Remembering Steve Jobs
August 8, 2013
Steve Jobs was a visionary. Known by many as the “Father of the Digital Revolution”, Jobs created consumer technology again and again, year after year. In fact, he continues to influence well beyond his untimely passing in 2011. As the co-founder of Apple, Jobs oversaw the birth of the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, App Store and everything in between. Everything you use on your smart phone, all of the music and movies and content you access directly on your computer or devices, is thanks to the charismatic brilliance of Steve Jobs. He literally changed the world forever.
It has only been two years since Steve Jobs passed away, but his work left an indelible mark on society. This month, Open Road Pictures is releasing their version of Steve Jobs’ life story with Jobs, a biopic starring Ashton Kutcher. The film will no doubt explore Jobs’ illustrious career, from the founding of Apple, to his revolutionary return to the company and its worldwide success over the past thirty years.
Though we know Jobs as a master of innovation, the path to greatness is never easy. At the age of sixteen, Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in his parents’ basement, eventually propelling the fledgling company to success. Throughout power struggles within the company over the next few years, though, Jobs was aced out of Apple in a turbulent power struggle, and eventually quit.
True to form, Jobs never let that stop him. He went on to launch NeXT Computer in 1985 and began his work with new technologies, including the first “interpersonal” computer. New generations of NeXT technology developed one of the first multimedia email systems, granting users the ability to share images and video through email.
When Apple bought NeXT in 1996, Jobs rejoined his old company and transformed the computer industry once again. Together, Jobs and Apple introduced most of the technology that is now part of modern society: iTunes, the iPod, the iPad, the iTunes store, touch screens, mobile browsers, and all the fun accessories and apps we use every day. Rather than move on to a different company, Jobs approached Apple with new eyes; an approach that revolutionized technology in an unparalleled way.
Jobs’ notorious passion was not just relegated to computer technology, though. In 1986 he purchased The Graphics Group from Lucasfilms and created what we know today as Pixar Animation Studios. Jobs took Pixar and, with creative chief John Lasseter, produced many of the studio’s inventive, character-driven classics: Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and much more. Despite a few rocky years in the mid-2000s, Jobs fueled Pixar’s rapid climb to the multibillion-dollar Disney partnership it maintains today.
One of the major inspirational traits that Jobs possessed was his attitude towards the creative process. In a now-famous commencement speech to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University, Jobs remarked that being fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to him. “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
Jobs was an inspiration, as the new biographical film clearly demonstrates. He was taken from the world far too soon, and is still mourned to this day. Luckily for generations to come, Jobs life’s work means more insight is just a click away. You can purchase an eBook of the Steve Jobs biography straight your iPad or iPhone, watch Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, or even download his Podcasts, “Steve Jobs at the D: All Things Digital”, to get a peek into his mind – it’s all available on iTunes.
If Steve Jobs touched your life, share your story with Apple at their “Remembering Steve Jobs” online memorial. After all, when you install any of our recommended apps or watch the latest Pixar movie with your loved ones on your iPhone or iPad, it’s Steve Jobs who made it possible. Steve used to say, “We believe people with passion CAN change the world for the better.” His deep well of creativity, drive, and sheer determination truly did change the world. Thanks, Steve. We miss you.
Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview
Steve Jobs at the D: All Things Digital Conference
