The products which made him a legend: Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. In December 2010, Fortune Magazine named him Person of the Year. He was also called as the Best Business Entrepreneur on Earth.
Steve Jobs's trademark when unveiling a new product was his outfit: black turtle neck sweatshirt, blue jeans and white rubber shoes. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook eventually followed this trademark.
The world loses one of the most brilliant and creative innovators of this generation
This is one of the saddest news I've ever read....
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, died last Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at the age of 56. He had been suffering from neuroendocrine cancer (pancreatic cancer) since 2004 and undergone liver transplant in 2009.
Jobs, together with two friends, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded Apple in April 1976, the company was incorporated in January 1977 without Wayne. He was not an engineer, he did not even finished college, but Steve Jobs was equipped with extraordinary knowledge and talent that dwarfed those who have been thought to be intelligent, successful and accomplished.
Steve Jobs died a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model.
In August of this year, Steve Jobs announced his resignation as Apple's CEO but remained the company's Chairman of the Board. In a statement, Apple Incorporated described their great loss on the death of its founder:
" Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve our lives, the world is immeasurably better because of Steve. Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius and the world has lost an amazing human being. He left behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple".
His Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, called him "the best business leader of our time".
Steve Jobs was the instrument of Apple Incorporated's highly defined success in terms of management, marketing and innovations. For four straight years now, since 2008, Apple named as the WORLD'S MOST ADMIRED COMPANY. Steve Jobs's unique management and marketing style brought Apple to greatness. "Its blistering pace or new product releases has continued to set the bar high for tech companies across the board"-- Fortune magazine.
A statement from Jobs' family reads, in full:
"Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.
In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve's illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.
We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief."
Bill Gates of Microsoft expressed his grief over Steve Jobs's death, stating:
"I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.
Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.
The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.
For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also issued his statement:
"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."
Google co-founder Sergey Brin also issued the following statement:
"Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much."
The products that defined Steve Jobs' career (article from Techland by Peter Svensson)
1. Apple I - First low-cost Microcomputer system with a video terminal and 8K bytes of RAM on a single PC card. This was designed by Steve Wozniak and Jobs handled the funding and marketing of this product. This product was Apple's first and was launched in April 1976.
2. Apple II - one of the most successful personal computers and was designed as a mass-market product. Launched in 1977.
3. Lisa - named after the first child of Steve Jobs, Lisa was a commercial computer with a graphical interface. It was launched in 1983.
4. Macintosh - This is the product that defined Apple's success immensely. It had a graphical user interface like Lisa but Macintosh was cheaper and faster compared to Lisa. It was launched in 1984.
5. NeXT computer - In 1987, Steve Jobs was fired by John Scully, who took over the position as Apple's CEO. Jobs then went on to establish a company that built a powerful workstation computer.This computer was very influential because the world's first web browser was created on one. Its software also lives on as the basis for today's Macintosh and iPhone operating system. Steve Jobs invented NeXT computer in 1989.
6. iMac - He sold NeXT computer to Apple, this move marked his return to the company he originally founded. He then sat as Apple's CEO since then. He had also revived the dying magic of Apple and it was in this period that the world's most admired company for four straight years now breathed a different air. Jobs did not waste his time to revive Apple's shrinking status in the PC market, he invented iMac which was designed as a bubble of blue plastic that enclosed both the monitor and the computer.
7. iPod - In 2001, Steve Jobs revolutionized the way people listen to music, though listening to music through a digital player had been around for many years, the style and luxury of how it would be heard were not there until the birth of iPod. Its existence eventually paved the way for the creations of iTunes and iPhone.
8. iTune store - In 2003, Apple launched iTunes to make the buying of digital music hassle-free, it went on to become the largest music retailer in the US in 2008.
9. iPhone - In 2007, Steve Jobs cemented his image and reputation as the messiah of electronic gadget with the birth of iPhone. It was all what the world was looking for a fantastic, magical and glamorous phone experience. To date, it became the envy of other high technology companies. This product became one of Apple's brightest innovations making the company the world's most profitable maker of phones. iPhone became a trendsetter eventually.
iPhone 2007
10. iPad - Steve Jobs's ingenuity was even more heightened when he innovated another trendsetter, iPad in 2010. Dozens of companies created and released tablet computers before, but none caught it (how to bring it to the highest level of technology experience), until Jobs's created it. It finally cracked the code creating a whole new category of computer finally by itself.
iPad 2010
Jobs, with Macpro, at the 2008 Macworld Conference & Expo
Thank you Mr. Jobs for the influence you had given to the world. May you find eternal happiness in the after life.
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