Steve jobs years of life occupation. Steve Jobs - biography

“The thought of imminent death is the best way to get rid of the illusion that you have something to lose. It's like you're already naked, and there's no reason not to follow your heart. Death is the best invention of life"
Steve Jobs(Steve Jobs, Apple CEO)
Speech to Stanford students, 2005

Later, Jobs' character softened, but he still did eccentric things. For example, in 2005, he banned the sale in Apple Stores of all books published by John Wiley & Sons, which published the unauthorized biography of Jobs, iCons. Steve Jobs,” written by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon.

Steve Jobs was the primary inventor or co-creator of many designs, from computers to user interfaces. Among his inventions are sound speakers, keyboards, power adapters, also so far from the world computer technology items like ladders, fasteners, belts and bags. Jobs said about his prolific inventive creativity: “Looking back, I can say that my dismissal from Apple was the best event of my life. I let go of the baggage of being a successful person and regained the ease and doubts of a beginner. It freed me and marked the beginning of my most creative period." (Stanford Alumni Address, 2005).

In 1991, Steve married Laurene Powell. The couple has a son and two daughters. Jobs was also the father of Lisa Brennan-Jobs, born in 1978 from a relationship with artist Chrisann Brennan.

Since his trip to India, Jobs remained a Buddhist and did not eat animal meat. Eastern philosophy is reflected in his worldview and attitude towards life and death: “Remembering that I will die soon is a great tool that has helped me make all the most important decisions in life. The thought of imminent death is the best way to get rid of the illusion that you have something to lose. It's like you're already naked, and there's no reason not to follow your heart. Death is the best invention of life." (Speech to students at Stanford, 2005)

In the summer of 2004, Jobs informed Apple employees that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The malignant tumor was successfully removed surgically, but the disease was not completely defeated, and Jobs had to undergo regular hospital treatment.

On January 17, 2011, Jobs was forced to take long-term leave to "focus on his health." However, on March 2, 2011, he spoke at the presentation of the iPad2.

On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation as CEO of Apple in an open letter. He thanked the corporation's employees for great job and strongly recommended appointing Tim Cook, who replaced Jobs during his treatment, as his successor. Apple's board of directors later unanimously elected Jobs as chairman.

Upon learning of his death, many Americans came to Apple Stores, lit candles and left flowers and cards of condolences.

US President Barack Obama expressed condolences over the death of Jobs, calling Jobs “the embodiment of American ingenuity,” and Bill Gates noted in his speech that “there are very few people in the world who can make a contribution similar to Steve’s, the effects of which will be felt for more than one generation.”

Steve Jobs wasn't just successful leader one of the largest companies in the world, but also a genius of the IT industry, who brilliantly implemented bold ideas that seemed crazy to many. His contribution to the development of computer technology is invaluable, but we can already note several revolutionary achievements that were achieved thanks to Jobs: affordable smartphones, the iPad Internet tablet - a possible PC killer, and Apple's unique business model, which made it one of the most successful companies in the world .

Steve Jobs Quotes

Knowing that I'm going to die is the most important tool I've ever had to make big decisions in life. Because almost everything - all the expectations of others, all the pride, all the fear of embarrassment and failure - all these things recede in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. The thought of imminent death is the best way to get rid of the illusion that you have something to lose. It's like you're already naked, and there's no reason not to follow your heart. Death is the best invention of life.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't mean anything to me. Going to bed thinking that we have created something beautiful is what is important to me.

Do you want to spend your life selling sugary water or do you want to come with me and try to change the world?(Jobs asked PepsiCo President John Sculley this question in 1983, when he lured him to the post of CEO of Apple)

The desktop market is dead. Microsoft is completely dominant without bringing any innovation to the industry. This is the end. Apple lost, but in history personal computers The Middle Ages arrived. And this will continue for about ten years.

I didn't have my own room, I slept on friends' floors, I traded Coke bottles for 5 cents to buy food, and I walked 7 miles every Sunday to have a nice dinner at the Hare Krishna temple once a week. And it was wonderful!

We are here to make a contribution to this world. Otherwise why are we here?

Innovation comes from people meeting in hallways or calling each other at 10:30 pm to share a new idea or simply realizing something that will revolutionize our understanding. These are impromptu meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he's figured out the coolest thing ever and who wants to know what others think about it.

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 developed it too... I think we all say this all the time. This is a great reason to create something that could be useful to humanity.

There's only one way to do it great job- to love her. If you haven't come to this, wait. Don't rush into action. As with everything else, your own heart will help you suggest something interesting.

Steve Jobs timeline in photographs

1977 Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveils the new Apple II. Cupertino, California. (AP Photo/Apple Computers Inc.)

1984 From left to right: Apple Computers Chairman Steve Jobs, President and CEO John Sculley and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak unveil the new Apple IIc computer. San Francisco. (AP Photo/Sal Veder)

1984 Apple Computer Chairman Steve Jobs and the new Macintosh computer at a shareholders meeting. Cupertino, California. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

1990 President and CEO of NeXT Computer Inc. Steve Jobs demonstrates the new NeXTstation. San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

1997 Pixar CEO Steve Jobs speaks at MacWorld. San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

1998 Steve Jobs of Apple Computers introduced the new iMac computer. Cupertino, California. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

2004 Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the iPod mini at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Steve Jobs, diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, begins to noticeably lose weight. This series of images is dated (top series from left to right): July 2000, November 2003, September 2005, (bottom left to right) September 2006, January 2007 and September 2008. He took an extended leave because his health problems were more complex than he thought. Investors are shocked; the company's shares fell 10 percent in January 2009. (REUTERS)

2007 Steve Jobs holds an Apple iPhone at the Macworld conference in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

2008 Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds the new MacBook Air. Presentation at Apple's MacWorld conference. San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

2010 Presentation of the new iPad by Steve Jobs. (REUTERS/Kimberly White)

October 2011. Steve passed away on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at the age of 56. Apple iPhone displays a photo of Steve Jobs. New York, Apple Store. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Good luck to you friends. Take care of yourself.

Think differently, think differently

Steve Jobs is a legendary figure in global business. The man, thanks to whose perseverance the world learned what real personal computers are for the common user. In addition to computers, Jobs created the industry of computer animated cartoons, gave the world the legendary iPod, and finally, under his leadership, Apple introduced the iPhone communicator, which is changing the foundations of the mobile industry before our eyes. Our story today is about him. About his journey, 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.

Birth of a rebel

Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1954 in San Francisco, California. Steve's parents, American Joan Carol Schible and Syrian Abdulfattah John Jandali abandoned the child a week after his birth. The baby was adopted by a couple from the town of Mountain View, located in Santa Clara County, California. The adoptive parents of the future founder of Apple, Paul and Clara Jobs, gave the child his first and last name.
One of the main conditions of this adoption was that the adoptive parents had to ensure that Steve received higher education. (although neither Paul nor Clara had it, it should be noted that Steve himself ultimately did not graduate from college)

Steve was expelled from school after third grade. The transfer to another school became a significant moment in Jobs’ life, thanks to a wonderful teacher who found an approach to him. As a result, he pulled himself together and began to study! The approach, of course, was simple: for each completed task, Steve received money from the teacher. Not much, but quite enough for a fourth grade student. Overall, Jobs' success was great enough that he even skipped fifth grade, going straight to high school.

Jobs graduated from high school in Cupertino in 1972 and tried to get a higher education at Portland College, Oregon. However, Jobs was expelled after the first semester. In 1974, Jobs returned to Cupertino, where he showed increased interest in computer technology and new developments. He became an active member of the local computer club Homebrew Computer, at one of whose meetings he subsequently became friends with his future Apple partner, Steve Wozniak.

One day, Steve Jobs decided to assemble his electronic frequency counter, but during assembly he realized that he was missing a number of parts. Without thinking twice, Steve called Hewlett-Packard co-founder Bill Hewlett and told him about his problems. Jobs got the parts he needed. Moreover, in the summer he was invited to work for a couple of months at HP. Steve worked with undisguised enthusiasm and all the time tried to prove to his bosses that technology was everything to him. At one of these moments, Steve talked about his love for electronics and asked a project manager named Chris (who directly supervised Jobs) what he loved most in the world. Chris was short: “Fuck.” Soon Jobs' life began to take on new colors. However, it should be noted that before Steve became a millionaire, he wasn’t very good with women. He didn’t know at all what to talk to them about, considering all conversations with women empty.

Soon after his first sexual experience, Jobs became addicted to recreational drugs such as marijuana and LSD. (It’s interesting that even now, having abandoned this addiction, Steve does not at all regret that he used LSD. Moreover, he considers it one of the most significant events in his life, which turned his worldview upside down.)

When Steve Jobs was 16 years old, he and Woz met a then-famous hacker named Captain Crunch. He told them how, using special sounds made by a whistle from a set of Captain Crunch cereals, 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 imitate the sounds of Crunch's whistle and make free calls around the world. Jobs started selling the product. The blue boxes sold for $150 each and were very popular among students. Interestingly, the cost of such a device was then $40. However, it was not possible to achieve much success. First, problems with the police, and then with some hooligan who even threatened Jobs with a gun, brought the “blue box business” to naught.

After his first unsuccessful experience in entrepreneurship, Steve Jobs retreated into his personal life. At that time he met his first true love, which was a girl named Chris-Ann. Steve spent a lot of time with her. Including one of the most famous moments in his life when he took LSD with her in a wheat field. Jobs claims that this moment was very important in his life and helped to “expand” his consciousness. Later, Chris-Anne gives birth to a child with Steve, whom he for a long time will not recognize or even pay alimony, although at that time he will be a millionaire. All this will be confirmation of his rather great emotional experiences at that time. But that will come later, but for now Steve decides to go to Reed College.

Reed College is one of the most expensive liberal arts colleges on the West Coast, but that is where Steve went, despite the lack of money. (his parents did find funds for his studies) True, young Jobs studied there for only about six months. However, even after this, he was present at the college, lived in the dormitory (sometimes he occupied the rooms of students who, for a number of reasons, were absent in this moment in college, and sometimes slept on the floor in friends' rooms). Steve actively attended various courses at Reed, including taking a course on calligraphy (this would later affect the personal computer industry, they would have really beautiful fonts)

In 1974, Steve Jobs took a job at Atari. It was there that Jobs managed to persuade management to pay for his trip to India. Jobs was already very interested in Eastern philosophy at that time, and therefore really wanted to see the guru. Atari paid for Jobs' trip, although he also had to visit Germany, where his tasks included resolving production problems. He managed it.

Jobs went to India not alone, but with his friend Dan Kottke. Dan Kottke was a pretty good pianist at that time, but that didn't mean he had the money to travel to India. However, Steve Jobs promised to pay all of Kottke’s expenses. Fortunately, this did not have to be done, since the latter’s parents, having learned that he was going to India, paid for a round-trip ticket and also gave him money for expenses in a foreign country.

Only after arriving in India, Steve exchanged all his belongings for the shabby clothes of a beggar. His goal was to make pilgrimages throughout India, hoping for the help of ordinary strangers. During the trip itself, Dan and Steve almost died several times due to the harsh climate of India. Communication with the guru did not bring Jobs enlightenment. However, the trip to India left an indelible mark on Jobs' soul. He saw real poverty, completely different from the one that hippies in Silicon Valley adhered to. (“pictorial”)

Returning back to Silicon Valley, Jobs continued working at Atari. Soon he was entrusted with the development of the game BreakOut (Atari at that time was making not only a game, but a full-fledged slot machine, and all the work fell on Jobs’ shoulders.). For this job, Steve was supposed to use no more than 50 parts. This was the main condition. Of course, Jobs himself would never have been able to put together BreakOut. However, he brought Wozniak on board, and everything was ready within 48 hours. Jobs' job was to run for cola and sweets. For this work, young Jobs received 1000 dollars, but he told Wozniak that he was paid 600. As a result, in the pocket of Woz, who did all the work, there were 300 dollars, and in Jobs’s pocket 700. Later, Woz learns about this act of Jobs from third parties faces, and according to eyewitnesses, tears will even appear in his eyes.

In any case, in 1975 the Altair personal computer was introduced. Already at this time, both Steves understood what they wanted to do.

Creation of Apple Computer

At the time of the creation of Apple Computer, Inc. in 1976, Steve Jobs worked for Atari, a company developing computer games. At Jobs's initiative, Wozniak created the personal computer. The model turned out to be so successful that Jobs and Wozniak decided to begin serial production of computers. The beginning of the collaboration between Jobs and Wozniak is considered to be April 1, 1976 - official date founding of Apple.

For 10 years, under the leadership of Jobs, Apple managed to maintain a leading position in the computer market. The success of Apple's first computer model, called the Apple I (about 200 of these machines were sold, which is a very good indicator for a start-up company), was consolidated in 1977 with the release of the Apple II, which was considered the most popular personal computer for 5 years.

However, by 1985, amid the release of a number of unsuccessful computer models (the commercial failure of the Apple III), the loss of a significant market share and ongoing conflicts in management, Wozniak left Apple, and some time later Steve Jobs also left the company. Also in 1985, Jobs founded NeXT, a company specializing in hardware and workstations.

A year later, Steve Jobs co-founded the animation studio Pixar. Under Jobs' leadership, Pixar released films such as Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. In 2006, Jobs sold Pixar to Walt Disney Studios for $7.4 million in company stock. Jobs remained on the board of directors of Pixar and at the same time became the largest an individual- a Disney shareholder, receiving 7 percent of the studio's shares.

Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, when the company founded by Jobs decided to acquire NeXT. Jobs joined the company's board of directors and became the interim manager of Apple, which was experiencing a serious crisis at that moment. In 1998, on Jobs' initiative, work on Apple's frankly unsuccessful projects, including the PDA Newton, was suspended.

In 2000, the word interim disappeared from Jobs’ job title, and the Apple founder himself was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the executive director with the most modest salary in the world (according to official documents, Jobs’ salary at that time was $1 per year).

In 2001, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod. Within a few years, selling iPods became the company's main source of income. Under Jobs' leadership, Apple had significantly strengthened its position in the personal computer market by 2006, helped by the transition of Macintosh machines to high-performance processors manufactured by Intel.

I think we're having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we always try to make them even better. Steve Jobs

His successes and reputation help define an era and change the world. It changes the understanding of computers, offers us perfect hardware and software that changes us.

This man with boundless energy and charisma is also an expert at throwing dust, exaggeration and attention-grabbing phrases. And even when he tries to talk normally, brilliant expressions pour out of him.

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

1. Steve Jobs says: “ Innovation distinguishes the leader from the catcher.»
There are no limits to new ideas. It all depends only on your imagination. The world is constantly changing. It's time to start thinking differently. If you're in a growing industry, think about ways to get more results, nicer clients, and easier customer service. If you are associated with 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 were not in an environment where innovation was a major asset.»
This is not a fast track to excellence. You should definitely make excellence your priority. Use your talents, capabilities and skills to make your product the best and then you will leapfrog your competitors, add something special, something they don’t have. Live by higher standards, pay attention to details that can improve the situation. Having an advantage is not difficult - just decide right now to propose your innovative idea - in the future you will be amazed at how this merit will help you in life.

3. “There is only one way to do great work - to love it. If you haven't come to this, wait. Don't rush into action. As with everything else, your own heart will help you suggest something interesting. »
Do what you love. Look for activities that give you a sense of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in life. Having a goal and striving for its implementation brings orderliness to life. This not only improves your situation, but also gives you a boost of vigor and optimism. You are happy to get out of bed in the morning and look forward to a new start. 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 developed it too... I think we all say this all the time. This is a great reason to create something that could be useful to humanity. »
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. Great to have a newbie's opinion»
This is the kind of opinion that allows one to see things as they are, which can constantly and in an instant realize the original essence of everything. A beginner's perspective - Zen practice in action. It is an opinion that is innocent of preconception and expected outcome, evaluation and prejudice. Think of the beginner's perspective as that of a small child who views life with curiosity, wonder, and amazement.

6. “We think that we mostly watch TV to give our brains a rest and we work at the computer when we want to turn on our brains. »
Many scientific studies over the decades have clearly confirmed that television has a detrimental effect on the psyche and morals. And most people who watch TV know that their bad habit is dulling them and killing them a lot of time, but they still continue to spend a huge portion of their time watching the box. Do what makes your brain think, what develops it. Avoid passive pastime.

7. “I’m the only person who knows what it’s like to lose a quarter of a billion dollars in a year. It shapes the personality very well. »
Do not conflate the phrases “making mistakes” with “being a mistake.” There's no such thing as successful man 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 (not making them in the future). They consider mistakes as lessons from which they gain valuable experience. Avoiding mistakes means doing nothing.

8. " I would trade all my technology for a meeting with Socrates.»
Over the past decade, many books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on bookstore shelves around the world. 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, giving it to ordinary people.” So, use the principles of Socrates in your own life, work, study and relationships - this will bring more truth, beauty and perfection into your everyday life.

9. " We are here to make a contribution 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 were pouring yourself another cup of coffee and you made the decision to just think about it instead of making it a reality? We are all born with a gift to give life to. This gift, or this thing, is your calling, your goal. And you don't 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 one goal.

10. “Your time is limited, don't waste it living another life. Don't get caught up in a creed that exists on other people's thinking. Don't let the views 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 or barriers from others. Give yourself the opportunity to develop your creative talents in an atmosphere free from fear and pressure. Live a life that you choose and where you are the master of your own destiny.

Steve Jobs- American businessman, talented leader, co-founder, its ideological inspirer, director and chairman of the board of directors. Until 2006, he was the director (CEO) of an animation studio. Pixar(Pixar), it was Steve Jobs who gave it this name.

short biography

Steve Jobs ( full name – Stephen Paul Jobs) was born February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, USA, California. His biological mother is Joan Schible. Biological father - Abdulfattah Jandali.

Stephen was born to unmarried students. Joan's father was against their relationship and threatened to disinherit his daughter if she did not end it. That is why Steve's future mother went to San Francisco to give birth and gave her son up for adoption.

Adoptive parents

Joan set the conditions for adoption: Stephen's adoptive parents had to be wealthy and have a higher education. However, the Jobs family, which could not have their own children, did not have the second criterion. Therefore, the future adoptive parents gave a written commitment pay for a boy's college education.

The boy was adopted Paul Jobs And Clara Jobs, née Agopian (American Armenian origin). They were the ones who gave him his name Stephen Paul.

Jobs always considered Paul and Clara to be his father and mother; he was very irritated if someone called them adoptive parents:

“They are my real parents 100%.”

According to the rules of official adoption, the biological parents did not know anything about the whereabouts of their son, and Stephen Paul met with his birth mother and younger sister only after 31 years.

Schooling

School activities disappointed Steve with their formalism. Teachers primary school Mona Loma characterized him as a prankster, and only one teacher, Mrs Hill, was able to see extraordinary abilities in her student and find an approach to him.

When Steve was in fourth grade, Mrs. Hill gave him "bribes" in the form of sweets, money, and DIY kits for doing well, thereby encouraging his learning.

This quickly bore fruit: soon Steve Paul began to study diligently without any reinforcement, and at the end of the school year he passed the exams so brilliantly that the director suggested transfer him from fourth grade straight to seventh. As a result, by decision of his parents, Jobs was enrolled in the sixth grade, that is, in high school.

Further training

After graduating from school, Steve Jobs decided to apply to Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Tuition at such a prestigious liberal arts college was insanely expensive. But once upon a time, Stephen's parents promised the young woman who gave birth to their son that the child would receive a good education.

His parents agreed to pay for his studies, but Stephen’s desire to join student life lasted exactly one semester. The guy left college and delved into the search for his destiny. This stage of Jobs' life was influenced by the free ideas of hippies and the mystical teachings of the East.

Birth of Apple

Stephen Paul became friends with his classmate Bill Fernandez, who was also interested in electronics. Fernandez introduced Jobs to a graduate who was interested in computers, Stephen Wozniak (“Woz”), his senior by five years.

Two Stephens - two friends

In 1969 Woz and Fernandez began assembling a small computer, which they nicknamed "cream soda" and showed it to Jobs. This is how Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak became best friends.

“We sat with him on the sidewalk in front of Bill's house for a long time and shared stories - we told each other about our pranks and about the devices we developed. I felt that we had a lot in common. I usually have a hard time explaining to people the ins and outs of the electrical devices I assembled, but Steve picked it up on the fly. I liked him immediately.”

From the memoirs of Steve Jobs

Apple Computer

Steve began working with Woz on circuit boards for computers. Wozniak was a member of a circle of amateur computer scientists at the time. Homebrew Computer Club. It was there that the idea of ​​​​creating his own computer came to him. To implement the idea, he needed only one board.

Jobs quickly realized that his friend's development was a tasty morsel for buyers. A company was born Apple Computer. Apple began its ascent in Jobs' garage.

Apple II

Computer Apple II became the first mass product of Apple, created on the initiative of Steve Jobs. This happened in the late 1970s. Jobs later saw the commercial potential of mouse-controlled graphical interfaces, which led to the advent of computers Apple Lisa and, a year later, Macintosh (Mac).

Leaving Apple is a new round of success

Losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT- a company that developed a computer platform for universities and businesses. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm, turning it into .

He remained Pixar's CEO and major shareholder until the studio was acquired in 2006, making Steven Paul largest private shareholder and a member of the Disney board of directors.

"Resuscitation" Apple

In 1996 the companyApple boughtNeXT. This was made to use the OS NeXTSTEP as the basis for Mac OS X. As part of the deal, Steve Jobs received the position of advisor to Apple. By 1997 Jobs regained control of Apple, heading the corporation.

Rapid development

Under the leadership of Steve Paul Jobs, the company was saved from bankruptcy and became profitable within a year. Over the next decade, Jobs led the development iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone And iPad, as well as the development Apple Store, iTunes Store, App Store And iBookstore.

The success of these products and services, which provided several years of stable financial profits, allowed Apple to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world in 2011.

Many call Apple's resurgence one of the greatest accomplishments in business history. At the same time, Jobs was criticized for his tough management style, aggressive actions towards competitors, and the desire for total control over products even after they were sold to the buyer.

Merits of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has received public recognition and a number of awards for his impact on the technology and music industries. He is often called a "visionary" and even "father of the digital revolution". Jobs was a brilliant speaker and took innovative product presentations to the next level, turning them into exciting shows. His easily recognizable figure in a black turtleneck, faded jeans and sneakers is surrounded by a kind of cult.

October 5, 2011 After an eight-year battle with pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs died in Pal Alto at the age of 56 years old.

Stephen Paul Jobs is a man who is one of the generally recognized authorities in the global computer industry, who largely determined the direction of its development. Steve Jobs, as he is known throughout the world, became one of the founders of Apple, Next, Pixar corporations and created one of the most odious smartphones in history - the iPhone, which has remained among the leaders in popularity among mobile gadgets for 6 generations.

Founder of Apple

The future star of the computer world was born in the small town of Mountain View on February 24, 1955.

Fate sometimes throws out some very funny things. Coincidence or not, this city will become the heart of Silicon Valley in a few years. The newborn's biological parents, Syrian emigrant Steve Abdulfattah and American graduate student Joan Carol Schible, were not officially married and decided to give the boy up for adoption, setting only one condition for the future parents - to give the child a higher education. This is how Steve ended up in the family of Paul and Clara Jobs, nee Akopyan.

Steve's passion for electronics captured him during his school years. It was then that he met Steve Wozniak, who was also a little “obsessed” with the world of technology.

This meeting became somewhat fateful, because it was after it that Steve began to think about his own business in the field of computer technology. The friends implemented their first project when Jobs was only 13 years old. It was a $150 BlueBox device that allowed you to make long-distance calls absolutely free. Wozniak was responsible for the technical side, and Jobs was involved in the sales of finished products. This distribution of responsibilities will continue for many years, but without the risk of being reported to the police for illegal actions.

Jobs graduated from high school in 1972 and attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He got bored with his studies very quickly, and he dropped out of college immediately after the first semester, but he was in no hurry to leave the walls of the educational institution completely.

For another year and a half, Steve wandered around friends’ rooms, slept on the floor, handed over Coca-Cola bottles and once a week had free lunch at the Hare Krishna temple, which was located nearby.

Still, fate decided to turn its face to Jobs and pushed him to enroll in calligraphy courses, attending which made him think about equipping the Mac OS system with scalable fonts.

A little later, Steve got a job at Atari, where his responsibilities included developing computer games.

Four years would pass, and Wozniak would create his first computer, and Jobs, out of old habit, would handle its sales.

Apple Company

The creative union of talented computer scientists very soon grew into a business strategy. On April 1, 1976, the well-known April Fool's Day, they founded Apple, whose office was located in the garage of Jobs' parents. The history of choosing the company name is interesting. Many people think that there is some very deep meaning behind it. But, unfortunately, such people will be bitterly disappointed.

Jobs suggested the name Apple because it would appear right before Atari in the phone book.

Apple was officially incorporated in early 1977.

The technical side of the work still remained with Wozniak, Jobs was responsible for marketing. Although, in fairness, it must be said that it was Jobs who convinced his partner to finalize the microcomputer circuit, which later served as the beginning of the creation of a new personal computer market.

The first computer model received a completely logical name - Apple I, the sales volume of which in the first year was 200 units at 666 dollars 66 cents each (witty, isn't it?).

Quite a good result, but the Apple II, released in 1977, was a real breakthrough.

The stunning success of two Apple computer models attracted serious investors to the young company, which helped it take a leading position in the computer market, and made its founders real millionaires. Interesting fact: Microsoft was founded six months later, and it was the company that developed software for Apple. This was the first, but far from the last meeting between Jobs and Gates.

Macintosh

After some time, Apple and Xerox entered into a contract between themselves, which largely determined the future of the development of computer technology. Even then, Xerox's developments could be called revolutionary, but the company's management could not find practical application for them. The alliance with Apple helped solve this problem. Its result was the launch of the Macintosh project, within which a line of personal computers was developed. The entire technological process, from design to sale to the end consumer, was handled by Apple Inc. This project can easily be called the period of the birth of the modern computer interface with its windows and virtual buttons.

The first Macintosh computer, or simply Mac, was released on January 24, 1984. In fact, it was the first personal computer, the main working tool of which was the mouse, which made operating the machine extremely simple and convenient.

Previously, only “initiates” who knew an intricate “machine” language could cope with this task.

Macintosh simply did not have competitors who could even remotely come close in terms of their technological potential and sales volume. For Apple, the release of these computers was a huge success, as a result of which it completely stopped the development and production of the Apple II family.

Jobs' departure

In the early 80s, Apple turned into a huge corporation, releasing successful new products to the market over and over again. But it was at this time that Jobs began to lose his position in the company's management. Not everyone liked his authoritarian management style, or rather, no one liked him.

An open conflict with the board of directors led to Jobs being fired in 1985, when he was only 30 years old.

Having lost his high position, Jobs did not give up, but, on the contrary, threw himself headlong into developing new projects. The first of these was the NeXT company, which was engaged in the production of complex computers for higher education and business structures. The low capacity of this market segment did not allow significant sales to be achieved. So this project cannot be called super successful.

With the graphics studio The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar), which Jobs bought from LucasFilm for just $5 million (when its real value was estimated at $10 million), everything was completely different.

During the period of Jobs' management, the company released several full-length animated films, which were extremely successful at the box office. Among them are “Monsters, Inc.” and “Toy Story.” In 2006, Jobs sold Pixar to Walt Disney for $7.5 million and a 7% stake in the Walt Disney company, while the Disney heirs themselves own only 1%.

Return to Apple

In 1997, 12 years after his ouster, Steve Jobs returned to Apple as interim CEO. Three years later he became a full-fledged manager. Jobs managed to bring the company to a new level of development, closing several unprofitable areas and completing the development of the new iMac computer with great success.

In the coming years, Apple will become a real trendsetter in the high-tech goods market.

Her developments invariably became bestsellers: the iPhone, iPod, iPad tablet. As a result, the company took third place in the world in terms of capitalization, surpassing even Microsoft.

Steve Jobs: speech to Stanford graduates

Disease

In October 2003, during a medical examination, doctors gave Jobs a disappointing diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

The disease, which is fatal in the vast majority of cases, developed in a very rare form for the head of Apple, which can be treated through surgery. But Jobs had his own personal beliefs against interfering with the human body, so he initially refused the operation.

The treatment lasted 9 months, during which none of the Apple investors even suspected fatal disease founder of the company. But it did not give any positive results. Therefore, Jobs finally decided to undergo surgery, having previously publicly announced his state of health. The operation took place on July 31, 2004 at the Stanford Medical Center, and was very successful.

But this was not the end of Steve Jobs' health problems. In December 2008, he was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance. He underwent a liver transplant in the summer of 2009, according to officials at the University of Tennessee Methodist Hospital.

Steve Jobs: quotes

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 person who largely determined its development. Today's story is about him. About his journey, 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 welcome 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. The 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 laser company.

As a child, Jobs was a big bully who had every chance of becoming a juvenile delinquent. He was expelled from school after third grade. The transfer to another school became a significant moment in Jobs’ life, thanks to a wonderful teacher who found an approach to him. As a result, he pulled himself together and began to study. The approach, of course, was simple: for each completed task, Steve received money from the teacher. Not much, but quite enough for a fourth grade student. Overall, Jobs' success was great enough that he even skipped fifth grade and went straight to high school.

Steve Jobs' childhood and youth

When Steve Jobs was 12 years old, on a childish whim and some early teenage brashness, he called William Hewlett, then president of Hewlett-Packard, at his home phone number. Then Jobs was building an electric frequency indicator for his school physics class, and he needed some parts: “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 details 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 - Stephen Wozniak. He got a job at Hewlett-Packard, leaving boring classes at the University of California, Berkeley. Working for the company was much more interesting for him due to his passion for radio engineering. As it turned out, at the age of 13, Wozniak himself assembled not the simplest calculator. And at the time of meeting Jobs, he was already thinking about the concept of a personal computer, which did not yet exist at all. Despite their different characters, they quickly became friends.

When Steve Jobs was 16 years old, he and Woz met a then-famous hacker named Captain Crunch. He told them how, using special sounds made by a whistle from a set of Captain Crunch cereals, 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 Crunch’s whistle and make free calls around the world. Jobs started selling the product. The blue boxes sold for $150 each and were very popular among students. Interestingly, the cost of such a device was then $40. However, it was not possible to achieve much success. First, problems with the police, and then with some hooligan who even threatened Jobs with a gun, brought the “blue box business” to naught.

In 1972, Steve Jobs graduated from high school and entered Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but he dropped out after the first semester. Steve Jobs explains his decision to drop out: “I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all my parents' savings went towards college. Six months later, I didn't see the point. I had absolutely no idea 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, I realize it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.”

After dropping out of school, Jobs concentrated on what was truly interesting to him. However, remaining a free student at the university was no longer easy. “Not everything was so romantic,” Jobs recalls. – I didn’t have a dorm room, so I had to sleep on the floor in my friends’ rooms. I traded Coke bottles for five cents apiece to buy food, and every Sunday night I walked seven miles across town to have a decent meal at the Hare Krishna temple once a week...”

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

Atari paid for Jobs' trip, although he also had to visit Germany, where his tasks included resolving production problems. He did it.

Jobs went to India not alone, but with his friend Dan Kottke. Only after arriving in India, Steve exchanged all his belongings for the shabby clothes of a beggar. His goal was to make pilgrimages throughout India, hoping for the help of ordinary strangers. During the trip itself, Dan and Steve almost died several times due to the harsh climate of India. Communication with the guru did not bring Jobs enlightenment. However, the trip to India left an indelible mark on Jobs' soul. He saw real poverty, completely different from the one that hippies in Silicon Valley adhered to.

Returning back to Silicon Valley, Jobs continued working at Atari. Soon he was entrusted with the development of the game BreakOut (Atari at that time was making not only a game, but a full-fledged slot machine, and all the work fell on Jobs' shoulders). 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 circuit boards, so he offered Wozniak to split the bonus in half if he took on this matter.

Atari was quite surprised when Jobs presented them with a board from which 50 chips had been removed. Wozniak created a design so dense that it could not be recreated in mass production. Jobs then told Wozniak that Atari only paid $700 (not the actual $5,000), and he received his share of $350.

Apple founded

In 1975, Wozniak demonstrated the finished 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 exclusively as iron cabinets filled with electronic components and used in big business or the military. Nobody thought about home PCs. Atari didn’t help Wozniak either - they didn’t see commercial prospects in the new product. 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 start developing and producing personal computers. And on April 1, 1976, Jobs, Wozniak and Wayne founded Apple Computer Co. as a partnership. This is how the story of Apple began.

Like Hewlett-Packard once upon a time, Apple was founded in a garage, which Jobs' father gave full control to his adopted son and his companions - he even brought in a huge wooden machine, which became the first “assembly line” in the history of the corporation. The newly formed company needed start-up capital, and Steve Jobs sold his minivan, and Wozniak sold his beloved programmable calculator to Hewlett Packard. They ended up earning about $1,300.

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

Having received 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 the Apple I. At that time, these computers were simply boards to which the buyer had to independently connect a keyboard and a monitor. The shop that ordered the cars was selling it for $666.66 because Wozniak liked like-digit numbers. But despite this large order, Wayne lost faith in the success of the endeavor and left the company, selling his ten percent share in the initial capital to his partners for $800. This is how Wayne himself later commented on his action: “Jobs is a hurricane of energy and focus. I was already too disappointed in life to rush through it on this hurricane.”

One way or another, the company had to develop. And already in the fall 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 beautiful and standard computer packaging, 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 Gasé is the ex-president of several structural divisions and the founder of Be, Inc. - said: “It was impossible to dream of a more suitable logo: it embodied aspiration, hope, knowledge, and anarchy...”

But then no one released anything like this; 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 financing 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 “funny.”

But there were also those who picked up the idea of ​​a computer that was supposed to become accessible to the general public. The famous financier Don Valentine brought Steve Jobs together with the equally famous venture capitalist Armas Clif “Mike” Markkula. The latter helped young entrepreneurs write a business plan, invested $92,000 of his personal savings into 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, and also launch a fundamentally new Apple II into mass production.

The success of the Apple II was truly enormous: the new product was sold out in hundreds and thousands of copies. Let us remember 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 employed several hundred people, and its products were exported outside the United States.

In 1980, the same week that John Lennon was assassinated, Apple Computer goes public. The company's shares were sold out within one hour! Steve Jobs by this time becomes one of the richest Americans. Jobs's popularity grew every day. A simple young guy with no education became a millionaire overnight. Why not the American dream?

Personal computers quickly burst into the everyday life of residents developed countries. Over the course of two decades, they have firmly taken their place among people, becoming indispensable assistants in production, organizational, educational, communication and other technological and social matters. The words spoken by Steve Jobs in the early 80s became prophetic: “This decade marked the first date between Society and the computer. And for some crazy reason we ended up in the right place and right time to do everything for the prosperity 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 (XRX) research center in Palo Alto. There, Jobs first saw the company's experimental development - the Alto computer, which used a graphical interface that allowed the user to set commands by hovering the cursor over a graphic object on the monitor.

As colleagues recall, this invention amazed Jobs, and he immediately began confidently saying that all future computers would use this innovation. And it’s not surprising, because it contained three things through which the path to the consumer’s heart lies. Steve Jobs already understood then that it was simplicity, ease of use and aesthetics. He immediately became interested in the idea of ​​​​creating such a computer.

Then the company spent several months developing a new Lisa computer, named after Jobs’ daughter. When he started working on this project, Jobs set the goal of making a computer that would cost $2,000. However, the desire to implement the revolutionary innovation that he saw in the Xerox laboratories cast doubt on the fact that the original price would remain unchanged. And soon Apple President Michael Scott removed Steve from the Lisa project and appointed him chairman of the board of directors. The project was headed by another person.

That same year, Steve, removed from the Lisa project, turned his attention to a small project carried out by the talented engineer Jeff Raskin. (Before this, Jobs tried several times to shut down this project) Raskin’s main idea was to create an inexpensive computer, costing about $1,000. Raskin called this computer Macintosh after his favorite apple variety, McIntosh. Computer
was supposed to be a complete device combining a monitor, keyboard and system unit. Those. the buyer immediately received a computer ready for use. (it is worth noting here that Raskin did not understand why a computer needed a mouse, and did not plan to use it in the Macintosh)

Jobs begged Michael Scott to appoint him head of this 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 the Lisa. This was done for a reason; Steve Jobs wanted to bring the Lisa graphical interface to the Macintosh. Next, Jobs decided to introduce a mouse into the Macintosh. None of Raskin's arguments had any effect. And understanding

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

As a result, both Raskin and Jobs were invited to a conversation with the president of the company. After listening to both, Michael Scott still instructed Jobs to bring the Macintosh to fruition, and Raskin went on vacation to smooth out the situation. That same year, Apple President Michael Scott himself was fired. For some time, Mike Markkula took over the position of president.

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 the development of software for the computer. His choice quickly fell on the young Microsoft company, which was famous at the time for creating the Basic language for the Apple II computer (and several others).

Steve Jobs traveled to Redmond, to Microsoft's headquarters. Ultimately, both parties agreed that they were ready to work together, and Steve invited Bill Gates and Paul Allen (the two founders of Microsoft) to come to Cupertino to see the experimental Macintosh model in person.

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

At the same time, the first marketing plan for the Macintosh computer appeared. It was written personally by Steve Jobs, who knew little about it, so the plan was quite conventional. Jobs planned to launch the Macintosh computer in 1982 and sell 500 thousand computers a year (the figure was taken from the air). First of all, Steve convinced Mike Markkula that the Macintosh would not be a competitor to the Lisa (according to plans, the computers were supposed to be launched around the same time). True, Markkula insisted that the Macintosh should be released a little later than the Lisa, namely October 1, 1982. There was only one problem - the deadlines were still unrealistic, but Steve Jobs, with his characteristic tenacity, 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 mainly about Jobs. It stated that Steve would make an excellent king of France. It claimed that Jobs got rich from the work of other people, but he himself did not understand anything: neither engineering, nor programming, design, and certainly not business. The article cited statements from many anonymous sources and even Steve Wozniak himself (who left Apple after the accident). Jobs was very annoyed by this article and even called Jef Raskin to express his indignation. (Jeff is the man who stood 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 Sculley, president of Pepsi. Steve and John walked around New York for quite a long time, discussing Apple's prospects and talking about business in general. It was then that Jobs realized that John was the person he would like to see as president of Apple. John was great at business, but didn't know much about technology. So, according to Jobs, they could become an excellent tandem. There was only one problem - Sculley was working great at Pepsi at that time. As a result, Steve Jobs was able to lure Sculley to Apple, and the history of the business even included the famous phrase addressed by Jobs to John Sculley: “Do you intend to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you intend to change the world?”

It should be noted that the group of software developers for the Macintosh still did not make it by this deadline, but Steve Jobs, without screaming and hysterics, was able to breathe new strength into the programmers, and make them work for the last week almost without sleep. The result was stunning. Everything was ready. The principle “if you have the right people on your team, you will succeed” worked here. The Macintosh group had the right people.

The presentation of the Macintosh turned out to be phenomenal, a technical revolution, simultaneously with oratory skills Steve Jobs will forever go down in history.

Soon, John Sculley united the Lisa and Macintosh development team, headed 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, the Macintosh only had an office suite from Microsoft. All the other developers could not figure out how to create software with a graphical interface. This was the main reason slowing down computer sales.

Soon problems began with the hardware. Jobs was against the possibility of Mac expansion, and consumers did not like this. One day, Apple employee Michael Murray said: "Steve did market research by looking at himself in the mirror every morning." The situation at Apple was heating up. At that moment, conflicts clearly began to occur between the Macintosh development group and the rest of Apple. Jobs, in turn, constantly belittled the merits of new models of the Apple II computer, which at that time was Apple's cash cow.

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

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

After his dismissal, Steve resigned from his honorary position as a company representative and sold all the Apple shares he had at that time. He left only one symbolic action.

After Steve's dismissal, Apple would experience some heyday, resulting in the highest sales in the company's history. Then hard times would come that would lead to Apple's near collapse, but in 1997 Jobs would 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 strength and ready for new achievements. He had no intention of quitting the business. Although it should be noted that he could. He could have become a simple venture investor. Forget about work, but this was not in Steve's spirit, and so he decided to found computer company Next.

Life after Apple

The Next company was supposed to develop computers that would be used primarily in education. Steve Jobs received investment from Ross Perot, who invested $20 million in Next. Perot received a fairly good share in the company - 16 percent. It should be noted that Jobs did not present any business plans to Perot. The investor relied entirely on Steve's devilish charm.

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

It should be noted that Next computers were used by a number of creative individuals in their work. For example, they were used to create such gaming hits from ID Software as Doom and Quake. At the end of the 80s, Steve Jobs tried to save Next by signing a contract with Diney, but nothing worked out; Disney continued to work with Apple.

At that time, it seemed that Jobs' luck had run out and he would soon go bankrupt. But there was one “but”. Steve was great at organizing a small group of talented people to create something meaningful. This is exactly what he achieved with PIXAR, which gave the world computer animation.

In 1985, Jobs bought George Lucas (director) Star Wars") by Pixar. It should be noted that Lucas' initial price 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 developments of Pixar in his films for free. At that time, Pixar had the Pixar Image Computer, which cost an exorbitant amount of money and sold poorly. Jobs began looking for a market for it. At the same time, Pixar continued to develop animation software and conduct some experiments in creating its own animation.

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

A key moment in Pixar's history was the hiring of Disney artist John Lasseter, who would later lead the studio to new heights. John was initially hired to create short animated videos that would show off 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 software RenderMan, which for a long time will be the only source of income for Steve Jobs.

At the end of 1989, the situation was that 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 actively act. The first thing he did was sell Pixar's unprofitable computer business. Some of the employees and everything related to the Pixar Image Computers were sold for several million to Vicom. Eventually, Pixar was reformed to focus solely on animation.

Like most businessmen, Steve Jobs spoke to students quite often. In 1989, he had the opportunity to give a speech at Stanford. Jobs, as always, put on a real show and looked great on stage, but suddenly there came a point when he began to falter, and many felt 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 Laurene Powell and Jobs liked her. And he didn’t just like her, he experienced feelings for her that were previously unknown to him. At the end of the lecture, Steve exchanged phone numbers with her and got into his car. He had a business meeting scheduled for the evening. But as soon as he got into the car, Steve realized that he was doing something wrong, and that at that moment he didn’t want to be at a business meeting. As a result, Jobs caught up with Lorin and invited her to the restaurant that same day. They spent the rest of the day walking around the city. Steve and Lauryn subsequently get married.

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

Steve Jobs is one of those people who listen only to themselves. He doesn't care about other people's opinions, even if he is 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 would argue with Steve included Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith. Alvy often pointed out Jobs' mistakes, and, in the end, he knew more about animation than Steve. Once at a Pixar meeting, Jobs was talking some nonsense that he didn’t even bother to understand. Alvy jumped up from his seat and began to prove why Steve was wrong. This is where he made a mistake. Jobs has always been a strange and extraordinary person. At the meeting, he had a special white board on which only he could write. Proving he was right, Alvy began to write something on Steve's white board. Everyone froze, a few seconds later Jobs found himself opposite Smith and bombarded him with a mass of personal insults, which, in the opinion of those present, were irrelevant and truly vile. Soon after, Alvy Ray Smith left Pixar, the company he himself founded.

The real breakthrough for Pixar came in the early 90s, when Jobs received financial support from Disney. According to the agreement, Pixar had to create a full-length computer animated film, and Disney would bear all costs associated with promoting the film. Considering what a powerful marketing machine Disney is, this was remarkable. Jobs managed to extract the most favorable terms for Pixar from Disney.

In 1991, two important events occurred 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 the Disney studio to produce three animated films. Under the terms of the contract, Disney assumed all costs of creating and promoting the films. This contract became a real lifeline for Jobs, about whose fall all newspapers had already written. They saw him bankrupt. No one knew then that Pixar would give Steve billions.

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

In 1993, Steve made an important decision (albeit a difficult one for him) - to begin to gradually wind down the 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 the NextStep operating system would later become the basis for Mac OS X, which will revive Macintosh computers from crisis).

At that time, there was one person who guaranteed Jobs' success. It was director, artist and animator rolled into one - 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 Steve Jobs' studio.

Pixar's first animated film, Toy Story, was released on Christmas Day 1995 and was a stunning success.

The mid-90s were a terrible time for Apple. First, John Sculley 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. Moreover, it was already unprofitable. In this regard, executives were looking for someone who would buy Apple and make it part of their business. However, neither negotiations with Phillips, nor with Sun, nor with Oracle were successful.

Jobs was busy planning Pixar's initial public offering at the time. He intended to hold it immediately after the release of the Toy Story movie. An IPO was Jobs's only hope at that time.

The situation around Apple was getting more and 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 company for $377 million and 1.5 million shares. The main thing 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 appointed as Gil Amelio's advisor.

However, no significant changes followed. The board of directors included the same people, and Apple's losses kept increasing. It was 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 could not tolerate him any longer and announced Amelio’s dismissal. No one remembered then that Amelio promised to pull Apple out of the crisis in 3 years, but 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 Apple would be headed by Steve Jobs, who was a favorite of the press. How else? A man who lost everything and managed to get up again 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 transferred the rights to a number of developments in the field of user interface to Microsoft, and MS invested $150 million in the company's shares, and also pledged to release new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh. In addition to all this, Internet Explorer has become the default browser on Mac.

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

At the same time, the famous Apple “Think Different” advertisement appeared for the first time, which remains the company’s credo to this day.

At the 1998 MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs spoke to visitors about how things were going at the company. At the end, as he was 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, Flik's Adventure, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Overall, Pixar's total revenue at that time was $2.8 billion. It was a phenomenal success for Jobs' studio. In the same year, the revival of Apple began. Steve Jobs introduced the first iMac. True, it’s worth saying here that the development of the iMac began even before Jobs arrived at Apple under Gil Amelio. However, all the credit regarding the iMac goes to Steve and nothing can be done about it.

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

Following the success of the iMac (a computer and monitor in one), Apple introduced a new line of iBook laptops. 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 mark the beginning of 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 developing 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 complaints to the Portal Player employees, which ultimately only played into the hands of consumers who received the best (at that time) mp3 player. It should be noted that the now famous designer Jonathan Ive from Apple was responsible for the appearance of the iPod (he is now the chief industrial designer of the “fruit” company). It must be said that the success of all new Apple products released after Steve Jobs returned to the company is also the merit of Ive. Even the design of the first iMac was his work.

Soon new versions of the iPod began to be released, 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 rest of the story is known. The iPod has become the most popular player of our time. Macintosh computers are gaining more and more popularity, and not so long ago Apple released its mobile phone called the iPhone, which became a real bomb, incorporating all the best features of the “fruit” company’s products.

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

1. Steve Jobs says: “Innovation separates the leader from the catcher.”
There are no limits to new ideas. It all depends only on your imagination. The world is constantly changing. It's time to start thinking differently. If you're in a growing industry, think about ways to get more results, nicer clients, and easier customer service. If you are associated with 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 a major asset."
This is not a fast track to excellence. You should definitely make excellence your priority. Use your talents, capabilities and skills to make your product the best and then you will leapfrog your competitors, add something special, something they don’t have. Live by higher standards, pay attention to details that can improve the situation. Having an advantage is not difficult - just decide right now to propose your innovative idea - in the future you will be amazed at how this merit will help you in life.

3. “There is only one way to do great work - to love it. If you haven't come to this, wait. Don't rush into action. As with everything else, your own heart will help you suggest something interesting.”
Do what you love. Look for activities that give you a sense of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in life. Having a goal and striving for its implementation brings orderliness to life. This not only improves your situation, but also gives you a boost of vigor and optimism. Are you happy to get out of bed in the morning and look forward to the start of a new work 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 developed it too... I think we all say this all the time. This is a great opportunity to create something that could be useful to humanity.”
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 newbie's opinion."
This is the kind of opinion that allows one to see things as they are, which can constantly and in an instant realize the original essence of everything. A beginner's perspective - Zen practice in action. It is an opinion that is innocent of preconception and expected outcome, evaluation and prejudice. Think of the beginner's perspective as that of a small child who views life with curiosity, wonder, and amazement.

6. “We think that we mostly watch TV to give our brains a rest and we work on the computer when we want to use our brains.”
Many scientific studies over the decades have clearly confirmed that television has a detrimental effect on the psyche and morals. And most people who watch TV know that their bad habit is dulling them and killing them a lot of time, but they still continue to spend a huge portion of their time watching the box. Do what makes your brain think, what develops it. Avoid passive pastime.

7. “I’m the only person who knows what it’s like to lose a quarter of a billion dollars in a year. It shapes the personality very well.”
Do not conflate the phrases “making mistakes” with “being a mistake.” There is no such thing as a successful person who has never stumbled or made a mistake - there are only successful people who made mistakes, but then changed their lives and their plans based on those same mistakes made earlier (without making them again) . They consider mistakes as lessons from which they gain valuable experience. Avoiding mistakes means doing nothing.

8. “I would trade all my technology for a meeting with Socrates.”
Over the past decade, many books featuring lessons from historical figures have appeared on bookstore shelves around the world. 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, giving it to ordinary people.” So, use the principles of Socrates in your own life, work, study and relationships - this will bring more truth, beauty and perfection into your everyday life.

9. " We are here to make a contribution 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 were pouring yourself another cup of coffee and you made the decision to just think about it instead of making it a reality? We are all born with a gift to give life to. This gift, or this thing, is your calling, your goal. And you don't 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 one goal.

10. " Your time is limited, don't waste it living another life. Don't get caught up in a creed that exists on other people's thinking. Don't let the views 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 or barriers from others. Give yourself the opportunity to develop your creative talents in an atmosphere free from fear and pressure. Live a life that you choose and where you are the master of your own destiny.

Steve Jobs stories

Steve Jobs' Speech to Stanford Class of 2005 (Part One)

Steve Jobs' Speech to Stanford Class of 2005 (Part Two)

In a short statement, Apple's board of directors said: " His brilliance, energy and passion have been the source of countless innovations that have enriched and improved the lives of all of us. The world is an immeasurably better place because of Steve. His greatest love was his wife Lauren and his family. Our hearts are now with them and with everyone touched by his extraordinary talents.».

Fans and admirers of Steve Jobs reacted to the news of his passing. On the website they created, Steve Jobs Day (http://stevejobsday2011.com), its authors propose to consider October 14, when the iPhone 4S should go on sale, as Steve Jobs Day.

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

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

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

Barack Obama: " Steve stands among 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 it.».

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 incredibly great honor to be friends and work with Jobs. There are few people who can leave as deep a mark 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 change our world. My sincere condolences to his loved ones and everyone who appreciated his intelligence and talent».

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