplemented with a line of new 32-bit products. The production and sale of such equipment determined the main activity of the company for two decades. It produced computers based on Motorola processors with the Apple operating system installed on them, compatible only with the corporation's proprietary products. In addition, the company has traditionally had strong positions in educational and government organizations, design and publishing. A little later, Apple won a leading position in the music industry. The company was the first to equip its equipment with a computer mouse and a graphical user interface. In 1985, Reagan awarded Wozniak and Jobs with medals for the development of technological progress.

Steve Jobs

In 1985, another fateful event in the history of the corporation happened. - Steve Jobs - was forced to leave it due to disagreements with management. This man was distinguished by frenzied enthusiasm, intolerable character, wild unscrupulousness and incredible charm. He knew how to inspire the most insane enterprises. Only Jobs could have persuaded the board of directors to give $750,000 to a newfangled director (Ridley Scott) for making a commercial for the Apple III computers and pay even more for one minute of super-expensive airtime during the broadcast of the American football Super Bowl. The original Apple products at that time were an order of magnitude worse than those of competitors. But they bought it! It took several months for the consumer to understand that a very mediocre computer with a black-and-white interface and only fifty programs was hidden behind a bright advertising wrapper. And the story of how crazy Jobs leaked into the Xerox PARC secret research center and brought out several revolutionary ideas from there (computer mouse, text editor, etc.) is still the biggest theft in the history of the computer industry. However, the methods used by the legendary co-founder of Apple were too original. So when sales of Apple III computers plummeted, Steve Jobs was asked to leave the company.

Company development in the 1990s

Under the strategically correct and technically sound leadership, Apple Corporation lasted for many years. The development of the company, however, slowed down every year. And by the end of the 1990s, things got really bad for her. Within two years (from 1995 to 1997), sales losses rose to $1.86 billion. Apple has not had its best days. Her mastermind, madcap and adventurer Steve Jobs was invited to return. He took another giant step in the development of the company. He began to look for new markets, not related to the production of computer equipment, and in this area surpassed himself.

Multimedia revolution in the 2000s

The chronicle of events at this time looks something like this:

• 2001 - iPod audio player - Apple introduced a portable media player to consumers. It struck the imagination of people with its minimal size and impressive capabilities.
• 2003 - iTunes Store - the company opened an online multimedia store where, for a minimal fee, you can download media content in AAC format that can be played on Apple devices.
• 2007 - iPhone - the company entered the market with its own mobile phone. This touchscreen smartphone was swept off the shelves for any money. It is still very popular today.

Our days

In the 2010s, the authority of Apple in the field of multimedia technology has become recognized and undeniable. In order to finally establish itself in this field, the corporation released in 2010 a tablet computer, the famous iPad. This product has broken all records in terms of sales. Over 1 million tablets were sold in 28 days. For comparison: the first iPhones were bought almost three times slower. They passed the one million mark in 72 days. Steve Jobs claimed that on the first day, 300,000 iPads were sold, 250,000 e-books were downloaded, and about 1 million apps were downloaded. In the wake of unprecedented demand for Apple products, its financial situation has improved dramatically. In 2011, it was recognized as the most valuable corporation in the world by market capitalization, overtaking the well-known oil company ExxonMobil. In 2012, Apple's share price growth peaked at $705.07. However, by 2013, the company's market capitalization had fallen by 37.6% and now constantly competes for the title of the most valuable company in the world with ExxonMobil.

The company constantly surprises the consumer with innovative products. In 2013, Apple released a 64-bit dual-core ARM microprocessor. In 2014, a new personal device appeared on the market - Watch.

Apple headquarters

Cupertino - the city where Apple is located, is located in the headquarters of the corporation is sometimes also called the "campus" because of its large size and resemblance to American university campuses. It occupies about sixty buildings. The six largest of them, on Infinite Loop Street, are the main offices. They are the face of Apple. Everything here calls for "thinking differently": bright offices filled with cutting-edge technology, laboratories in which wireless communications are tested, billboards and stands in huge lobbies flooded with light. There are also gyms, cafes and a store selling branded products, which are instantly sold out by clouds of tourists. The place where Apple is located will soon be replenished with a second campus, designed for 13 thousand people. It will look like a silver light spaceship. Inside it is planned to break the park. This amazing project was developed with the direct participation of Steve Jobs.

Who is the CEO of Apple?

In August 2011, Steve Jobs had to step down as president of Apple for health reasons. This position was taken by the current CEO of the company - Tim Cook. After the departure of the main ideological inspirer, the value of Apple shares fell by 7%. Steve Jobs died after a long illness on October 5, 2011. His death was a resonant event that shook the whole world. Since then, the company's business has been moving with varying degrees of success. In 2013, for example, there was a message that due to the fact that the market value of Apple fell by almost half (from 702 to 390 billion dollars), Tim Cook could leave his post. However, the company still manages to maintain a leading position in the mobile industry, and the demand for "apple" products remains consistently high. Now you know where Apple is located, and not only.

He came out - he officially declared that he was a homosexual. edition Bloomberg Businessweek Cook admitted that he was proud of this, and called his sexual orientation "one of the greatest gifts of God."

In contact with

In his interview, Cook says that all his life he had to hide his views on gender relations so as not to attract unnecessary attention to himself. AT Apple many of his colleagues knew about Tim's sexual orientation - but, to their credit, this did not affect the attitude towards Cook. The corporate culture of the company, which is very tolerant of representatives of sexual minorities, affected:

“Of course, I am lucky to work for a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows that it can only thrive if it can embrace the difference in people. Not everyone is so lucky."

Tim Cook does not consider his sexual orientation a problem:

"Let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay and I consider being gay one of the greatest gifts God has given me."

Tim is sure that homosexuality helped him become a better businessman: he understood other members of various minorities better than many, and became more insightful. Cook admitted that sometimes it was very difficult for him, but in the end he only became more confident in himself and in his path.

Tim is not going to become an ardent activist and actively fight for gay rights. The reality, however, speaks somewhat differently - Apple supports significant initiatives aimed at resolving issues of sexual minorities. In Cupertino, they spoke in favor of consideration in the US Congress of a law on gender equality at work, welcomed the legitimation of same-sex marriage by the state of California, and opposed discrimination against gays in Arizona (they recently adopted a corresponding law).

Cook hopes his confession will give strength to other less confident gay people. At the same time, Tim intends to continue to maintain a certain level of privacy - he does not consider it necessary to tell the press and the public the name of his partner.

Notorious "wrestler" with non-traditional sexual relationships Vitaly Milonov commented on the statements of Tim Cook as follows:

What can he bring us? Ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhea? They all have promiscuous connections there. Deny entry permanently. […] In this way he increases sales. Apple has become a popular brand. He is like an artist who first promotes himself as an artist, and then declares that he is a ped@#&st. Now everyone knows that Apple is doing ped@#&you, and everyone's consciousness begins to change - well, he's talented ... This is a subtle political move.

Apparently, the deputy will have to change his technique - it is known that Milonov uses iPhone, iPad and iMac. And last year, V. Milonov even offered the Russians "to abandon the window slavery of Windows."

What do you, dear readers, think about all this?

2012/03/13 | Miscellaneous

A pple is a well-known American company for the production of personal and tablet computers, as well as phones, audio players and software. Who is the founder of Apple Corporation?

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The story begins when Jobs and Wozniak built the first PC themselves. After they sold the first few dozen computers, their project received funding. Apple Corporation was incorporated in 1976.

Let's talk more about who is the founder of Apple. Steve Jobs is an interesting person. He was born in California. His biological parents were originally from Syria, they gave Steve to the upbringing of a foster family in early childhood. Steve Wozniak's family was originally from Ukraine.

Already at school, Jobs became interested in electronics.

How to become the second Steve Jobs?

He was drawn rather not to peers, but to communication with older children. So Jobs became friends with the second founder of the future Apple Corporation, Steve Wozniak. Before they built their first personal computer, the BlueBox became a petty hooliganism among young people. This so-called blue box was a device that allowed long-distance phone calls to be made for free.

After leaving school, Steve Jobs went to college, but after half a year he was expelled from there of his own free will. Life was not easy for the young man. But after a while, Jobs was hired by the Atari computer game company.

And Stephen Wozniak, who is also the founder of Apple Corporation, was educated at the University of California. When creating their first computer, both Steves initially did not set high goals for themselves. But later, Steve Jobs had the idea to sell such a machine in the form of a fully assembled personal computer. He managed to convince his friend with such an argument as though he would have something to tell his grandchildren. The first computer at Apple Corporation is recognized as a real engineering marvel within the computing technology of the mid-70s. The ease of use was amazing!

As for the name of the company, there is no version on this score. According to one of them, due to the lack of any ideas, Jobs suggested naming the company in honor of his favorite fruit (apple). Others argue that the name of the company is due to the fact that it was important for Jobs that the current Apple corporation was ahead of Atari in the telephone directory.

History of Apple

The 20th century is commonly called the century of aviation and astronautics. But the 70s of the last century can also be called the era of the formation of the modern IT industry. And not the last role here was played by Apple.

The history of Apple began thirty years ago, when two friends Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak decided to found their own company for the production and production of computers. Apple was officially founded on April 1, 1976, and it was then that the hand-assembled Apple Computer I appeared on the market - in ten months, 175 pieces were assembled and sold at a price of $ 666.66. Essentially, the Apple I was a motherboard without a chassis, keyboard, sound, or graphics.

In February 1977, Michael Scott becomes president of Apple.

When Apple was Founded: A Brief History of Success

A significant step forward was the release in April of the same year, Apple Computer II - the first personal computer with color graphics. There was support for displaying different colors on the screen, commands were developed for working with sound and, therefore, there was a built-in speaker and keyboard, it became possible to quickly change the image on the display, there was a power supply, etc. All of this "stuffing" was packaged in a specially designed molded plastic case, which greatly distinguished the new Apple from other computers that looked like clumsy sheet metal boxes. At the same time, the now world-famous logo appeared - a bitten multi-colored apple - created by the advertising agency Regis McKenna.

In May 1979, Apple employee Jeff Raskin began work on a new all-in-one computer that was aimed at the average user. It is this period that can be called the beginning of the birth of the first Macintosh.

In 1983, Apple released the Lisa, the first personal computer with a graphical user interface, named after Jobs' daughter. But due to the rather high price and a limited set of applications, this model is not widely used. Although from a commercial point of view, Lisa was a complete failure, nevertheless, its release was not in vain - the Lisa 7/7 operating system used here had a windowed interface, a buffer that allowed data to be transferred between applications, and much more.

Apple officially unveiled its very first Macintosh on January 22, 1984 with a 1984 commercial based on the plot of D. Orwell's book. This clip was named the promotional video of the decade, won the Grand Prix at Cannes, and to this day is considered one of the most original in the history of advertising. This event was a significant milestone in the history of personal computers. With the advent of the Macintosh, people's understanding of computers radically changed, and the foundations were laid, which later began to be used by all computer companies. In September of the same year, Apple began selling the Macintosh 512K for $2,495.

Years passed and, naturally, the computer industry also did not stand still. During the entire time of improvement of Macintosh computers, their operating system Mac OS (System) has also developed, that is, new features have expanded, its individual elements have changed and new technologies have been introduced. When Mac OS was first introduced in 1984, it represented the pinnacle of modern programming at the time.

From the very beginning, the system was developed with the expectation that any user, not having the necessary qualifications, sitting down at the computer for the first time, could immediately start working on it in a few minutes without delving into the technical parameters. Operating systems for other platforms that came out a few years later offered things like secure memory and multitasking, which ended up being a better user experience. Apple didn't build these things into Mac OS because the microprocessors that were available during the development of Mac OS weren't powerful enough. But over time, Mac OS has grown in additional functionality, while remaining the easiest to learn and use. Convenience and simplicity of work in this system were one of the main goals of its creators, and the internal logic of the interaction of individual parts of the operating system was primarily subject to these requirements.

When Apple faced the question of developing a new generation operating system, then, having weighed all the pros and cons, the company decided to use the developments of NeXT, which used operating systems under the general name UNIX, as the basis for the new Mac OS. It was the OpenStep (NeXTStep) system that became the basis for building the new Mac OS. The developers of the new Mac OS needed to ensure a smooth transition from the old system to the new one so that users could continue to work with a large number of existing programs until more powerful and convenient ones were created. This is how the new Mac OS X system was born.

Material taken from www.themacspin.com.

I don't trust a computer that I can't lift.
Steve Jobs.

iPhone creator Steven Paul Jobs, better known as Steve Jobs(Eng. Steven Paul Jobs, Steve Jobs) - one of the founders of Apple, Next, Pixar corporations and a key figure in the global computer industry, a man who largely determined the course of its development.

The future billionaire was born on February 24, 1955 in the town of Mountain View, California (ironically, this area would later become the heart of Silicon Valley). Steve Abdulfattah's biological parents John Jandali (a Syrian immigrant) and Joan Carol Schible (an American graduate student) gave their illegitimate child up for adoption to Paul and Clara Jobs (née Hakobyan). The main condition for adoption was Steve's higher education.

Even at school, Steve Jobs became interested in electronics, and when he met his namesake Steve Wozniak, he first thought about a business related to computer technology. The partners' first project was the BlueBox, a device that allows free long-distance communications and was sold for $150 apiece. Wozniak was involved in the development and assembly of the device, and thirteen-year-old Jobs was selling illegal goods. This distribution of roles will continue in the future, only their future business will now be completely legal.

In 1972, after graduating from high school, Steve Jobs enters Reed College (Portland, Oregon), but quickly loses interest in learning. After the first semester, he was expelled of his own free will, but remained to live in the rooms of friends for about a year and a half, sleeping on the floor, living on the money for the returned Coca-Cola bottles and once a week coming to free lunches at the local Hare Krishna Temple. Then he got into calligraphy courses, which later prompted him to think about equipping the Mac OS system with scalable fonts.

Then Steve got a job at Atari. There Jobs is engaged in the development of computer games. Four years later, Wozniak creates his first computer, and Jobs, continuing to work at Atari, establishes its sales.

Apple

From a creative tandem of friends, the Apple company grows (the name "Apple" Jobs suggested due to the fact that in this case the company's phone number went in the telephone directory right before "Atari"). Apple was founded on April 1, 1976 (April Fool's Day), and the first office-shop was the garage of Jobs' parents. Apple was officially registered in early 1977.

The author of most of the developments was Stephen Wozniak, while Jobs acted as a marketer. It is believed that it was Jobs who convinced Wozniak to refine the microcomputer circuit he had invented, and thereby gave impetus to the creation of a new market for personal computers.

The debut computer model was called the Apple I. During the year, the partners sold 200 of these machines (the price of each was $666.66). A decent amount for beginners, but it's nothing compared to the Apple II that came out in 1977.

The success of the Apple I and especially the Apple II computers, coupled with the appearance of investors, made the company the undisputed leader in the computer market until the early eighties, and two Steves became millionaires. It is noteworthy that the software for Apple computers was developed by the then young company Microsoft, created six months later than Apple. In the future, fate will bring Jobs and Gates together more than once.

Macintosh

A landmark event was the signing of a contract between Apple and Xerox. Revolutionary developments that Xerox could not find a worthy application for a long time later became part of the Macintosh project (a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured and sold by Apple Inc.). In fact, the modern personal computer interface, with its windows and virtual buttons, owes much to this contract.

It's safe to say that the Macintosh is the first personal computer in the modern sense (the first Mac was released on January 24, 1984). Previously, the control of the machine was carried out with the help of intricate commands typed by "initiates" on the keyboard. Now the mouse becomes the main working tool.

The success of the Macintosh has been overwhelming. In the world at that time there was no competitor, even close comparable in terms of sales and technological potential. Shortly after the release of the Macintosh, the company ceased development and production of the Apple II family, which had previously been the company's main source of income.

Jobs leaving

Despite significant progress, in the early 80s. Steve Jobs is gradually starting to lose ground in Apple, which by that time had grown into a huge corporation. His authoritarian style of management leads first to disagreement and then to open conflict with the board of directors. At the age of 30 (1985), the founder of Apple was simply fired.

Having lost power in the company and work, Jobs did not lose heart, and immediately set to new projects. First, he founded NeXT, which specialized in the production of complex computers for higher education and business structures. This market was too narrow, so it was not possible to achieve any significant sales.

A much more successful undertaking was the graphic studio The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar), bought from Lucasfilm for almost half the price ($5 million) of its estimated value (George Lucas was getting divorced and he needed money). Under Jobs' direction, several super-grossing animated films were released. The most famous: "Monsters Corporation" and the famous "Toy Story".

In 2006, Pixar was sold to Walt Disney for $7.5 billion, while Jobs received a 7% stake in Walt Disney. By comparison, Disney's heir apparent only inherited 1%.

Return to Apple

In 1997, Steve Jobs returns to Apple. First, as an interim director, and since 2000, as a full-fledged manager. Several unprofitable directions were closed and work on the new iMac computer was successfully completed, after which the company's business rapidly went uphill.

Later, a lot of developments will be presented that will become trendsetters in the technology market. This is an iPhone mobile phone, an iPod player, and an iPad tablet computer, which went on sale in 2010. All this will make Apple the third largest company in the world by capitalization (it will bypass even Microsoft).

Disease

In October 2003, an abdominal scan revealed that Steve Jobs had pancreatic cancer. In general, this diagnosis is fatal, but the head of Apple turned out to have a very rare form of the disease that can be cured with surgery. At first, Jobs refused it, because, according to personal convictions, he did not recognize interventions in the human body. For 9 months, Steve Jobs hoped to recover on his own, and all this time, no one from Apple management informed investors about his fatal illness. Then Steve nevertheless decided to trust the doctors and informed the public about his illness. On July 31, 2004, Stanford Medical Center performed a successful operation.

In December 2008, doctors discovered a hormonal imbalance in Jobs.

Who is the founder of Apple?

In the summer of 2009, according to representatives of the Methodist Hospital at the University (Scientific Medical Center) of Tennessee, it became known that Steve underwent a liver transplant. March 2, 2011 Steve spoke at the presentation of a new tablet - iPad 2.

Promotion Methods

(Taken from Wikipedia http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jobs,_Steve).

To define the charisma of Steve Jobs and its impact on the developers of the original Macintosh project, his colleague at Apple Computer Bud Tribble coined the phrase "Reality Distortion Field" (PIR) in 1981. Later, the term was used to define the perception of his key performances by reviewers and fans of the company.

According to colleagues, Steve Jobs is able to convince others of anything, using a mixture of charisma, charm, arrogance, perseverance, pathos, self-confidence. Basically, PIR distorts the audience's sense of proportion and proportion. Small progress is presented as a breakthrough. Any errors are hushed up or presented as insignificant. The difficulties overcome are greatly exaggerated. Certain opinions, ideas and definitions can change dramatically in the future without any regard to the very fact of such changes. In principle, PIR is nothing more than a mixture of political propaganda and advertising technologies.

For example, one of the most common examples of PIR is the claim that consumers are "suffering" from competitors' inferior products, or that a company's products "change people's lives." Also, often unsuccessful technical solutions are explained by the fact that the consumer does not need it. The term is often used in a pejorative context to criticize Apple, or its supporters. However, many companies today are moving to a similar technique themselves, seeing how far it has been able to move Apple economically.

History of Apple

Founder's childhood

The future computer genius was born in 1955. His childhood can hardly be called the childhood of a prosperous child. The birth mother of little Steve left the child as soon as he was born, and he was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs. Interesting fact: decades later, a wealthy Jobs specifically hired a private detective to find his real mother. But not only the mother was found. Unexpectedly, Jobs found out that he also has a sister, Mona Simpson. Moreover, she turned out to be not just anyone, but a well-known American writer. Subsequently, Mona wrote, among other things, the short story "Ordinary Guy" - a story about Steve Jobs, who had become widely known by that time. But the very fact that the matured Jobs found his mother and sister and established family relations with them says a lot about him as a person.

But then, as a child, Jobs was a big bully who had every chance of becoming a juvenile delinquent. However, the school and the wonderful teachers in it changed everything. They showed the kid that mastering knowledge and creating something new is much more interesting than just breaking the law. And soon there was a story that was repeatedly described in special literature and has already become a classic.

When Steven Jobs was twelve years old, he wanted to build an electric current frequency indicator for his school physics classroom. But the necessary details, as it turned out, were not available. Then young Jobs took and called directly William Hewlett himself - a legendary personality in the United States, the leader of American business, one of the founders and president of the famous Hewlett-Packard Corporation. The conversation began (according to Steve's memoirs) something like this: "Hello, you know, uh, I'm twelve years old and I'm trying to solder a frequency sensor here ...". The unusual conversation lasted about twenty minutes, and as a result, Jobs received not only all the details he needed, but also a summer job at Hewlett-Packard. Jobs now receives occasional phone calls from teenagers who share their ideas about computers and mobile devices with him. Steve Jobs comments on this: “Of course I talk to them. This is the only way I can repay my debt to Bill Hewlett."

Well, a few years later, a truly historic event happened: Jobs met his now no less famous namesake. The namesake's last name was Wozniak, and he attended the same Homestead High School in Cupertino. Despite the difference in characters, the boys quickly became friends, as they had common interests - science fiction, radio electronics and video games. But first of all - computers. As it turned out, at the age of 13, Stephen Wozniak independently assembled not the easiest calculator. And at the time of meeting Jobs, Wozniak was already thinking about the concept of a personal computer, which did not yet exist in principle. Not surprisingly, both Steves soon began attending lectures held by Hewlett-Packard employees in Palo Alto and working for the same corporation over the summer to gain experience.

The youth of the cyber-prophet.

The youth of Steve Jobs fell just at the heyday of the hippie movement - with all the ensuing consequences. In 1972, Steve Jobs graduated from high school and entered Reed College, and Steve Wozniak went to work as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard. But just a semester later, Jobs dropped out of college and in 1974 joined Atari as a video game designer. However, a few months later he quit his job, and with his hippie friends left to "expand consciousness" in India - then it was a very fashionable occupation.

What Jobs saw and learned in India still remains unknown, but the fact that he returned from there a completely different person is a fact. Returning from India, Jobs became a regular visitor to the Homebrew Computer Club, a well-known community of electronics enthusiasts at that time. Even then, the idea of ​​making a personal computer completely captured him. Moreover, one of the founders of the mentioned club was Steve Wozniak, who also thought about the concept of the future PC, which did not yet exist in nature. Together, friends and embodied their idea "in iron". But commercial success proved more difficult to achieve.

First, in 1975, Wozniak demonstrated the finished personal computer model to Hewlett-Packard management. However, the authorities did not show the slightest interest in the initiative of one of their engineers - everyone then imagined computers solely as iron cabinets stuffed with electronic components and used in big business or the military. No one thought about home PCs. In Atari, Wozniak was also given a turn from the gate - they did not see commercial prospects for the novelty.

And then Steve Jobs made the most important decision in his life - he persuaded Steve Wozniak and his colleague from Atari Ron Wayne to create their own company and engage in the development and production of personal computers.

Apple: early years and early successes.

A company with a frivolous name Apple Computer was established on April 1, 1976. The first logo designed by Ron Wayne himself was the image of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. Like Hewlett-Packard once upon a time, Apple started in a garage that Paul Jobs gave to his adopted son and his associates; he even brought along a huge wooden workbench, which became the first "assembly line" in corporate history. To work on Apple I young people had at night. “There were only two of us - Wozniak and me. We were both a production department and a delivery service, literally all at once,” Jobs now recalls. After some time, Jobs managed to attach a batch of Apple I computers to the owner of the first ever computer store called Byte Shop - Paul Terrell. Then these computers were simply boards to which the user / buyer had to independently connect the power, keyboard and monitor.

The first brainchild of the company - Apple I

But Paul Terrell was extremely interested in the concept of a personal computer. He stated that he was ready to purchase 50 Apple I computers from the new company at once for $500 each, and then sell them for $666.66 - such an unusual price was approved by Steve Jobs himself. In order to buy the radio components needed for assembly, the founding friends sold all the most valuable things and borrowed money. I had to work at night, but in a month all fifty sets were assembled. True, on the twelfth day of existence Apple, Ron Wayne left the Steves, selling them his ten percent stake in the seed for $800.

Who is the founder of Apple. History of success

Here is how Wayne himself later commented on his act: “Jobs is a hurricane of energy and determination. I was already too disappointed in life to ride through it in this hurricane.

Despite all the difficulties, because no one produced computer components then, and for night work, Jobs and Wozniak saw the prospects for the PC as a market product. Especially since Apple I was a huge success with buyers. In total, friends produced about six hundred computers of this brand, which allowed not only to distribute debts, but also to raise a new company to its feet. However, first things first…

Becoming.

One way or another, the company had to develop. Both Steves decided what to do next. As a result, the personal computer appeared in the form in which we know it - with a color graphic monitor, a mouse and a plastic keyboard. But then no one released anything like this, although the need was clearly ripe. The very idea of ​​such a computer was perceived by large businessmen with open skepticism. As a result, it turned out to be very difficult to find funding for a release created by friends. Apple II. Both Hewlett-Packard and Atari again refused to fund the unusual project, although they considered it "fun". Apparently, they are still biting their elbows ...

Indeed, the young Steves did not then have the slightest experience in doing business, and often acted at random. But always good. As Jobs himself said, "Apple's roots were in making computers for people, not for corporations." But there were also those who picked up the idea of ​​a computer that would be accessible to the general population. So, the famous financier Don Valentine brought Steve Jobs to the equally famous venture capitalist Armas Cliff "Mike" Markkula. The latter helped young computer entrepreneurs write a business plan, invested $92,000 of his personal savings in the company, and secured a $250,000 line of credit with Bank of America. All this allowed the two Steves to “get out of the garage”, significantly increase production volumes and expand the staff, as well as launch the fundamentally new Apple II into mass production.

Built by Friends of the Apple II

Then, in the late 70s, few people even imagined what a personal computer should be like. All this is reflected in Apple's advertising campaign - twenty-year-old yellowed posters with the image of Apple II can read the question: "What is a Personal Computer?". At the same time, the Apple logo, now known to the whole world, appeared - a bitten apple, painted in all the colors of the rainbow. This logo was created by Regis McKenna's advertising agency and personally edited by Steven Jobs. The new logo was supposed to indicate that the Apple II worked with color graphics. Subsequently, Jean-Louis Gasset, ex-president of several structural divisions of Apple and founder of Be Inc., said: “A more appropriate logo could not have been dreamed of: it embodied lust, hope, knowledge and anarchy…”.

The success of the Apple II was truly grandiose - the novelty was sold out in hundreds and thousands of copies. Recall that this happened at a time when the entire world market for personal computers did not exceed ten thousand units. Over the 18 years since their production began, several million of these models have been sold, and the share of Apple II in American schools in 1997 was about 20% of the entire computer fleet.

By 1980, Apple Computer was already an established and established computer manufacturer. Its staff consisted of several hundred people, its products were exported outside the United States, and its shares were highly quoted by stockbrokers, having received the AAPL index. However, financiers could not understand then the reasons for Apple's success. Too unusual was the company created by the two Steves. Unusual but successful. Personal computers quickly broke into the daily life of people in developed countries. For two decades, they have firmly taken their place among people, becoming indispensable assistants in production, organizational, educational, communication and other technological and social affairs. The words spoken by Steve Jobs in the early 80s became prophetic: “In this decade, the first meeting of the Society and the Computer took place. And for some crazy reason, we were in the right place at the right time to do everything for this romance to flourish."

Add to bookmarks

Add comments

Apple information sheet

If there is a company in the world that everyone knows about, as they say, "from small to large", then this is Apple.

Apple is proof that a good idea in the right hands guarantees an unsurpassed result, because it was from the seemingly unrealistic idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcreating a "smart" car that originated in the minds of two friends that one of the most famous and successful corporations in the world originated.

The founders of the company - Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak - met in 1971. Apple was officially registered in 1976, although the first computers were assembled and sold by its founders a couple of years earlier. The Apple II, released in 1977, was the first personal PC to be produced in the millions. In 1984, Apple released the first 32-bit Macintosh.

Until January 2007, the company's official name was "Apple Computer Inc." Now we know it simply as "Apple", which was an indicator of a change in the focus of the corporation: having mastered the market for computers and everything connected with them, Apple gradually opened up markets that were not directly related to the PC. In 2001, the company released the iPod audio player, in 2007, the iPhone smartphone, and in 2010, the iPad tablet.

Who is the founder of Apple Corporation

In the meantime, the company opened the most popular online store for digital video, audio and gaming content.

In the history of Apple, there was everything: both grandiose success and the risk of failure. But she survived, gaining only invaluable experience. It is safe to say that Apple is a company that has been, is and will be for at least another 100 years.

Apple: quality and prestige for all time

Apple defined its mission as follows: the company offers computers of the highest quality for all people around the world.

Apple's marketing philosophy stands on three "pillars":

1. Understanding the feelings and needs of product buyers;
2. Maximum focus on the affairs of the company;
3. Suggestion, that is, the primary role of the first impression in the presentation of a new product.

Now we know why all Apple presentation events are so carefully prepared, why even when we open the package with its new product, we feel a touch of something great and really worthwhile.

Apple conducts its business both through wholesale dealerships and through a network of retail stores and Internet services selling Apple technology. In 2007, the Russian representative office of Apple was established, and in 2012, Apple Rus was registered, through which all retail and wholesale of Apple equipment in Russia is now carried out.

Apple's competitive advantages include:

• great financial opportunities, which allows the company to be one step ahead of competitors;
• careful monitoring of demand in the digital technology market and the ability to quickly present the consumer with what he needs;
• a serious approach to business, which guarantees a high level of the company's reputation;
• the ability to select only highly qualified employees in your staff;
• presentation of any new product as relatively easy to use for the consumer, as well as an element of the image of a person or company.

Apple now owns more than 5,000 patents for inventions and designs, and Apple's iPhone 5 sold 9,000,000 units in just three days after the first presentation. This can be called the most important indicator of the company's success.

It remains only to wish Apple prosperity and stable sales. Let the company's management take care of the first point, but you don't have to worry about the second - the stability of sales of Apple devices is in the hands of fans of modern and high-quality products, and they will not let you down!

We add that you can get the most competent help in learning to use any of the Apple devices in our computer courses!

Corporations at $240, which is $91 more than their current value. According to Aikan, Apple's capitalization should be about $1.3 trillion.

Let's leave the question of the fairness of such a share price, and take it as a fact that Apple is the world's largest company. The resource asked a simple question: who owns the company, at a cost equal to the budgets of several European countries combined?

It would seem that the main shareholder is a certain Karl Icahn - an eccentric billionaire, a cynical business shark, a well-known raider and extortionist, a brawler and much more. Actually, it is he who is most often mentioned in the media as the main shareholder and newsmaker. There is also Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, but he is a figure appointed by shareholders, that is, he is not the owner in any way.

However, after carefully studying the situation, we discover a surprising fact - billionaire Carl Icahn owns only 1% of Apple shares. Of course, the cost of even one percent is a huge amount, but it's only one hundredth! Where is the rest? The question is not that hidden, but in the media is not only hushed up, but also openly falsified.

Is it really difficult to look at open and completely official data from the register of shareholders? There is nothing easier, and we can easily do it ourselves:

• Vanguard Group Inc. (The) - 5.68%
• State Street Corporation - 4.11%
• FMR, LLC - 3.07%
• BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. – 2.72%
• Bank of New York Mellon Corporation - 1.42%
• Northern Trust Corporation - 1.39%
• BlackRock Fund Advisors - 1.21%

Amazing. discovery, but Carl Icahn is not even among the ten largest shareholders of Apple. Who are these mysterious real owners?

In the first place is the Vanguard Group. For the uninitiated reader, and for many economists, the name is unfamiliar, although in any reference book you can find information that the company controls assets of $2 trillion ($2,000 billion). Three times the cost of the same Apple. These are the humble ones. In fact, the amount of assets under their control is several times larger, but we will analyze this later.

Before proceeding to further analysis of the structure of Apple's shareholders, a small lyrical digression should be made.

The ideals of democracy and the media image that serves as a front for true owners do not sit well with the fact that all the world's largest companies are owned by the same bunch of people. How to hide this apparent contradiction? Everything is very simple - you need to create the appearance that there are allegedly many owners (shareholders) and they are all “different”.

Indeed, how can the "masters of the world" have a miserable 5-6% of the shares? Yes, any liberal will laugh in your face if you tell him this. The fact that these "pathetic six percent" are worth $40-50 billion does not bother anyone - with such a modest package, it is already a problem to securely appoint your own CEO. To completely control a company with a turnover of hundreds of billions of dollars, 20% is required - no more is needed, since it is impossible for competitors to collect a bag more. And suddenly, some Chinese will buy 7% of the shares and they will be able to run everything in the largest American company?

"Don't be like this!" - the real masters of the world decided a long time ago and secured themselves.

To understand how they exercised total control and maintained the appearance of the absence of one owner, we return to our list of Apple shareholders. In second place is State Street Corporation, which owns 4.11%. And who are its largest shareholders?

1. Massachusetts Financial Services Co (Canadian insurance company - who owns is confusing)
2. Price (T.Rowe) Associates Inc - 7%
3. Vanguard Group (where without him!) - 6%
4. BlackRock (the turn will come soon!) - 5%

We look even deeper who is the shareholder of Price (T.Rowe) Associates Inc. And we see all the same acquaintances: Vanguard and BlackRock (remember this name, it often occurs, going hand in hand with our main character). That is, in exactly the same manner, the monster Vanguard controls the second main shareholder of Apple. A simple trick and 10% of the shares of the apple is already in your pocket. But that's not all.

In the top ten there are two offices with a similar name BlackRock & BlaBla and the third time the name BlackRock is mentioned in the shareholders of State Street (by the way, Vanguard has dozens of such subsidiaries - so it’s not a fact that we can calculate all their holdings even approximately - even the most large). Naturally, among the owners of BlackRock we find all the same faces.

We add another four percent and we already get 14% of all Apple shares held by one office - Vanguard! And again, that's not all. What else is left among the shell owners of Apple?

FMR LLC (Fidelity Management and Research), Fidelity Investments similarly, we will find exactly identical names among the shareholders: Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street and so on. That is, Fidelity is again controlled by the Vanguard Group!

Total: in the piggy bank “modest” 17%.

A wonderful scheme of mutual ownership and cross-corporation. And if any of the shareholders seems not directly related to Vanguard, then its shareholders are definitely under their control, and even in the third iteration (level) it will be the same.

That is Vanguard:

1. Officially - the main shareholder of Apple. By comparison, the one that publicly depicts Apple's largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, has just 1% of the shares, which is five times less than one of this stake.

2. Vanguard also has the largest stakes in almost every other company that owns large stakes in Apple. But even that is not enough!

3. Vanguard, not only owns the largest blocks of shares, but also controls the shareholders of the companies from point 2.

This is the picture that has emerged to date of the investigation. The largest companies in the world are Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Let's see who their biggest shareholders are:

• Bank of America: State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, FMR (Fidelity), Paulson, JP Morgan, T. Rowe, Capital World Investors, AXA, Bank of NY, Mellon.
• JP Morgan: State Street Corp., Vanguard Group, FMR, BlackRock, T. Rowe, AXA, Capital World Investor, Capital Research Global Investor, Northern Trust Corp. and Bank of Mellon.
• Citigroup: State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Paulson, FMR, Capital World Investor, JP Morgan, Northern Trust Corporation, and Fairhome Capital Mgmt and Bank of NY Mellon.
• Wells Fargo: Berkshire Hathaway, FMR, State Street, Vanguard Group, Capital World Investors, BlackRock, Wellington Mgmt, AXA, T. Rowe and Davis Selected Advisers.

The largest financial companies are fully controlled by ten institutional and / or fund shareholders, of which there is a core of four companies that are present at all times and in all decisions: Vanguard, Fidelity, BlackRock and State Street. They all "belong to each other," but if you carefully balance the stakes, it turns out that in reality Vanguard controls all of its partners or "competitors", that is, Fidelity, BlackRock and State Street.

Now let's look at the tip of the iceberg. That is, a few, chosen as the largest, companies in various industries controlled by this "Big Four" and, on closer inspection, simply Vanguard Corporation: Alcoa Inc. Altria Group Inc., American International Group Inc., AT&T Inc., Boeing, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, DuPont & Co., Exxon Mobil, General Electric Co., General Motors Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Co., Home Depot Inc. , Honeywell International Inc., Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan Chase & Co., McDonald, Merck & Co. Inc., Microsoft, 3M Co., Pfizer Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., United Technologies Corp., Verizon, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Time Warner, Walt Disney, Viacom, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, CBS Corporation, NBC Universal.