Steve Jobs (page 2)
Reality distortion field
Apple's Bud Tribble coined the term "reality distortion field" in 1981, to describe Jobs's charisma and its effects on the developers working on the Macintosh project.[137] Tribble claimed that the term came from Star Trek.[137] Since then the term has also been used to refer to perceptions of Jobs's keynote speeches.[138]
The RDF was said by Andy Hertzfeld to be Steve Jobs's ability to convince himself and others to believe almost anything, using a mix of charm, charisma, bravado, hyperbole, marketing, appeasement, and persistence. Although the subject of criticism, Jobs's so-called reality distortion field was also recognized as creating a sense that the impossible was possible. By motivating the people around him to create innovative products, Jobs was in turn able to market them creatively to reach a wide audience.[139] Once the term became widely known, it was often used in the technology press to describe Jobs's sway over the public, particularly regarding new product announcements.[140][141]
Innovations and designs
Jobs's design aesthetic was influenced by the modernist architectural style of Joseph Eichler, and the industrial designs of Braun's Dieter Rams.[47] His design sense was also greatly influenced by the Buddhism which he experienced in India while on a seven-month spiritual journey.[142] His sense of intuition was also influenced by the spiritual people with whom he studied.[142]
According to Apple cofounder, Steve Wozniak, "Steve didn't ever code. He wasn't an engineer and he didn't do any original design..."[143][144] Daniel Kottke, one of Apple's earliest employees and a college friend of Jobs', stated that "Between Woz and Jobs, Woz was the innovator, the inventor. Steve Jobs was the marketing person."[145]
He is listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in 346 United States patents or patent applications related to a range of technologies from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces (including touch-based), speakers, keyboards, power adapters, staircases, clasps, sleeves, lanyards and packages. Jobs's contributions to most of his patents were to "the look and feel of the product". His industrial design chief Jonathan Ive had his name along with him for 200 of the patents.[146] Most of these are design patents (specific product designs; for example, Jobs listed as primary inventor in patents for both original and lamp-style iMacs, as well as PowerBook G4 Titanium) as opposed to utility patents (inventions).[9][147] He has 43 issued US patents on inventions.[9] The patent on the Mac OS X Dock user interface with "magnification" feature was issued the day before he died.[148] Although Jobs had little involvement in the engineering and technical side of the original Apple computers,[144] Jobs later used his CEO position to directly involve himself with product design.[149]
Even while terminally ill in the hospital, Jobs sketched new devices that would hold the iPad in a hospital bed.[150] He also despised the oxygen monitor on his finger and suggested ways to revise the design for simplicity.[151]
The Macintosh Computer
The Macintosh was introduced in January 1984. The computer had no "Mac" name on the front, but rather just the Apple logo.[152] Apple co-founder and former Apple engineer, Steve Wozniak, has said that the Macintosh failed under Steve Jobs, and that it wasn't until Jobs left that it became a success.[153]
The NeXT Computer
Main article:
NeXT ComputerAfter Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985, he started a company that built workstation computers. The NeXT Computer was introduced in 1989. Tim Berners-Lee created the world's first web browser on the NeXT Computer. The NeXT Computer was the basis for today's Macintosh OS X and iPhone operating system (iOS).[154][155]
iMac
Apple iMac was introduced in 1998 and its innovative design was directly the result of Jobs's return to Apple. Apple boasted "the back of our computer looks better than the front of anyone else's".[156] Described as "cartoonlike", the first iMac, clad in Bondi Blue plastic, was unlike any personal computer that came before. In 1999, Apple introduced the Graphite gray Apple iMac and since has varied the shape, colour and size considerably while maintaining the all-in-one design. Design ideas were intended to create a connection with the user such as the handle and a breathing light effect when the computer went to sleep.[157] The Apple iMac sold for $1,299 at that time. There were some technical revolutions for iMac too. The USB ports being the only device inputs on the iMac. So the iMac's success helped popularize the interface among third party peripheral makers, which is evidenced by the fact that many early USB peripherals were made of translucent plastic to match the iMac design.[158]
iPod
The first generation of iPod was released October 23, 2001. The major innovation of the iPod was its small size achieved by using a 1.8" hard drive compared to the 2.5" drives common to players at that time. The capacity of the first generation iPod ranged from 5G to 10 Gigabytes.[159] The iPod sold for US$399 and more than 100,000 iPods were sold before the end of 2001. The introduction of the iPod resulted in Apple becoming a major player in the music industry.[160] Also, the iPod's success prepared the way for the iTunes music store and the iPhone.[161] After the 1st generation of iPod, Apple released the hard drive-based iPod classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, video-capable iPod Nano, screenless iPod Shuffle in the following years.[160]
iPhone
Apple began work on the first iPhone in 2005 and the first iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. The iPhone created such a sensation that a survey indicated six out of ten Americans were aware of its release. Time magazine declared it "Invention of the Year" for 2007.[162] The Apple iPhone is a small device with multimedia capabilities and functions as a quad-band touch screen smartphone.[163] A year later, the iPhone 3G was released in July 2008 with three key features: support for GPS, 3G data and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA. In June 2009, the iPhone 3GS, added voice control, a better camera, and a faster processor was introduced by Phil Schiller.[164] iPhone 4 was thinner than previous models, had a five megapixel camera which can record videos in 720p HD, and added a secondary front facing camera for video calls.[165] A major feature of the iPhone 4S, introduced in October 2011, was Siri, which is a virtual assistant that is capable of voice recognition.[162]
Philanthropy
Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek magazine stated that "Jobs isn't widely known for his association with philanthropic causes", compared to Bill Gates's efforts.[166] In contrast to Gates, Jobs did not sign the Giving Pledge of Warren Buffett which challenged the world's richest billionaires to give at least half their wealth to charity.[167] In an interview with Playboy in 1985, Jobs said in respect to money that "the challenges are to figure out how to live with it and to reinvest it back into the world which means either giving it away or using it to express your concerns or values."[168] Jobs also added that when he has some time we would start a public foundation but for now he does charitable acts privately.[169]
After resuming control of Apple in 1997, Jobs eliminated all corporate philanthropy programs initially.[170] Jobs's friends told The New York Times that he felt that expanding Apple would have done more good than giving money to charity.[171] Later, under Jobs, Apple signed to participate in Product Red program, producing red versions of devices to give profits from sales to charity. Apple has gone on to become the largest contributor to the charity since its initial involvement with it. The chief of the Product Red project, singer Bono, cited Jobs saying there was "nothing better than the chance to save lives", when he initially approached Apple with the invitation to participate in the program.[172] Through its sales, Apple has been the largest contributor to Product Red's gift to the Global Fund, which fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, according to Bono.[173][174]
Personal life
In the 1980s, Jobs found his birth mother, Joanne Schieble Simpson, who told him he had a biological sister, Mona Simpson. They met for the first time in 1985,[175] and became close friends. The siblings kept their relationship secret until 1986, when Mona introduced him at a party for her first book.[46]
After deciding to search for their father, Simpson found Jandali managing a coffee shop. Without knowing who his son had become, Jandali told Mona that he had previously managed a popular restaurant in the Silicon Valley, mentioning that "even Steve Jobs used to eat there. Yeah, he was a great tipper." In a taped interview with his biographer Walter Isaacson, aired on 60 Minutes,[176] Jobs said: "When I was looking for my biological mother, obviously, you know, I was looking for my biological father at the same time, and I learned a little bit about him and I didn't like what I learned. I asked her to not tell him that we ever met...not tell him anything about me."[177] Jobs was in occasional touch with his mother Joanne Simpson,[170][178] who lives in a nursing home in Los Angeles. When speaking about his biological parents, Jobs stated: "They were my sperm and egg bank. That's not harsh, it's just the way it was, a sperm bank thing, nothing more."[47] Jandali stated in an interview with the The Sun in August 2011, that his efforts to contact Jobs were unsuccessful. Jandali mailed in his medical history after Jobs's pancreatic disorder was made public that year.[40][179][180]
In her eulogy to Jobs at his memorial service, Mona Simpson stated:
- I grew up as an only child, with a single mother. Because we were poor and because I knew my father had emigrated from Syria, I imagined he looked like Omar Sharif. I hoped he would be rich and kind and would come into our lives (and our not yet furnished apartment) and help us. Later, after I'd met my father, I tried to believe he'd changed his number and left no forwarding address because he was an idealistic revolutionary, plotting a new world for the Arab people. Even as a feminist, my whole life I'd been waiting for a man to love, who could love me. For decades, I'd thought that man would be my father. When I was 25, I met that man and he was my brother.[175]
Jobs's first child, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, was born in 1978, the daughter of his longtime partner Chrisann Brennan, a Bay Area painter.[170] For two years, she raised their daughter on welfare while Jobs denied paternity by claiming he was sterile; he later acknowledged Lisa as his daughter.[170] Jobs later married Laurene Powell on March 18, 1991, in a ceremony at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Presiding over the wedding was Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Zen Buddhist monk. Their son, Reed, was born September 1991, followed by daughters Erin in August 1995, and Eve in 1998.[181] The family lived in Palo Alto, California.[182]
Jobs dated Joan Baez for a few years. Elizabeth Holmes, a friend of Jobs from his time at Reed College, believed that Jobs was interested in Baez because she had been the lover of Bob Dylan, who was Jobs' favorite musician.[183] Jobs confided in Joanna Hoffman his concerns about the relationship. She would later tell his official biographer "She was a strong woman, and he wanted to show he was in control. Plus, he always said he wanted to have a family, and with her he knew that he wouldn't".[184]
Jobs was also a fan of The Beatles. He referred to them on multiple occasions at Keynotes and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. When asked about his business model on 60 Minutes, he replied:
My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.[185]
In 1982, Jobs bought an apartment in The San Remo, an apartment building in New York City with a politically progressive reputation, where Demi Moore, Steven Spielberg, Steve Martin, and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of Rita Hayworth, also owned apartments. With the help of I. M. Pei, Jobs spent years renovating his apartment in the top two floors of the building's north tower, only to sell it almost two decades later to U2 singer Bono. Jobs never moved in.[186][187]
In 1984, Jobs purchased the Jackling House, a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2), 14-bedroom Spanish Colonial mansion designed by George Washington Smith in Woodside, California. Although it reportedly remained in an almost unfurnished state, Jobs lived in the mansion for almost ten years. According to reports, he kept a 1966 BMW R60/2 motorcycle in the living room, and let Bill Clinton use it in 1998. From the early 1990s, Jobs lived in a house in the Old Palo Alto neighborhood of Palo Alto. President Clinton dined with Jobs and 14 Silicon Valley CEOs there on August 7, 1996, at a meal catered by Greens Restaurant.[188][189] Clinton returned the favor and Jobs, who was a Democratic donor, slept in the Lincoln bedroom of the White House.[190] And according to Isaacson, during one late-night phone call, Bill Clinton once asked Jobs for some advice about the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and when Jobs told the President that, if the affair were true, " 'you've got to tell the country'...There was silence on the other end of the line."[191]
Jobs allowed Jackling House to fall into a state of disrepair, planning to demolish the house and build a smaller home on the property; but he met with complaints from local preservationists over his plans. In June 2004, the Woodside Town Council gave Jobs approval to demolish the mansion, on the condition that he advertise the property for a year to see if someone would move it to another location and restore it. A number of people expressed interest, including several with experience in restoring old property, but no agreements to that effect were reached. Later that same year, a local preservationist group began seeking legal action to prevent demolition. In January 2007, Jobs was denied the right to demolish the property, by a court decision.[192] The court decision was overturned on appeal in March 2010, and the mansion was demolished beginning in February 2011.[193]
Jobs usually wore a black long-sleeved mock turtleneck made by Issey Miyake (that was sometimes reported to be made by St. Croix), Levi's 501 blue jeans, and New Balance 991 sneakers.[194][195] Jobs told Walter Isaacson "...he came to like the idea of having a uniform for himself, both because of its daily convenience (the rationale he claimed) and its ability to convey a signature style."[194]
Jobs's car was a silver Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG, which did not display its license plates, as he took advantage of a California law which gives a maximum of six months for new vehicles to receive plates; Jobs leased a new SL every six months.[196] Jobs involved himself with the details of designing his 78-metre luxury yacht Venus (named after the deity)[197] to keep thoughts of death at bay. It is also designed by Philippe Starck,[198] who says he was not paid in full for the yacht.[199]
In a 2011 interview with biographer Walter Isaacson, Jobs revealed at one point he met with U.S. President Barack Obama, complained of the nation's shortage of software engineers, and told Obama that he was "headed for a one-term presidency." Jobs proposed that any foreign student who got an engineering degree at a U.S. university should automatically be offered a green card. After the meeting, Jobs commented, "The president is very smart, but he kept explaining to us reasons why things can't get done.... It infuriates me."[200]
Jobs contributed to a number of political candidates and causes during his life, giving $209,000 to Democrats, $45,700 to associated special interests and $1,000 to a Republican.[201]
Health issues
In October 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with cancer,[202] and in mid-2004, he announced to his employees that he had a cancerous tumor in his pancreas.[203] The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very poor;[204] Jobs stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor.[203] Despite his diagnosis, Jobs resisted his doctors' recommendations for mainstream medical intervention for nine months,[170] instead consuming a special alternative medicine diet in an attempt to thwart the disease. According to Harvard researcher Ramzi Amri, his choice of alternative treatment "led to an unnecessarily early death."[202] Cancer researcher and alternative medicine critic David Gorski "disagreed with Amri's assessment," stating, "My best guess was that Jobs probably only modestly decreased his chances of survival, if that."[205] Barrie R. Cassileth, the chief of Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center's integrative medicine department,[206] said "Job's faith in alternative medicine likely cost him his life.... He had the only kind of pancreatic cancer that is treatable and curable.... He essentially committed suicide."[207] According to Jobs's biographer, Walter Isaacson, "for nine months he refused to undergo surgery for his pancreatic cancer – a decision he later regretted as his health declined."[208] "Instead, he tried a vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies and other treatments he found online, and even consulted a psychic. He also was influenced by a doctor who ran a clinic that advised juice fasts, bowel cleansings and other unproven approaches, before finally having surgery in July 2004."[209] He eventually underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy (or "Whipple procedure") in July 2004, that appeared to successfully remove the tumor.[210][211][212] Jobs apparently did not receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy.[203][213] During Jobs's absence, Tim Cook, head of worldwide sales and operations at Apple, ran the company.[203]
In early August 2006, Jobs delivered the keynote for Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. His "thin, almost gaunt" appearance and unusually "listless" delivery,[214][215] together with his choice to delegate significant portions of his keynote to other presenters, inspired a flurry of media and Internet speculation about his health.[216] In contrast, according to an Ars Technica journal report, Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) attendees who saw Jobs in person said he "looked fine".[217] Following the keynote, an Apple spokesperson said that "Steve's health is robust."[218]
Two years later, similar concerns followed Jobs's 2008 WWDC keynote address.[219] Apple officials stated Jobs was victim to a "common bug" and was taking antibiotics,[220] while others surmised his cachectic appearance was due to the Whipple procedure.[213] During a July conference call discussing Apple earnings, participants responded to repeated questions about Jobs's health by insisting that it was a "private matter". Others, however, voiced the opinion that shareholders had a right to know more, given Jobs's hands-on approach to running his company.[221][222] The New York Times published an article based on an off-the-record phone conversation with Jobs, noting that "While his health problems amounted to a good deal more than 'a common bug', they weren't life-threatening and he doesn't have a recurrence of cancer."[223]
On August 28, 2008, Bloomberg mistakenly published a 2500-word obituary of Jobs in its corporate news service, containing blank spaces for his age and cause of death. (News carriers customarily stockpile up-to-date obituaries to facilitate news delivery in the event of a well-known figure's death.) Although the error was promptly rectified, many news carriers and blogs reported on it,[224] intensifying rumors concerning Jobs's health.[225] Jobs responded at Apple's September 2008 Let's Rock keynote by essentially quoting Mark Twain: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."[227] At a subsequent media event, Jobs concluded his presentation with a slide reading "110/70", referring to his blood pressure, stating he would not address further questions about his health.[228]
On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that marketing vice-president Phil Schiller would deliver the company's final keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo 2009, again reviving questions about Jobs's health.[229][230] In a statement given on January 5, 2009, on Apple.com,[231] Jobs said that he had been suffering from a "hormone imbalance" for several months.[232]
On January 14, 2009, in an internal Apple memo, Jobs wrote that in the previous week he had "learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought", and announced a six-month leave of absence until the end of June 2009, to allow him to better focus on his health. Tim Cook, who previously acted as CEO in Jobs's 2004 absence, became acting CEO of Apple,[233] with Jobs still involved with "major strategic decisions."[233]
In April 2009, Jobs underwent a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis, Tennessee.[234][235] Jobs's prognosis was described as "excellent".[234]
On January 17, 2011, a year and a half after Jobs returned from his liver transplant, Apple announced that he had been granted a medical leave of absence. Jobs announced his leave in a letter to employees, stating his decision was made "so he could focus on his health". As during his 2009 medical leave, Apple announced that Tim Cook would run day-to-day operations and that Jobs would continue to be involved in major strategic decisions at the company.[236][237] Despite the leave, he made appearances at the iPad 2 launch event (March 2), the WWDC keynote introducing iCloud (June 6), and before the Cupertino city council (June 7).[238]
Jobs announced his resignation as Apple's CEO on August 24, 2011, writing to the board, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." [239] Jobs became chairman of the board thereafter, naming Tim Cook his successor as CEO,[240][241] and continued to work for Apple until the day before his death six weeks later.[242]
Death
Flags flying at
half-staff outside Apple HQ in Cupertino, on the evening of Steve Jobs's death.
Memorial candles and iPads to Steve Jobs outside the Apple Store in Palo Alto, California shortly after his death
Jobs died at his Palo Alto, California, home around 3 pm on October 5, 2011, due to complications from a relapse of his previously treated islet-cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer,[2][243][244] resulting in respiratory arrest.[245] He had lost consciousness the day before, and died with his wife, children, and sisters at his side.[175]
Both Apple and Microsoft flew their flags at half-staff throughout their respective headquarters and campuses.[246][247] Bob Iger ordered all Disney properties, including Walt Disney World and Disneyland, to fly their flags at half-staff, from October 6 to 12, 2011.[248]
His death was announced by Apple in a statement which read:
We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.
Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.[249]
For two weeks following his death, Apple's corporate Web site displayed a simple page, showing Jobs's name and lifespan next to his grayscale portrait.[250] Clicking on the image led to an obituary, which read:
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
[250]
An email address was also posted for the public to share their memories, condolences, and thoughts.[251][252] Over a million tributes were sent, which are now displayed on the Steve Jobs memorial page.
Also dedicating its homepage to Jobs was Pixar, with a photo of Jobs, John Lasseter and Edwin Catmull, and the eulogy they wrote:[253]
Steve was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend, and our guiding light of the Pixar family. He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined. Steve took a chance on us and believed in our crazy dream of making computer animated films; the one thing he always said was to 'make it great.' He is why Pixar turned out the way we did and his strength, integrity, and love of life has made us all better people. He will forever be part of Pixar's DNA. Our hearts go out to his wife Laurene and their children during this incredibly difficult time.
[253]
A small private funeral was held on October 7, 2011, of which details were not revealed out of respect to Jobs's family.[254] Apple announced on the same day that they had no plans for a public service, but were encouraging "well-wishers" to send their remembrance messages to an email address created to receive such messages.[255] Sunday, October 16, 2011, was declared "Steve Jobs Day" by Governor Jerry Brown of California.[256] On that day, an invitation-only memorial was held at Stanford University. Those in attendance included Apple and other tech company executives, members of the media, celebrities, close friends of Jobs, and politicians, along with Jobs's family. Bono, Yo Yo Ma, and Joan Baez performed at the service, which lasted longer than an hour. The service was highly secured, with guards at all of the university's gates, and a helicopter flying overhead from an area news station.[257][258]
A private memorial service for Apple employees was held on October 19, 2011, on the Apple Campus in Cupertino. Present were Cook, Bill Campbell, Norah Jones, Al Gore, and Coldplay, and Jobs's widow, Laurene. Some of Apple's retail stores closed briefly so employees could attend the memorial. A video of the service is available on Apple's website.[259]
Jobs is buried in an unmarked grave at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, the only non-denominational cemetery in Palo Alto.[260][261] He is survived by Laurene, his wife of 20 years, their three children, and Lisa Brennan-Jobs, his daughter from a previous relationship.[262] His family released a statement saying that he "died peacefully".[263][264] His sister, Mona Simpson, described his passing thus: "Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times. Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve’s final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW." He then lost consciousness and died several hours later.[175]
Media coverage
Steve Jobs's death broke news headlines on ABC, CBS, and NBC.[265] Numerous newspapers around the world carried news of his death on their front pages the next day. Several notable people, including US President Barack Obama,[266] British Prime Minister David Cameron,[267] Microsoft founder Bill Gates,[268] and The Walt Disney Company's Bob Iger commented on the death of Jobs. Wired News collected reactions and posted them in tribute on their homepage.[269] Other statements of condolence were made by many of Jobs's friends and colleagues, such as Steve Wozniak and George Lucas.[270][271] After Steve Jobs's death, Adult Swim aired a 15-second segment with the words "hello" in a script font fading in and then changing into "goodbye".
Major media published commemorative works. Time published a commemorative issue for Jobs on October 8, 2011. The issue's cover featured a portrait of Jobs, taken by Norman Seeff, in which he is sitting in the lotus position holding the original Macintosh computer, first published in Rolling Stone in January 1984. The issue marked the eighth time Jobs was featured on the cover of Time,[272] and included a photographic essay by Diana Walker, a retrospective on Apple by Harry McCracken and Lev Grossman, and a six-page essay by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson's essay served as a preview of his biography, Steve Jobs.[273]
Bloomberg Businessweek also published a commemorative, ad-free issue, featuring extensive essays by Steve Jurvetson, John Sculley, Sean Wisely, William Gibson, and Walter Isaacson. On its cover, Steve Jobs is pictured in gray scale, along with his name and lifespan.
At the time of his resignation, and again after his death, Jobs was widely described as a visionary, pioneer and genius[274][275][276][277]—perhaps one of the foremost—in the field of business,[278][279] innovation,[280] and product design,[281] and a man who had profoundly changed the face of the modern world,[274][276][280] revolutionized at least six different industries,[275] and who was an "exemplar for all chief executives".[275] His death was widely mourned[280] and considered a loss to the world by commentators across the globe.[277]
After his resignation as Apple's CEO, Jobs was characterized as the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford of his time.[282][283] In his The Daily Show eulogy, Jon Stewart said that unlike others of Jobs's ilk, such as Thomas Edison or Henry Ford, Jobs died young. He felt that we had, in a sense, "wrung everything out of" these other men, but his feeling on Jobs was that "we're not done with you yet."[284] Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker asserted that "Jobs's sensibility was editorial, not inventive. His gift lay in taking what was in front of him ... and ruthlessly refining it."[285]
There was also a dissenting tone in some coverage of Jobs' life and works in the media, where attention focused on his near-fanatical control mindset and business ruthlessness. A Los Angeles Times media critic reported that the eulogies "came courtesy of reporters who—after deadline and off the record—would tell stories about a company obsessed with secrecy to the point of paranoia. They remind us how Apple shut down a youthful fanboy blogger, punished a publisher that dared to print an unauthorized Jobs biography and repeatedly ran afoul of the most basic tenets of a free press."[286] Free software pioneer Richard Stallman drew attention to Apple's strategy of tight corporate control over consumer computers and handheld devices, how Apple restricted news reporters, and persistently violated privacy: "Steve Jobs, the pioneer of the computer as a jail made cool, designed to sever fools from their freedom, has died".[287][288] On his blog, Stallman has summarized Jobs as having a "malign influence" on computing because of Jobs's leadership in guiding Apple to produce closed platforms.[289][290] Silicon Valley reporter Dan Gillmor stated that under Jobs, Apple had taken stances that in his view were "outright hostile to the practice of journalism"[286] - these included suing three "small fry" bloggers who reported tips about the company and its unreleased products including attempts to use the courts to force them to reveal their sources, suing teenager Nicholas Ciarelli, who wrote enthusiastic speculation about Apple products beginning at age 13[286] (Rainey wrote that Apple wanted to kill his 'ThinkSecret' blog as "It thought any leaks, even favorable ones, diluted the punch of its highly choreographed product launches with Jobs, in his iconic jeans and mock turtleneck outfit, as the star."[286]).
Some have compared Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie who died a week later, and the respective media coverage of their deaths.[291][292]
Honors and public recognition
Steve Jobs with the first generation iPad tablet
After Apple's founding, Jobs became a symbol of his company and industry. When Time named the computer as the 1982 "Machine of the Year", the magazine published a long profile of Jobs as "the most famous maestro of the micro".[293][294]
Jobs was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, with Steve Wozniak (among the first people to ever receive the honor),[295] and a Jefferson Award for Public Service in the category "Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under" (also known as the Samuel S. Beard Award) in 1987.[296] On November 27, 2007, Jobs was named the most powerful person in business by Fortune magazine.[297] On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Jobs into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.[298]
In August 2009, Jobs was selected as the most admired entrepreneur among teenagers in a survey by Junior Achievement,[299] having previously been named Entrepreneur of the Decade 20 years earlier in 1989, by Inc. magazine.[300] On November 5, 2009, Jobs was named the CEO of the decade by Fortune magazine.[278]
In November 2010, Jobs was ranked No.17 on Forbes: The World's Most Powerful People.[301] In December 2010, the Financial Times named Jobs its person of the year for 2010, ending its essay[302] by stating, "In his autobiography, John Sculley, the former PepsiCo executive who once ran Apple, said this of the ambitions of the man he had pushed out: 'Apple was supposed to become a wonderful consumer products company. This was a lunatic plan. High-tech could not be designed and sold as a consumer product.'"[303] The Financial Times closed by rhetorically asking of this quote, "How wrong can you be."[302]
Statue of Jobs at Graphisoft Park, Budapest
[304]
On December 21, 2011, Graphisoft company in Budapest presented the world's first bronze statue of Steve Jobs, calling him one of the greatest personalities of the modern age.[304]
In January 2012, when young adults (ages 16 – 25) were asked to identify the greatest innovator of all time, Steve Jobs placed second behind Thomas Edison.[305]
On February 12, 2012, Jobs was posthumously awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, an award for those who have influenced the music industry in areas unrelated to performance.[306]
In March 2012, global business magazine Fortune named Steve Jobs the "greatest entrepreneur of our time", describing him as "brilliant, visionary, inspiring", and "the quintessential entrepreneur of our generation".[307]
Two films, Disney's John Carter[308] and Pixar's Brave,[309] are dedicated to Jobs.
Steve Jobs was posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend on August 10, 2013.[310]
Portrayals and coverage in books, film, and theater
Books
- iCon: Steve Jobs (2005), by Jeffrey S. Young & William L. Simon
- Inside Apple (2012), a book by Adam Lashinsky that reveals the secret systems, tactics, and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to work.
- iWoz (2006), by Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple. It is an autobiography of Steve Wozniak, but it covers much of Jobs's life and work at Apple.
- Steve Jobs (2011), an authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson.
- The Little Kingdom (1984) by Michael Moritz, documenting the founding of (then) Apple Computer.
- The Man Who Thought Different (2009) by Karen Blumenthal
- The Second Coming of Steve Jobs (2001), by Alan Deutschman
- The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation (2011), by Jay Elliot, a former Sr. Vice-President at Apple. It reveals Jobs' work at Apple - from the inception of game-changing products like the Apple II and the Macintosh, to his stunning fall from grace, and on to his rebirth at the helm of Apple.[311]
- The Zen of Steve Jobs (2012) written by Caleb Melby with artwork by Jess3, a graphic novel about the relationship of Jobs and Kobun Chino Otogawa and how the monk's mentorship influenced Jobs's business philosophy.
Documentary films
Feature films
Theater
| Author: | Bling King |
| Published: | Aug 30th 2013 |
| Modified: | Aug 30th 2013 |
