Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs): the story of the life and creation of the most famous corporation Apple. Steve Jobs: legendary man, billionaire, founder of Apple

What is Steve Jobs famous for? What is his biography? What is told in the biopic "Steve Jobs" and in the book of the same name?

Hello, dear readers of the HeatherBober online magazine! Eduard and Dmitry are with you.

Our article is dedicated to a man whose name has already become a legend. This is Steve Jobs - an American entrepreneur, a pioneer of IT technologies, the founder of the world's largest corporation Apple.

So, let's begin!

1. Who is Steve Jobs - biography, official Wikipedia data, success story

Steven Paul Jobs is a gifted businessman, inventor, workaholic and a man who set the direction for the development of modern digital technologies for many years to come.

He looked at the world in his own way and was always guided by invincible ideals that helped him achieve fantastic success.

As a talented engineer and pioneer of the era of IT technologies, he made several revolutions at once in different areas of our lives. Thanks to Steve Jobs, the world has become more perfect, more harmonious and more convenient.

His achievements are varied and numerous:

• he founded Apple, which later became a mega-corporation and the most valuable company in the world;
• created personal computers in the form in which we use them today;
• improved the graphical interface and control of computer devices;
• was directly involved in the creation of "ipads", "ipods" (digital music players of the new generation) and "iPhones";
• founded the next generation animation studio Pixar, which currently produces cartoons for Disney.

We will definitely tell about all these projects in the relevant sections of this article, but let's start in order - with the biography of this amazing person.

Biography of Steve Jobs

The year of birth of our hero is 1955. Location - San Francisco, California. Jobs's biological parents (Syrian and German by origin) abandoned their son a week after his birth. The child was adopted by a Mountain View couple who gave him their last name.

Steve's adoptive father was an auto mechanic by profession: he repaired old cars and tried to instill in his son a love of mechanics. Jobs in the garage were not inspiring to Steve, but it was through car repair that he got acquainted with the basics of electronics.

Stephen did not particularly like classes at school either, which affected his behavior. Only one teacher by the name of Hill noticed extraordinary abilities in the boy; the rest of the teaching staff considered him a mischievous and idler.

Miss Hill managed to stimulate Steve's thirst for knowledge with bribes in the form of sweets and money. Jobs soon became so attracted to the learning process that he began to seek education on his own, without additional encouragement.

The result: brilliantly passed exams, which allowed the boy to move from the 4th grade immediately to the seventh.

Steve Jobs saw the first personal computer (programmable calculator, primitive for today) in the research club of Hewlett-Packard, where he was invited by a neighbor - an engineer.

A thirteen-year-old teenager became a member of the circle of inventors: his first project was a digital frequency counter, which interested the very founder of HP, Bill Hewlett.

The hobbies of that time were not alien to the young inventor - he talked with hippies, listened to Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and even used LSD, because of which he had conflicts with his father.

Soon he had an older friend - Steve Wozniak, who became a friend for life and largely determined the fate of the young genius.

The pair's first joint project was a device called the Blue Box ("Blue Box"), which allows you to crack phone codes and make free phone calls around the world.

Jobs proposed to organize mass production and sale of these devices, and Wozniak improved and simplified the scheme of the invention.

This story laid down the principles of long-term cooperation between two geniuses: Wozniak invents some kind of revolutionary thing, and Jobs determines its market potential and implements it.

Further stages of a long journey: college, work at Atari - a company that develops computer games, a trip to India in search of enlightenment (a fashionable youth hobby of those years).

And finally, the revolutionary event that took place in 1976 was the creation of a personal computer by Steve Wozniak at the initiative of Jobs.

The model turned out to be so successful that the friends decided to start mass production. This is how the Apple company was born, which managed to maintain a leading position in the computer technology market for 10 years.

In 1985, the "founding fathers" left the parent corporation and took up other projects. The hero of our article created the NeXT hardware company, and even later became one of the founders of the Pixar animation studio (another revolutionary project).

In 1996, Jobs returned to Apple, sold the Pixar studio to Disney, but remained on the board of directors. In 2001, Jobs introduced the public to the first model of the iPod player - the device was a fantastic success in the market and greatly increased the income of the corporation.

In 2004, Jobs made a public statement about health problems - he was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor. For 7 years he managed to fight the disease with varying success, but in October 2011 the life of a brilliant entrepreneur and IT revolutionary was cut short.

2. The main projects of Steve Jobs - TOP-5 of the most famous inventions

The author of many of the developments attributed to Jobs was Steven Wozniak. However, it is believed that it was Jobs who was the inspirer of the brilliant engineer and the person who brought his raw and unfinished inventions “to mind”.

It was according to this scheme that the partners worked, creating in 1976 a new market for personal computers. Wozniak embodied technical ideas into reality, Jobs adapted them to sales, working as a marketer and head of the company.

Project 1. Apple

The debut model of a new generation personal computer was named Apple I: 200 devices were sold in a year at a price of $666.66. For '76, the number is quite decent, but the sales of "Apple-II" exceeded this result by dozens of times.

The emergence of serious investors made the new company the sole leader in the computer market. This situation lasted until the mid-80s: both Stevens (Wozniak and Jobs) by this time had become millionaires.

An interesting fact: the software for Apple computers was developed by another company that later became the leader of the digital universe - Microsoft. The brainchild of Bill Gates was created six months later than Apple.

Project 2 Macintosh

The Macintosh is a line of personal computers developed by Apple. Their release was made possible thanks to a contract between Apple and Xerox.

Almost all of the modern interface we know (windows, virtual buttons, controlled by pressing keys on the mouse) arose precisely thanks to this commercial agreement.

We can say that the Macintosh (Mac) was the first personal computer device in the modern sense. The first device of this line was released in 1984.

The computer mouse has become the main working tool. Prior to this, all machine processes were controlled using commands typed on the keyboard.

Working on a computer required knowledge of programming languages ​​and other special skills: now anyone could control the device, regardless of education.

Steve Jobs created each of his devices as convenient as possible for people and the Mac was no exception.

At that time, even the closest analogues of the Macintosh computers did not exist on the planet, comparable with them in terms of technological capabilities. Almost immediately after the release of the first machine in the series, Apple production was discontinued.

Project 3. NeXT Computer

Jobs began building the latest generation of computers after leaving Apple in the mid-1980s. The first batch of new devices went on sale in 1989.

The cost of computers was quite high ($ 6,500), so the machines were supplied only to the leading US universities in a limited edition.

Soon the demand for Next computers became ubiquitous, and modified versions went on sale.

Interesting fact

The operating system, which was called NeXTSTEP, included: an Oxford dictionary, a thesaurus, a set of works by Shakespeare. These digital additions were kind of forerunners of modern e-books.

In 1990, the second generation of computers was released, supplemented by a multimedia communications system. The innovation opened up endless possibilities for communication between device owners and allowed the exchange of graphic, textual audio information.

Project 4. iPod iPad and iPhone

In the late 90s, at Apple, where Stav Jobs returned, there was some stagnation. The impetus for development came from an unexpected side: the company's applied novelty - the iPod player for playing digital music - has become very popular.

The advantages of the new device were really impressive:

• aesthetic and stylish design;
• convenient control and interface;
• synchronization with iTunes - a media player for playing music and movies online.

The first players came out in 2001 and immediately became a bestseller. The commercial success significantly improved the company's financial position, which allowed further developments.

In 2007, Jobs introduced another novelty to the public - a smartphone based on the IOS operating system. The new device was called the iPhone and was a modified communication device - a combination of a telephone, a media player and a personal computer.

Time magazine named the iPhone the Invention of the Year. Over the next 5 years, more than 250 million original copies of the iPhone were sold around the world, which brought the corporation a profit of $ 150 billion.

In 2010, Apple released the iPad, a digital tablet designed to replace laptops and personal computers.

The new device was primarily intended for convenient Internet use, and due to its larger size than a phone or iPhone, the iPad became very popular, especially among connoisseurs of other Apple products and its founding father, Steve Jobs.

This invention also became successful and the new fashion for Internet tablets was picked up by other digital device companies.

Project 5.

One division of Apple was engaged in the development of software for working with graphics and the production of short animated films. Jobs intended to use the capabilities of a workstation called Pixar Image to create programs that would allow anyone to create realistic three-dimensional images.

However, the consumer was not interested in 3D modeling, and the department's facilities were directed in a different direction. The studio took up the creation of cartoons. One of them ("Tin Toy") was unexpectedly nominated for an Oscar. A new type of computer animation interested the Disney studio.

The famous film company entered into an agreement with Pixar on cooperation and production of the film "Toy Story": the conditions were unfavorable for the animators, but the studio was at that time on the verge of bankruptcy. The film brought the studio recognition, fame and multimillion-dollar profits.

In its 15 years of existence, Pixar has released dozens of movie hits, Oscar nominees and winners that have become classics of feature-length animation - Finding Nemo, Flick's Adventure, Monsters, Inc., Cars, WALL-E.

3. The film "Steve Jobs" and the book "The Rules of Steve Jobs" - where to download, read, watch

About the life of our hero, directed by Danny Boyle of the hero, the film "Steve Jobs" was made, nominated for an Oscar in 2 categories.

When we watched it, we were delighted with both the acting and the director's work itself.

Very often, people who are actively searching for their life calling are inspired by the success stories of the richest and most famous inhabitants of our planet. And if some are impressed by the amazing destinies of legendary actors and singers, then others are admired by the managerial talents and mental abilities of extraordinary businessmen.

By far, the most striking example is Steven Paul Jobs, as he, being a simple guy from an ordinary family, managed to become an influential and successful leader of the world's largest corporation.

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco. Fate provided him with many trials, the first of which was the rejection of his birth parents, who were young and not ready to raise a small child. Fortunately, the wonderful family of Clara and Paul Jobs took him from the orphanage, who later became a real family for the businessman.

Stephen was still a bully, he was even expelled from school several times. But, despite this, he had good abilities, which were impossible not to notice. Thanks to this, the administration of the educational institution allowed him to skip the 5th grade of elementary school and go straight to middle school.

Jobs often helped his father fix cars, took an interest in engineering, and attended an amateur radio club. This indicates that he had a craving for a variety of techniques from early childhood. As a child, Jobs met his future partner, friend and no less talented developer - Steven Wozniak.

First inventions

In the soul of Jobs, there was always a craving for invention. Together with Wozniak, they developed and created a unique device that made it possible to make phone calls around the world absolutely free of charge. The young guys did not stop there and decided to sell their "blue boxes", unfortunately, without thinking about the legal consequences of such experiments.

By the way, sales were going well, while Wozniak and Jobs earned more than $100 on each device.

Youth

After leaving school, Jobs entered a good paid college, but after studying there for only one semester, he decided that he had chosen the wrong path for himself and expelled from the students. For more than a year, he wandered around the hostels, spent the night where he had to and ate in local churches, and then decided to return to his native California.

Thanks to an old friend, Steve got a job at a successful Atari video game company. For Jobs, this was a good opportunity to earn money for such a coveted pilgrimage trip to India. Having fulfilled his dream, he realized that it did not bring him the expected enlightenment, and returned to his previous work. He successfully developed popular video games, for which he received good fees.

Apple

Initially, the office of the world-famous Apple Corporation was located in the garage of the home of Jobs' parents. Here, together with Wozniak, they created their first personal home computer. Soon they had wholesale orders for such advanced technology. The partners had to take out loans to purchase the necessary parts, but still they made a profit.

A few years later, thanks to the desire to earn money and the desire to improve their computer, they developed the world's first device with support for color graphics. Jobs and Wozniak quickly found investors for their project, expanded the company's staff and launched a large-scale production of new technology. It was a real success, because all the copies were sold out in a short time, and the profit of the developers at that moment was more than 200 million dollars.

After a while, Steve caught fire with a new project called Macintosh. He dreamed of creating a device that would combine all the components of a desktop computer (system unit, monitor, keyboard). An interesting fact is that the software for this project was developed by Microsoft employees. Later, Apple successfully presented the iBook - a portable computer. It was another breakthrough for the Jobs Corporation.

In addition to computer technology, Steve has been developing musical gadgets - the iPod. At that time, it was the most stylish, popular and convenient music player based on Apple software - iTunes.

The next stage in the development of the corporation was the creation of a cult mobile phone - the iPhone. For its development, Apple employees combined all their achievements in recent years and released a fashionable gadget on their own software - Mac OS.

This was followed by presentations of advanced computers and tablet PCs - iPad, which are still very popular. All Apple products are distinguished by their original, stylish design and well-thought-out interface.

Jobs also successfully produced popular cartoons based on the Pixar animation studio, and then became a shareholder of Walt Disney. His total fortune is more than $7 billion, of which only $2 billion is Apple shares.

Unfortunately, in October 2011, Steve Jobs passed away. Cancer overcame him. But the story of the man who created his own success will live forever.

Video is a documentary about Steve Jobs. The man who changed the world!

What interesting facts do you know about such a successful, outstanding person as Steve Jobs? Share interesting information in the comments to this article.

Good luck and see you in the next article.

A year ago, on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56, an American engineer and entrepreneur, co-founder of Apple Inc. Steven (Steve) Paul Jobs died.

Steven (Steve) Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco (USA).

Steve's parents, American Joanne Schieble and Syrian Abdulfattah John Jandali, abandoned the child a week after his birth. The boy's adoptive parents were Paul and Clara Jobs (Paul Jobs, Clara Jobs). Clara worked as an accountant and Paul Jobs was a mechanic.

Steven Jobs spent his childhood and youth in Mountain View, California, where the family moved when he was five years old.

While studying at school, Jobs became interested in electronics, attended the Hewlett-Packard Research Club (Hewlett-Packard Explorers Club).

The young man caught the attention of the president of Hewlett-Packard and was invited to work during the summer holidays. At the same time, he met with his future colleague at Apple, Steve Wozniak (Stephen Wozniak).

In 1972, Jobs entered Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but dropped out after the first semester, but stayed in a friend's dorm room for about a year and a half. I took courses in calligraphy.

In 1974, he returned to California and took a job as a technician at Atari, a computer game company. After working for several months, Jobs left his job and went to India.

In early 1975, he returned to the US and was again hired by Atari. Together with Steve Wozniak, who worked at Hewlett-Packard, Jobs began to attend The Homebrew Computer Club, where he made a presentation of the computer board assembled by Wozniak, the prototype of the Apple I computer.

On April 1, 1976, Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple Computer Co., which was officially registered in 1977. The roles of the participants were distributed as follows: Steve Wozniak was engaged in the development of a new computer, and Jobs was looking for customers, selected employees and materials necessary for work.

The first product of the new company was the Apple I computer, which cost $666.66. A total of 600 of these machines were sold. The advent of the Apple II made Apple a key player in the personal computer market. The company began to grow and in 1980 became a joint-stock company. Steve Jobs became chairman of the board of directors of the company.

In 1985, internal problems led to a reorganization of the company and the resignation of Jobs.

Together with five former employees of the firm, Jobs founded a new hardware and software company, NeXT.

In 1986, Steven Jobs acquired a computer animation research company. The company later became known as Pixar Animation Studios (Pixar animation studio). Under Jobs, Pixar produced films such as Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.

At the end of 1996, Apple, having fallen on hard times and needed a new strategy, acquired NeXT. Jobs became an adviser to the chairman of the board of directors of Apple, and in 1997 - an interim chief executive of Apple.

To help Apple recover, Steven Jobs shut down several unprofitable company projects such as Apple Newton, Cyberdog, and OpenDoc. In 1998, the iMac personal computer saw the light of day, with the advent of which the growth in sales of Apple computers began to increase.

Under his leadership, the company developed and launched hit products such as the iPod portable player (2001), the iPhone smartphone (2007) and the iPad tablet computer (2010).

In 2006, Steve Jobs sold Pixar to Walt Disney, while he himself remained on the board of directors of Pixar and at the same time became the largest individual shareholder of Disney, receiving a 7% stake in the studio.

In 2003, Jobs became seriously ill - he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In 2004, he underwent surgery, during which liver metastases were found. Jobs underwent chemotherapy. By 2008, the disease began to progress. In January 2009, Jobs went on a six-month sick leave. He underwent a liver transplant operation. After surgery and a rehabilitation period in September 2009, Jobs returned to work, but by the end of 2010 his health deteriorated. In January 2011, he went on indefinite leave.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Steven Paul Jobs is an American engineer and entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Apple Inc. He is considered one of the key figures in the computer industry, a man who largely determined its development. Today's story is about him. About his path, about how this extraordinary personality was able to achieve truly phenomenal heights in business, despite all the blows of fate, which more than once forced Jobs to get up from his knees.

Success Story, Biography of Steve Jobs

Born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. It cannot be said that he was a desired child. Just a week after the birth, Steve's parents, American Joan Carol Schible and Syrian Abdulfattah John Jandali abandoned the child and gave him up for adoption. Adoptive parents were Paul and Clara Jobs from Mountain View, California. They named him Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked for an accounting firm, and Paul was a mechanic for a company that made laser machines.

As a child, Jobs was a big bully who had every chance of becoming a juvenile delinquent. He was expelled from school after the third grade. The transition to another school was a significant moment in the life of Jobs, thanks to a wonderful teacher who found an approach to him. As a result, he took up his head and began to study. The approach, of course, was simple: for each task completed, Steve received money from the teacher. Not much, but enough for a fourth grade student. In general, Jobs's success was great enough that he even skipped the fifth grade, going straight to high school.

Childhood and youth of Steve Jobs

When Steve Jobs was 12, on a childish whim and not without an early display of teenage cheekiness, he called William Hewlett, then president of Hewlett-Packard, on his home number. Back then, Jobs was assembling an electric current frequency indicator for a school physics classroom, and he needed some details: "My name is Steve Jobs, and I would like to know if you have spare parts that I could use to assemble a frequency counter." Hewlett chatted with Jobs for 20 minutes, agreed to send the necessary parts and offered him a summer job at his company, within the walls of which the entire Silicon Valley industry was born.

It was at work at Hewlett-Packard that Steve Jobs met a man whose acquaintance largely determined his future fate - Steven Wozniak. He got a job at Hewlett-Packard, leaving the boring classes at the University of California, Berkeley. Work in the company was much more interesting to him due to his passion for radio engineering. As it turned out, at the age of 13, Wozniak himself assembled not the easiest calculator. And at the time of his acquaintance with Jobs, he was already thinking about the concept of a personal computer, which then did not exist at all. Despite their different personalities, they quickly became friends.

When Steve Jobs was 16, he and Woz met a then-famous hacker named Captain Crunch. She told them how, with the help of special sounds made by the whistle from the Captain Crunch cereal, they could fool the switching device and make calls around the world for free. Soon Wozniak made the first device, called the Blue Box, which allowed ordinary people to imitate the sounds of the Crunch whistle and make free calls around the world. Jobs was engaged in the sale of goods. The blue boxes sold for $150 each and were very popular with the students. Interestingly, the cost of such a device was then $ 40. However, not much success has been achieved. First, problems with the police, and then with some bully who even threatened Jobs with a gun, brought the “blue box business” to nothing.

In 1972, Steve Jobs graduated from high school and entered Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but dropped out after his first semester. Steve Jobs explains his decision to drop out this way: “I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my parents' savings went to college tuition. Six months later, I didn't see the point. I didn't know at all what I was going to do with my life, and I didn't understand how college would help me figure it out. I was pretty scared at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

Dropping out of school, Jobs focused on what was really interesting to him. However, it was not easy to remain a free student at the university now. “It wasn't all romantic,” Jobs recalls. – I didn’t have a dorm room, so I had to sleep on the floor in my friends’ rooms. I rented five-cent Coke bottles to buy my own food and walked seven miles across town every Sunday night to have a proper meal once a week at a Hare Krishna temple…”

The adventures of Steve Jobs on the college campus after the expulsion continued for another 18 months, after which in the fall of 1974 he returned to California. There he met up with an old friend and technical genius, Stephen Wozniak. On the advice of a friend, Jobs got a job as a technician at Atari, a popular video game company. Steve Jobs did not have any ambitious plans then. He just wanted to earn money for a trip to India. After all, his youth fell precisely on the heyday of the hippie movement - with all the consequences that follow from here. Jobs became addicted to light drugs such as marijuana and LSD (it is interesting that even now, having left this addiction, Steve does not regret at all that he used LSD, moreover, he considers it one of the most significant events in his life that turned his worldview upside down) .

Atari paid for Jobs's trip, but he also had to visit Germany, where he was tasked with sorting out production problems. He did it.

Jobs went to India not alone, but with his friend Dan Kottke. It wasn't until he arrived in India that Steve traded all his belongings for a beggar's tattered clothes. His goal was to make pilgrimages across India, hoping for the help of mere strangers. During the trip itself, Dan and Steve nearly died several times due to India's harsh climate. Communication with the guru did not bring enlightenment to Jobs. Nevertheless, the trip to India left an indelible mark on the soul of Jobs. He saw real poverty, a radically different thing from that held by the hippies in Silicon Valley.

Returning back to Silicon Valley, Jobs continued to work at Atari. Soon he was assigned to develop the BreakOut game (Atari was making not only a game at that time, but a full-fledged slot machine, and all the work fell on the shoulders of Jobs). According to Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, the company offered Jobs to minimize the number of chips on the board and pay $100 for each chip he could remove from the circuit. Steve Jobs was not very well versed in the construction of electronic circuits, so he offered Wozniak to split the bonus in half if he took up this business.

Atari was quite surprised when Jobs presented them with a board that had 50 chips removed. Wozniak created a scheme so dense that it was impossible to recreate it in mass production. Jobs then told Wozniak that Atari had only paid $700 (not $5,000 as it actually was), and Wozniak got his cut, $350.

Founding of Apple

In 1975, Wozniak demonstrated the completed PC 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. Nobody even thought about home PCs. Atari did not help Wozniak either - they did not see commercial prospects in the novelty. And then Steve Jobs made the most important decision in his life - he persuaded Steve Wozniak and his colleague from Atari draftsman Ronald Wayne to create their own company and engage in the development and production of personal computers. And on April 1, 1976, Jobs, Wozniak, and Wayne formed Apple Computer Co. as a partnership. And so began the history of Apple.

Like Hewlett-Packard once did, Apple was established in a garage that Jobs' father gave to his adopted son and his companions - he even pulled a huge wooden machine, which became the first "assembly line" in the history of the corporation. The start-up company needed start-up capital, and Steve Jobs sold his van and Wozniak sold his beloved Hewlett Packard programmable calculator. As a result, they helped out about $1300.

At Jobs' request, Wayne designed the company's first logo, which, however, looked more like a drawing than a logo. It depicted Sir Isaac Newton with an apple falling on his head. However, later this original logo was significantly simplified.

Soon they received the first large order from a local electronics store - 50 pieces. However, the young company did not then have the money to buy parts to assemble such a large number of computers. Then Steve Jobs convinced component suppliers to provide materials on credit for 30 days.

After receiving the parts, Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne assembled the cars in the evenings, and within 10 days they delivered the entire batch to the store. The company's first computer was called Apple I. Then these computers were simply boards to which the buyer had to independently connect a keyboard and monitor. The store that ordered the cars sold it for $666.66 because Wozniak liked numbers with the same digits. But despite this large order, Wayne lost faith in the success of the undertaking and left the company, selling his ten percent stake in the initial capital to partners for $ 800. Here is how Wayne himself later commented on his act: “Jobs is a hurricane of energy and purposefulness. I was already too disillusioned with life to ride through it in this hurricane.”

One way or another, the company had to develop. And already in the autumn of the same year, Wozniak completed work on the Apple II prototype, which became the first mass-produced personal computer in the world. It had a plastic case, a floppy disk reader, and support for color graphics.

To ensure successful sales of the computer, Jobs ordered the launch of an advertising campaign and the development of a beautiful and standard packaging for the computer, on which the new company logo was clearly visible - (Jobs' favorite fruit). It was supposed to indicate that the Apple II works with color graphics. Subsequently, Jean-Louis Gase is the ex-president of several structural divisions and the founder of Be, Inc. - said: “A more suitable logo could not have been dreamed of: it embodied aspiration, hope, knowledge, and anarchy ...”

But then no one released anything like that, the very idea of ​​​​such a computer was perceived by big businessmen with undisguised skepticism. As a result, it turned out to be very difficult to find funding for the release of the Apple II created by friends. Both Hewlett-packard and Atari again refused to finance the unusual project, although they considered it "fun".

But there were also those who picked up the idea of ​​a computer that was supposed to be available to the general population. The famous financier Don Valentine brought Steve Jobs together with the equally famous venture capitalist Armas Cliff "Mike" Markkula. The latter helped young entrepreneurs write a business plan, invested $92,000 of his personal savings in the company, and secured a $250,000 line of credit from 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.

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. In 1980, Apple Computer was already an established computer manufacturer. It had several hundred people in its staff, and its products were exported outside the United States.

In 1980, the same week John Lennon was assassinated, Apple Computer went public. The company's shares were sold out within one hour! Steve Jobs is now one of the richest Americans. Jobs' popularity grew every day. A simple young guy with no education who suddenly became a millionaire. Why not the American Dream?

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 insane reason, we were in the right place at the right time to do everything for the flourishing of this novel.” The computer revolution has begun.

Project Macintosh

In December 1979, Steve Jobs and several other Apple employees gained access to the Xerox Research Center (XRX) in Palo Alto. There, Jobs first saw the company's prototype, the Alto computer, which used a graphical interface that allowed the user to issue commands by hovering over a graphic object on the monitor.

As colleagues recall, this invention struck Jobs, and he immediately began to confidently say that all future computers would use this innovation. And no wonder, because it contained three things through which the path to the heart of the consumer lies. Steve Jobs already then understood that it was simplicity, ease of use and aesthetics. He immediately got excited about the idea of ​​creating such a computer.

Then the company spent several months developing a new Lisa computer, named after Jobs' daughter. Starting on this project, Jobs set the goal of making a $2,000 computer. However, the desire to realize the revolutionary innovation that he saw in Xerox Laboratories cast doubt on the fact that the originally conceived price would remain unchanged. And soon, Apple President Michael Scott removed Steve from the Lisa project and was appointed chairman of the board of directors. The project was led by another person.

In the same year, Steve, removed from the Lisa project, turned his attention to a small project run by talented engineer Jeff Raskin. (Prior to this, Jobs tried several times to cover up this project) Raskin's main idea was to create an inexpensive computer, costing about $ 1,000. Raskin called this Macintosh computer after his favorite variety of McIntosh apples. A computer
was supposed to be a complete device that combines a monitor, keyboard and system unit. Those. the buyer received the computer ready to work at once. (It's worth noting here that Raskin didn't understand why the computer needed a mouse, and didn't plan to use it on the Macintosh)

Jobs begged Michael Scott to put him in charge of the project. And he immediately intervened in the development of the Macintosh computer, ordering Raskin to use the Motorola 68000 processor in it, which was supposed to be used in Lisa. This was done for a reason, Steve Jobs wanted to bring the Lisa GUI to the Macintosh. Next, Jobs decided to introduce a mouse into the Macintosh. None of Ruskin's wranglings had any effect. And realizing

that Jobs completely selects his project wrote a letter to company president Mike Scott, where he described Steve as an incompetent person who would ruin all his undertakings.

As a result, both Raskin and Jobs were invited to talk to the president of the company. After listening to both, Michael Scott still instructed Jobs to bring the Macintosh to mind, and Raskin went on vacation in order to smooth the situation. In the same year, Apple president Michael Scott himself was fired. Mike Markkula assumed the presidency for some time.

Steve Jobs planned to finish working on the Macintosh computer within 12 months. But the work was delayed, and in the end he decided to entrust third-party companies with developing software for the computer. His choice rather quickly fell on the young company Microsoft, which was known at that time for having created the Basic language for the Apple II computer (and a number of others).

Steve Jobs went to Redmond, the main headquarters of Microsoft. Ultimately, both parties agreed that they were ready to cooperate, and Steve invited Bill Gates and Paul Allen (the two founders of Microsoft) to come to Cupertino to see firsthand the experimental model Macintosh.

Microsoft's main task was to create application software for the Macintosh. The most famous program of the time was Microsoft Excel.

At the same time, the first marketing plan for the Macintosh computer appears. It was written personally by Steve Jobs, who knew little about this, so the plan was rather arbitrary. Jobs planned to launch the Macintosh computer in 1982 and sell 500,000 computers a year (the figure was taken from the ceiling). First of all, Steve convinced Mike Markkula that the Macintosh would not compete with Lisa (the plans were to launch the computers around the same time). True, Markkula insisted that the Macintosh should be released a little later than Lisa, namely October 1, 1982. There was only one problem - the deadlines were still unrealistic, but Steve Jobs, with his characteristic persistence, did not want to listen to anything.

At the end of the year, Steve Jobs appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The Apple II was named the best computer of the year, but the magazine article was mostly about Jobs. It claimed that Steve could become an excellent king of France. It claimed that Jobs got rich on the work of other people, and he himself does not understand anything: neither in engineering, nor in programming, design, and even more so business. The article cited the statements of many anonymous sources and even Steve Wozniak himself (who, after the accident, left Apple). Jobs was very annoyed by this article and even called Jeff Raskin to express his indignation. (Jeff, this is the man who was at the helm of the Macintosh before Steve) Jobs began to understand that a lot for him personally would depend on the success of the Mac.

Steve at that time bought himself an apartment in Manhattan, the view from the windows of which overlooked New York's Central Park. It was there that Jobs first met John Scully, the president of Pepsi. Steve and John walked around New York for quite some time, discussing the prospects for Apple and talking about the business in general. It was then that Jobs realized that John was the man he wanted to be President of Apple. John was great at business, but he didn't know much about technology. So, according to Jobs, they could be a great tandem. There was only one problem: Scully was doing a great job at Pepsi at the time. As a result, Steve Jobs was able to lure Scully to Apple, and even the famous phrase addressed by Jobs to John Scully entered the history of business: “Are you going to sell sugared water for the rest of your life, or are you going to change the world?”

It should be noted that by this time a group of software developers for Macintosh still did not have time, but Steve Jobs, without shouting and tantrums, was able to breathe new strength into programmers, and make them work for the last week with almost no sleep. The result was stunning. Everything was ready. The principle “if you have the right people in your team, then you will succeed” worked here. The Macintosh group had the right people.

The presentation of the Macintosh turned out to be phenomenal, a technological revolution, along with the oratorical skills of Steve Jobs forever entered history.

Soon, John Scully merged the Lisa and Macintosh development team, led by Steve Jobs. The first 100 days of Macintosh sales were phenomenal, and then the first serious problems began. The main problem for all users was the lack of software. In addition to standard programs from Apple at that time, only the office suite from Microsoft was available for Macintosh. All other developers could not figure out how to create software with a graphical interface. This was the main reason that slowed down sales of the computer.

Soon problems began with the hardware. Jobs was against the possibility of Mac extensions, which consumers didn't like. Apple employee Michael Murray once said, "Steve did market research by looking at himself in the mirror every morning." Things were heating up at Apple. At that moment, conflicts clearly began to occur between the Macintosh development team and the rest of Apple. Jobs, in turn, constantly belittled the merits of the new models of the Apple II computer, which at that time was Apple's cash cow.

Apple's black streak continued and Steve Jobs, as always, in his own manner began to blame others for the company's failures, or rather another one, its president John Scully. Steve claimed that John was never able to readjust and enter the high-tech business.

As a result, a few months after his birthday, Steve Jobs was fired from the company, which he himself founded. This was due to a number of behind-the-scenes intrigues that Steve led in order to gain power and become president of the company.

After his dismissal, Steve refused the honorary position of the representative of the company and sold all the shares of Apple that he had at that time. He left only one symbolic share.

After Steve's dismissal, there will be some heyday of Apple, which will lead to the highest sales in the history of the company. Then hard times will come, which will lead Apple to near collapse, but in 1997 Jobs will again lead the company to pull it out and make it one of the biggest players in the industry. But that's still 12 years away, and Steve is rich and young. And most importantly, he is full of energy and ready for new achievements. He wasn't going to quit the business. Although it should be noted that he could. He could become a simple venture investor. Forget about work, but it was not in the spirit of Steve, and therefore he decided to found a computer company Next.

Life after Apple

Next was supposed to develop computers that would be used primarily in education. Steve Jobs received an investment from Ros Pero, who invested $20 million in Next. Perot received a fairly good stake in the company - 16 percent. To be sure, Jobs did not present any business plans to Perot. The investor completely relied on Steve's devilish charm.

The Next computers used the revolutionary NextStep operating system, which was built with the principles of the object-oriented programming that would become ubiquitous. Nevertheless, Jobs will not be able to achieve much success with Next, but on the contrary, he will squander a lot of money.

It should be noted that Next computers were used by a number of creative personalities in their work. For example, such game hits from ID Software as Doom and Quake were created on them. In the late 80s, Steve Jobs tried to save Next by signing a contract with Diney, but nothing worked, Disney continued to work with Apple.

At that time, it seemed that Jobs's luck had left him and he would soon become bankrupt. But there was one "but". Steve was great at organizing a small group of talented people to create something meaningful. That's exactly what he did with PIXAR, which gave the world computer animation.

In 1985, Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas (director of Star Wars). It should be noted that the initial price Lucas set for Pixar was $30 million. Jobs waited for the right moment, when Lucas urgently needed money, but there were no buyers, and after long negotiations, he received the company at a price of 10 million. True, at the same time, Steve promised that Lucas would be able to use all the achievements of Pixar in his films for free. At that time, Pixar had a Pixar Image Computer at its disposal, which cost an exorbitant amount of money and sold quite poorly. Jobs began looking for a market for it. At the same time, Pixar continued to develop software for animation, and to make some experiments in creating their own animation.

Soon, Jobs will open 7 sales offices of Pixar in different cities, which will have to sell Pixar Image Computer. This idea will fail, because the Pixar computer will be aimed at a very narrow circle of people, and it will not need additional representation.

A pivotal moment in Pixar's history was the hiring of Disney artist John Lasseter, who would eventually take the studio to new heights. John was initially hired to create short animations that showcase the capabilities of Pixar's software and hardware. Pixar's success began with the short films "Andre and Wally B" and "Luxo, Jr."

The turning point came when Jobs funded the short film Tin Toy, which would go on to win an Oscar. In 1988, Pixar introduced the RenderMan software product, which for a long time would be the only source of income for Steve Jobs.

At the end of 1989, Jobs had two companies that made first-class products, but sales in both cases left much to be desired, and the press predicted the failure of both Pixar and Next.

As a result, Jobs begins to act actively. The first thing he did was to sell Pixar's money-losing computer business. Part of the staff, and everything that was connected with Pixar Image Computer computers, was sold for several million to Vicom. Ultimately, Pixar was transformed into a pure animation company.

Like most businessmen, Steve Jobs often spoke to students. In 1989, he had a chance to read a speech at Stanford. Jobs, as always, led a real show and looked first-class on stage, but suddenly there came a moment when he began to stutter, and it seemed to many that he had lost the main thread of the speech.

It was all about the woman who was sitting in the hall. Her name was Lauryn Powell and Jobs liked her. And not just liked, he experienced feelings for her that were unknown to him before. At the end of the lecture, Steve exchanged phone numbers with her and got into his car. He had a business meeting for the evening. But getting into the car, Steve realized that he was doing something wrong, and that at the moment he did not want to be at a business meeting at all. As a result, Jobs caught up with Lauryn and invited him to a restaurant that same day. The rest of the day they walked around the city. Subsequently, Steve and Lauryn will get married.

Amid success in his personal life, Jobs continued to experience problems in the business sphere. At the end of the year, another reduction was carried out at Pixar. It should be noted that many employees were fired, but the reduction did not affect the group of animators, headed by John Lasseter. It became clear that Steve was betting on them.

Steve Jobs is one of those people who only listen to themselves. He doesn't care what others think, even if he's wrong. Of course, there is always a narrow circle of people who can express their point of view to Steve and he listens to it, for example, now such people include Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive.

In the early 90s, the circle of people who could argue with Steve included Pixar co-founder Elvy Ray Smith. Elvy often pointed out Jobs' blunders, and, after all, he knew more about animation than Steve did. Once at a Pixar meeting, Jobs was talking some nonsense that he didn’t even bother to figure out. Alvy jumped up from his seat and began to prove what Steve was wrong about. Here he made a mistake. Jobs has always been a strange and extraordinary person. At the meeting, he had a special whiteboard on which only he could write. To prove his point, Alvy began to write something on Steve's white board. Everyone froze, after a few seconds, Jobs was in front of Smith and bombarded him with a mass of personal insults, which, according to those present, were irrelevant and really vile. Soon Elvy Ray Smith left Pixar, the company he founded.

The real breakthrough for Pixar came in the early 90s when Jobs received financial backing from Disney. Under the contract, Pixar had to create a full-length computer cartoon, and Disney assumed all the costs associated with the promotion of the film. Considering what a powerful marketing machine Disney is, that was great. Jobs managed to get the most favorable conditions for Pixar from Disney.

In 1991, two important events took place in the life of Steve Jobs. 36-year-old Jobs married his 27-year-old girlfriend Lauryn (the wedding was ascetic), and also signed a contract with Disney to produce three animated films. Under the terms of the contract, Disney assumed all the costs of creating and promoting the films. This contract became a real lifeline for Jobs, whose fall was already written in all the newspapers. They saw him bankrupt. No one then knew that Pixar would give Steve billions.

In 1992, Jobs realized that he could no longer finance Next on his own and secured a second investment from Canon (the first was $100 million) of $30 million. At that time, sales of Next computers increased significantly, but in general, Next sold as many computers in a year as Apple sold in a week.

In 1993, Steve made an important decision (albeit a difficult one for him) to begin to gradually phase out production of Next personal computers and focus the company's efforts on software (this was an important decision from a historical point of view, since NextStep would later become the basis for Mac OS X, which will revive Macintosh computers from the crisis).

At that time, there was one person who guaranteed the success of Jobs. It was the director, artist and animator in one person - John Lasseter. Disney fought for it with all its might. But, he continued to work at Pixar. In many ways, his presence in the company was the reason that Disney really wanted to work with the Steve Jobs studio.

Pixar's first animated film, Toy Story, was released around Christmas 1995 and was a resounding success.

The mid-1990s were a terrible time for Apple. First, John Scully was fired, and Michael Spindler did not last long as president. The last person to lead Apple was Jill Amelio. Ultimately, the company was losing market share by leaps and bounds. Besides, it was already unprofitable. In this regard, the leaders were looking for someone who would buy Apple, making it part of their business. However, neither negotiations with Phillips, nor with Sun, nor with Oracle were successful.

Jobs at the time was busy planning Pixar's IPO. He intended to hold it immediately after the release of Toy Story. The IPO was Jobs' only hope at the time.

The situation around Apple was getting more complicated. It got to the point that at the end of 1996, Bill Gates constantly called the head of Apple Computer, Gil Amelio, persuading him to install the Windows NT operating system on Macintosh computers.

As a result, after long negotiations, Apple acquires Steve Jobs' Next for $377 million and 1.5 million shares. The main thing that Apple needed was the NextStep operating system and a group of people developing it (more than 300 people). Apple got it all, and Steve Jobs was named advisor to Gil Amelio.

However, there were no significant changes. The same people were on the board of directors, and Apple's losses were increasing. It was the best moment to overthrow Amelio. And Jobs took advantage of it. At that time, a number of devastating articles appeared in various business magazines that were addressed to Gil Amelio. The board of directors did not tolerate him any longer and announced the dismissal of Amelio. No one then remembered that Amelio promised to pull Apple out of the crisis in 3 years, and worked for only 1.5, while significantly increasing the company's cash. But, as it turned out, this was not enough. At that moment, it became clear to everyone that Steve Jobs, who was the darling of the press, would lead Apple. How else? The man who lost everything and managed to get back on his knees and become a millionaire (thanks to Pixar). In addition, Jobs stood at the origins of Apple, which means he could breathe fire into the eyes of all employees.

For starters, Jobs was named acting CEO. One of the first decisions Steve made was to call Bill Gates. Apple gave Microsoft the rights to a number of user interface developments, and MS invested $150 million in the company's shares, and also committed to releasing new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh. On top of all this, Internet Explorer has become the default browser on the Mac.

Jobs quickly took control into his own hands. He closed the unprofitable Newton project, which had plagued Apple for many years (it was the first PDA in history, but it failed because it was simply ahead of its time). At this point, an old friend of Steve Jobs and the head of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is on the Apple board of directors. This was a significant support for Steve.

At the same time, Apple's famous "Think Different" ad appeared for the first time, which remains the company's credo to this day.

At the 1998 MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs spoke to attendees about how the company was doing. In the end, already leaving, he said: “I almost forgot. We're making a profit again." The hall burst into applause.

By 1998, Pixar had released four hugely successful animated films: Toy Story, Flick's Adventure, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc. Overall, Pixar's total revenue at the time was $2.8 billion. It was a phenomenal success for the Jobs studio. In the same year, the revival of Apple began. Steve Jobs introduced the first iMac. True, it is worth saying here that the development of the iMac began even before the arrival of Jobs at Apple under Gil Amelio. However, all the merits regarding the iMac are assigned to Steve and nothing can be done about it.

The arrival of Jobs at Apple also had a positive effect on the reduction of the company's inventories, which were previously equal to 400 million dollars, and after the arrival of Jobs dropped to 75 million. This was due to the fact that Jobs was attentive to all the small details of the production process.

Following the success of the iMac (computer and monitor in one), Apple introduced a new line of iBook portable computers. At the same time, Apple received the rights to the SoundJam MP program from C&C. This program would later become known as iTunes and would launch the popularity of the iPod.

After the release of iTunes, Apple turned its attention to the mp3 player market. Steve Jobs found the PortalPlayer company and, after a series of negotiations, entrusted it with the development of a player for Apple (the hardware and software were made by Apple itself). This is how the iPod was born. During development, Jobs made a lot of claims against the employees of Portal Player, which ultimately only played into the hands of consumers who received the best (at that time) mp3 player. At the same time, it should be noted that the now famous designer Jonathan Ive from Apple was responsible for the appearance of the iPod player (now he is the chief industrial designer of the “fruit” company). I must say that the success of all new Apple products released since the return of Steve Jobs to the company is also the merit of Quince. Even the design of the first iMacs was his work.

Soon, new versions of the iPod player began to come out, which became more and more popular every day.

At the same time, the new operating system Mac OS X was introduced, which marked the beginning of the entire series of OS X operating systems that gave a second life to Macintosh computers.

The subsequent history is known. iPod has become the most popular player of our time. Macintosh computers are gaining popularity more and more, and not so long ago, Apple even released its mobile phone called the iPhone, which became a real bomb that incorporated all the best features of the products of the “fruit” company.

Here is a selection of some of his most interesting sayings that will help you succeed in life:

1. Steve Jobs says, “Innovation separates the leader from the follower.”
There is no limit to new ideas. It all depends on your imagination. The world is constantly changing. It's time to start thinking differently. If you're in a growing industry, think of ways to get more results, nicer clients, easier to work with. If you are in a dying industry, quickly quit and change it before you lose your job. And remember that delay is inappropriate here. Start innovating now!

2. “Be the standard of quality. Some people weren't in an environment where innovation was the trump card."
It's not a fast track to excellence. You should definitely make excellence your priority. Use your talents, abilities and skills to make your product the best and then you will jump over the competition, add something special, what they are missing. Live by higher standards, pay attention to the details that can improve the situation. It's easy to have an edge - just decide right now to offer your innovative idea - in the future you will be amazed at how this merit will help you through life.

3. “There is only one way to do great work, and that is to love her. If you don't get there, wait. Don't get down to business. As with everything else, your own heart will help you to suggest an interesting case.
Do what you love. Look for an activity that gives you a sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life. The presence of a goal and the desire for its implementation brings order to life. This contributes not only to improving your situation, but also gives you a charge of vivacity and optimism. Do you enjoy getting out of bed in the morning and waiting for the start of a new working week? If you answered “no”, then look for a new activity.

4. “You know that we eat food that other people grow. We wear clothes that other people have made. We speak languages ​​that were invented by other people. We use mathematics, but other people also developed it ... I think we all say this all the time. This is a great opportunity to create something that could be useful to mankind.”
Try to make changes in your world first and maybe you will be able to change the world.

5. “This phrase is from Buddhism: A beginner's opinion. It's great to have a beginner's opinion."
It is a kind of opinion that allows you to see things as they are, which can constantly and in a moment realize the original essence of everything. Beginner's opinion - Zen practice in action. It is an opinion that is innocent of prejudice and expected outcome, judgment and prejudice. Think of the beginner's opinion as that of a small child who looks at life with curiosity, wonder, and amazement.

6. "We think that we mostly watch TV so that the brain can rest and we work at the computer when we want to turn on the convolutions."
Many scientific studies over the decades have clearly confirmed that television has a detrimental effect on the psyche and morals. And most TV watchers are aware that their bad habit is dulling them and killing them a lot of time, but they still continue to spend a huge part of the time watching the box. Do what makes your brain think that develops it. Avoid being passive.

7. “I'm the only person who knows what it's like to lose a quarter of a billion dollars in a year. It's very good at shaping the personality."
Do not equate the phrases "make mistakes" and "be a mistake." There is no such thing as a successful person who never stumbled or made a mistake - there are only successful people who made mistakes, but then changed their lives and their plans based on these same mistakes made earlier (without making them again) . They consider mistakes as a lesson from which they learn valuable experience. To make no mistakes means to do nothing.

8. "I'd trade all my technology for a meeting with Socrates."
Over the past decade, bookstores around the world have seen a plethora of books showing the lessons of historical figures. And Socrates, along with Leonardo Da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein, is a source of inspiration for independent thinkers. But Socrates was the first. Cicero said of Socrates that "he brought philosophy down from heaven, bestowing it on ordinary people." So, apply the principles of Socrates in your own life, work, study and relationships - this will bring more truth, beauty and perfection into your everyday life.

nine. " We are here to contribute to this world. Otherwise, why are we here?»
Do you know that you have good things to bring to life? And did you know that those good things were abandoned while you poured yourself another cup of coffee and made the decision to just think about it instead of making it a reality? We are all born with a gift to give it life. This gift, well, or this thing is your calling, your goal. And you do not need a decree to achieve this goal. Neither your boss, nor your teacher, nor your parents, no one can decide this for you. Just find that single target.

10. " Your time is limited, don't waste it living another life. Don't get hooked on a creed that exists on other people's thinking. Don't let the eyes of others drown out your own inner voice. And it is very important to have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you really want to do. Everything else is secondary.»
Are you tired of living someone else's dream? Undoubtedly, this is your life and you have every right to spend it the way you want without any obstacles and barriers from others. Give yourself the opportunity to develop your creative talents in an atmosphere free from fear and pressure. Live the life you choose and where you are the master of your own destiny.

Stories of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs' speech to the 2005 Stanford graduates (part one)

Steve Jobs' speech to the 2005 Stanford graduates (part two)

Apple's board of directors said in a brief statement - " Its brilliance, energy and passion have been the source of countless innovations that have enriched and improved the lives of all of us. The world has become immeasurably better thanks to Steve. His greatest love was his wife Lauren and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who have been touched by his extraordinary talents.».

Fans and fans of Steve Jobs reacted to the news of his death. On the site created by them Steve Jobs Day (http://stevejobsday2011.com ) its authors propose to consider the day of Steve Jobs on October 14, when the iPhone 4S should go on sale.

Put on a black turtleneck, blue jeans, sneakers and go to work, school, college. Take a picture in this form, post a picture on Twitter, Facebook. Tell about the place of Apple, Steve Jobs and his inventions in everyone's life. This will be the schedule of the day on October 14 for millions of admirers of the genius Jobs.

Mark Zuckerberg : " Steve, thank you for being a mentor and friend. Thank you for showing that what you do can change the world. I will miss you».

Former colleagues, friends and politicians - everyone speaks and writes today only about Jobs.

Barack Obama: " Steve is one of America's greatest innovators - brave enough to think differently, determined enough to believe in his ability to change the world, and gifted enough to do so.».

Bill Gates : " Steve and I first met about 30 years ago. We have been colleagues, competitors and friends for more than half of our lives. It was an insanely great honor to be friends with and work with Jobs. There are few people who manage to leave such a deep impression as Steve, and his influence will be felt for many generations. I will miss Steve very much».

Arnold Schwarzenegger: « Steve lived the California dream every day. He changed the world and inspired us to follow his example. Thank you Steve».

Dmitry Medvedev: " People like Steve Jobs are changing our world. My sincere condolences to relatives and everyone who appreciated his mind and talent».

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

The founder and CEO of Apple Computer has become one of the heroes of corporate folklore. The company began with a garage where Steve Jobs and his colleague Steve Wozniak huddled.

The Apple personal computers invented by them completely changed the computer market. Unfortunately, Apple chose the wrong strategy by associating the Mac operating system solely with its hardware, while Microsoft licensed its MS-DOS operating system to absolutely all manufacturers.

In 1985, former Pepsi chairman John Scully decided to “throw a worm in the apple” and fired Jobs from the company he once founded.

However, in 1993, Sculley was fired, and Steve Jobs was asked to return to Apple. Returning, Jobs breathed new life into his offspring. For many of his fans, the company's exit from the crisis was confirmation that their idol is one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the field of high technology.

Biography. In February 1955, Paul and Clara Jobs adopted the orphaned Steven Jobs. He spent his childhood in Los Altos, California. After leaving school, Jobs listened to lectures at the electronics company Hewlett-Packard, where he got a job.

Soon he met Stephen Wozniak, who was expelled from the University of California. Wozniak was a talented young engineer who was constantly inventing gadgets.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak attended meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club. Most of its members were computer geeks who were only interested in diodes, transistors and electronic devices assembled from them.

The interests of Steve Jobs were not limited to this. He paid attention primarily to the practicality and market profitability of the product. Jobs persuaded Wozniak to work together on a personal computer. The Apple I was designed in Jobs' bedroom and prototyped in his garage.

After noticing their first small success (a local electronics dealer ordered twenty-five computers from them), the young people heeded the wise advice of the former Intel CEO and founded their own company, selling all the most valuable thing they had - in particular, Steve Jobs sold his a Volkswagen minibus, and Wozniak donated his prize calculator to Hewlett-Packard.

After raising $1,300, the two enthusiasts founded a new company they named Apple.

Way to success. The company's first product, the Apple I computer, was introduced to the market in 1976 and cost $666. As members of the local computer community, Steve Jobs and Wozniak had no trouble fueling interest in their new product.

Income from sales of Apple I computers amounted to 774 thousand dollars, and soon young entrepreneurs took up the development of Apple II. The tremendous success was due not only to the unique engineering solution, but also to the talent of Jobs, who was well versed in marketing.

Inspired by Steve Jobs, he brought in Regis McKenna, Silicon Valley's top PR specialist and the man who went on to popularize affiliate marketing.

In 1980, Apple went public. The stock price, which was originally $22, soared to $29 on the first day, and capitalization reached $1.2 billion.

From 1978 to 1983, the company steadily moved forward, consistently occupying a leading position in the personal computer market (although at that time there was not much competition in this sector). The average annual growth rate exceeded 150%.

In 1981, IBM introduced its first computer, running the MS-DOS operating system from a small software company called Microsoft. Two years later, sales of IBM computers surpassed sales of Apple computers.

Steve Jobs realized that if IBM and Microsoft took over, then Apple could be forced out of the market. To restore Apple to its former glory, Jobs turned to John Sculley, CEO of Pepsi.

As a result of the collaboration of these two completely different people, one of whom was a typical "" (Scully), and the second - a representative of the counterculture (Jobs), a personal computer appeared, which finally secured Apple's status as a favorite company of computer fans. It was an Apple Macintosh.

Happy owners of Macintosh computers did not need to enter commands in a programming language - it was enough just to click on well-recognized icons, opening, for example, a basket or folders with documents.

In an instant, everything changed - now the user could work on a computer without having a special education. Many companies have followed the path of Apple - in particular, the idea was picked up by Microsoft Corporation. Apple has become a favorite of creative workers, a cult company.

And his team has never achieved such recognition. Instead, Microsoft secured a dominant position in the software market: Microsoft's market share was 80%, while Apple's was only 20%.

Ultimately, the advantage was critical. The Apple story ended in 1985 when Sculley did the unthinkable by firing Steve Jobs from the company he had founded. Shocked by his partner's move, Jobs continued to pour investors' money into another start-up company, NeXT Computer.

However, the new project did not live up to expectations: in total, only 50,000 computers were sold. However, another project, Pixar Animation Studios, in which Steve Jobs invested his $ 60 million, turned out to be successful. (The investment soon paid off, and the studio released computer-animated blockbusters Toy Story and Bug Life, or The Adventures of Flick.)

Scully himself was fired in 1993 after Apple's market share dropped to 8%. He was replaced by Michael Spindler, who worked at Apple until 1996, when the company's share fell to an all-time low of 5%. Spindler was shown the door. His place was immediately taken by Gil Amelio.

Five hundred days later, the situation had not changed, and Amelio, shortly before he was fired himself, invited Jobs to work as a consultant.

Then Steve Jobs himself appointed himself "interim CEO", returning to where he once started. Once he was back in charge, Jobs got rid of the NeXT operating system, terminated unprofitable licensing agreements, and, most importantly, released a new product, the iMac, which he had high hopes for.

It was a new version of the computer, distinguished by a catchy design and ease of operation. Also, it did not have a disk storage device, as Jobs believed that this was an obsolete technology that had been replaced by zip drives and the Internet.

The stylish Internet-ready computer was billed as "Chic Not Geek" on advertising posters. During the first six weeks, 278,000 buyers acquired the translucent Blue Dream. Fortune magazine named the iMac one of the fastest selling new products of all time.

Financial oligarchs have also begun to trust Apple again: in less than a year, the value of the company's shares has doubled. Revenues for 2000 were $7.98 billion and net income was $786 million. The company began opening retail outlets in various US cities.

Since then, Apple stock has been caught in the same vortex as other technology stocks. The theme of "stylish computer", proposed by Steve Jobs, was reflected in further developments.

In 2001, a new product was introduced - iPhoto, which appeared as a result of Apple's desire to strengthen its position in the digital photo market.

In 2003, Apple introduced the new, more powerful iMac and the world's first seventeen-inch portable computer, the latest version of the Powerbook.

Despite constant innovative developments, Apple's financial results left much to be desired. In 2004, things changed with the iPod, a music player that allowed users to download music from the Internet.

The new product captured the imagination of consumers around the world, and over five million players were sold during the first three months of 2005 alone.

In April 2005, the company announced a 530% increase in net income compared to the same period in 2004 (from $46 million to $290 million).

On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died from a long-term illness, pancreatic cancer.

Outcome. Steven Jobs, who was called the corporate Huckleberry Finn in one newspaper, is one of the galaxy of talented high-tech specialists, including Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Scott McNeely.

However, he differs from other members of the narrow circle of the elite in a sense of style: IBM provided businessmen with personal computers, Microsoft provided them with its MS-DOS operating system; and Jobs made working on the computer easy and simple.

He took a graphical user interface he first saw in the Xerox PARC lab and used it on an Apple Mac computer, making the computer accessible to any user by simply selecting the desired object and clicking on it.

Steve Jobs created one of the first computer animation studios - Pixar, after which he returned to Apple to save the company from collapse. By introducing the new iMac product, he once again demonstrated the power of his imagination, the style that made him a multi-millionaire, and the Apple computer the choice of millions of dedicated fans.