Born:
February 24, 1955
San Francisco, California
American business executive, computer programmer, and entrepreneur
Early
life
Steven
Jobs was born February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, and was adopted
by Paul and Clara Jobs. He grew up with one sister, Patty. Paul Jobs was a machinist and fixed cars as a hobby. Jobs remembers his father
as being very skilled at working with his hands.
In
1961 the family moved to Mountain View, California. This area, just south of
Palo Alto, California, was becoming a center for electronics. Electronics form
the basic elements of devices such as radios, televisions, stereos, and
computers. At that time people started to refer to the area as "Silicon
Valley." This is because a substance called silicon is used in the
manufacturing of electronic parts.
As
a child, Jobs preferred doing things by himself. He swam competitively, but was
not interested in team sports or other group activities. He showed an early
interest in electronics and gadgetry. He spent a lot of time working in the
garage workshop of a neighbor who worked at Hewlett-Packard, an electronics
manufacturer.
Jobs
also enrolled in the Hewlett-Packard Explorer Club. There he saw engineers
demonstrate new products, and he saw his first computer at the age of twelve.
He was very impressed, and knew right away that he wanted to work with
computers.
While
in high school Jobs attended lectures at the Hewlett-Packard plant. On one
occasion he boldly asked William Hewlett (1931–2001), the president, for some
parts he needed to complete a class project. Hewlett was so impressed he gave
Jobs the parts, and offered him a summer internship at Hewlett-Packard.
College
and travel
After
graduating from high school in 1972, Jobs attended Reed College in Portland,
Oregon, for two years. He dropped out after one semester to visit India and
study eastern religions in the summer of 1974. In 1975 Jobs joined a group
known as the Homebrew Computer Club. One member, a technical whiz named Steve
Wozniak (1950–), was trying to build a small computer. Jobs became fascinated
with the marketing potential of such a computer. In 1976 he and Wozniak formed
their own company. They called it Apple Computer Company, in memory of a happy
summer Jobs had spent picking apples. They raised $1,300 in startup money by
selling Jobs's microbus and Wozniak's calculator. At first they sold circuit
boards (the boards that hold the internal components of a computer) while they
worked on the computer prototype (sample).
Apple
and the personal computer era
Jobs
had realized there was a huge gap in the computer market. At that time almost
all computers were mainframes. They were so large that one could fill a room,
and so costly that individuals could not afford to buy them. Advances in
electronics, however, meant that computer components were getting smaller and
the power of the computer was increasing.
Jobs
and Wozniak redesigned their computer, with the idea of selling it to
individual users. The Apple II went to market in 1977, with impressive first
year sales of $2.7 million. The company's sales grew to $200 million within
three years. This was one of the most phenomenal cases of corporate growth in
U.S. history. Jobs and Wozniak had opened an entirely new market—personal
computers. Personal computers began an entirely new way of processing
information.
By
1980 the personal computer era was well underway. Apple was continually forced
to improve its products to remain ahead, as more competitors entered the
marketplace. Apple introduced the Apple III, but the new model suffered
technical and marketing problems. It was withdrawn from the market, and was
later reworked and reintroduced.
Jobs
continued to be the marketing force behind Apple. Early in 1983 he unveiled the
Lisa. It was designed for people possessing minimal computer experience. It did
not sell well, however, because it was more expensive than personal computers
sold by competitors. Apple's biggest competitor was International Business Machines (IBM). By
1983 it was estimated that Apple had lost half of its market share (part of an
industry's sales that a specific company has) to IBM.
The
Macintosh
In
1984 Apple introduced a revolutionary new model, the Macintosh. The on-screen display had small pictures called
icons. To use the computer, the user pointed at an icon and clicked a button
using a new device called a mouse. This process made the Macintosh very easy to
use. The Macintosh did not sell well to businesses, however. It lacked features
other personal computers had, such as a corresponding high quality printer. The
failure of the Macintosh signaled the beginning of Jobs's downfall at Apple.
Jobs resigned in 1985 from the company he had helped found, though he retained
his title as chairman of its board of directors.
NeXT
Jobs
soon hired some of his former employees to begin a new computer company called
NeXT. Late in 1988 the NeXT computer was introduced at a large gala event in
San Francisco, aimed at the educational market. Initial reactions were
generally good. The product was very user-friendly, and had a fast processing
speed, excellent graphics displays, and an outstanding sound system. Despite
the warm reception, however, the NeXT machine never caught on. It was too
costly, had a black-and-white screen, and could not be linked to other
computers or run common software.
Toy
Story
NeXT
was not, however, the end of Steve Jobs. In 1986 Jobs purchased a small company
called Pixar from
filmmaker George Lucas (1944–). Pixar specialized in computer animation. Nine
years later Pixar released Toy Story, a huge box office hit. Pixar later
went on to make Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life, which Disney
distributed, and Monsters, Inc. All these films have been extremely
successful. Monsters, Inc. had the largest opening weekend ticket sales
of any animated film in history.
NeXT
and Apple
In
December of 1996 Apple purchased NeXT Software for over $400 million. Jobs
returned to Apple as a part-time consultant to the chief executive officer
(CEO). The following year, in a surprising event, Apple entered into a
partnership with its competitor Microsoft. The two companies, according to the New
York Times, "agreed to cooperate on several sales and technology
fronts." Over the next six years Apple introduced several new products and
marketing strategies.
In
November 1997 Jobs announced Apple would sell computers directly to users over
the Internet and by telephone. The Apple Store became a runaway success. Within
a week it was the third-largest e-commerce site on the Internet. In September
of 1997 Jobs was named interim CEO of Apple.
In
1998 Jobs announced the release of the iMac, which featured powerful computing
at an affordable price. The iBook was unveiled in July 1999. This is a
clam-shaped laptop that is available in bright colors. It includes Apple's
AirPort, a computer version of the cordless phone that would allow the user to
surf the Internet wirelessly. In January 2000 Jobs unveiled Apple's new
Internet strategy. It included a group of Macintosh-only Internet-based
applications. Jobs also announced that he was becoming the permanent CEO of
Apple.
In
a February 1996 Time magazine article, Jobs said, "The thing that
drives me and my colleagues … is that you see something very compelling to you,
and you don't quite know how to get it, but you know, sometimes intuitively,
it's within your grasp. And it's worth putting in years of your life to make it
come into existence." Jobs has worked hard to translate his ideas into
exciting and innovative products for businesses and consumers. He was
instrumental in launching the age of the personal computer. Steve Jobs is truly
a computer industry visionary.
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