Garrett SaundryMost of us have computers at home these days and we seem to take for granted the fact that we turn it on, click on the fancy little button for internet and find ourselves up to no good in less than 30 seconds. Computers are sort of like cars to most of us, we turn them on and they go. We don’t really care how, we just care that they do.
The internet and modern computing as we know it, has been shaped by a surprisingly few individuals. Here’s a short look at one of them – Steve Jobs. He co-founded Apple Computers in 1976 with Stephen Wozniak. They sold Jobs’ Volkswagen van and Wozniak’s scientific calculator (I wish I was making this up) to raise the capital to start the company. They managed to raise about $1300 and subsequently created several prototypes for a personal computer all while working out of Jobs’ garage.
Steve was ousted from Apple in 1985 after a power struggle with the board of directors, he was stripped of all operational responsibilities by Apple’s then CEO, John Sculley. Down but definitely not out, he founded NeXT Computer in 1985 which was originally set up to sell PC workstations. The computer was technically advanced, however it was also quite expensive and was out of reach for most people, individuals and businesses alike. The hardware division of NeXT Computer was shut down for good in 1993, and development shifted towards software applications.
It’s interesting to note that in 1986 he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd from George Lucas, which he turned around and rebranded as Pixar Animation Studios. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 with an all stock transaction worth $7.4 billion dollars. Not a bad return on investment seeing that Jobs had originally paid $10 million dollars for the company. The bargain basement sale was reportedly because George Lucas needed to finance his divorce without giving up any control or stock from the Star Wars franchise.
Fast forward to 1994, and several CEO’s later, Apple decides to acquire NeXT Computer for $429 million, bringing Steve Jobs back onto the scene in an advisory capacity. Soon after and much like in 1985, the board had lost confidence with it’s current CEO, Gil Amelio and in 1998 made Jobs the interim CEO, a job title which Jobs made permanent in 2000.
Under Jobs direction, Apple has branched out more and more into digital media, with the introduction of the iPod, iTunes, and who can forget the iPhone. It’s this branding that has really cemented Apple’s place in technology as we know it today. You don’t see many people on the bus without an iPod, and the huddled masses are lining up around the block to get their grubby little mitts on an iPhone.
It will be interesting to see where Jobs leads Apple to in the future, especially considering the concerns with regards to his health. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, but with surgical intervention and alternative therapies he seems to be doing well, and there is reportedly no evidence of cancer four years after surgery. Bloomberg however mistakenly published his obituary in August of 2008. In typical Jobs fashion, he responded by quoting Mark Twain, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
Random Facts About Steve Jobs
● He is Disney’s largest shareholder, owning about 7% of the company’s stock. (Compared to former CEO Michael Eisner’s paltry holdings of a 1.7% share in the company, and Roy Disney’s share of just over 1%)
● Earned a listing in the Guinness World Records as the “Lowest Paid Chief Executive Officer” because of his yearly salary of $1 (done mostly to avoid taxes)
● Steve Jobs refuses to put a license plate on his car. There are a number of rumours as to why, one of the more amusing being that he likes to ‘keep highway patrol on their toes’.
● Steve Jobs is a college dropout
Favourite Steve Jobs quote – “I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going is that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. “