Tribute to Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs Passed Away
On October 5th, 2011, Apple Inc. co-founder and former CEO Steven Paul Jobs, passed away at the age of 56, after a long bout, with pancreatic cancer. On that day, Apple lost a visionary leader and the world has lost a true genius.
The day Steve died, I wrote some thoughts on his passing and now I’d like to share them with you.
My Heartfelt Thoughts
I am deeply saddened by the loss of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, and I would like to express my deepest condolences to his wife Laurene, his family, and everyone at Apple.
Even though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I feel like I’ve lost a close friend. Steve and Apple, have been a great inspiration to me. The things he envisioned and created, have forever changed my life, along with the lives of millions of others, all around the world.
I knew his health must have been getting worse, the day he resigned as CEO. Steve never would have stepped down, unless he knew he was going to die, because he was so proud of, and dedicated to Apple.
I watched the news every day after he resigned, fearing I’d soon hear of his passing. I knew it might happen someday, but hoped that it wouldn't be so soon. I also hoped maybe he'd beat it and get well again, but that didn’t happen, and the day I feared, has sadly come.
I will never forget how it made me feel, when he would demonstrate a new product, at an Apple event. He had a special way of doing it, that would get you so excited, like a child on Christmas morning. But that specialness is gone now and just like that feeling you had as a child on Christmas, isn't the same, when you grow up.
Steve Jobs changed the world for us all. He will truly be missed, and it will never be the same, without him. Apple will be fine, because they learned a lot from Steve, but we can only imagine what he still would have done, had he not been taken away so soon. There is not now, nor will there ever be, anyone quite like Steve.
They say that we all need heroes, well Steve Jobs was one of mine.
R.I.P. Steve, I will miss you,
1Macman - October 6, 2011
Steve's Life: 1955 - 2011
Steve Jobs, was a pioneer of the personal computer revolution, of the 1970s. He was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, CA and was adopted at birth. Being raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and growing up so close to Silicon Valley, helped influence his interest, in the personal computer industry.
He started attending Reed College In 1972, but decided to drop out in 1974, to travel through India and study Buddhism. After working at Atari for a brief period, Steve, along with his close friend Steve Wozniak, started Apple Computer in 1976, in his parents garage.
They started the company in order to sell a personal computer, that Woz invented. A year later, they both gained wealth and fame for the Apple II, which dominated the personal computer market.
After a tour of Xerox in 1979, Steve saw the potential for a mouse-driven computer, with a graphical user interface. Then in a Super Bowl commercial in January of 1984, he introduced the Macintosh. It was the first mass-produced computer, with a GUI.
Steve Leavs Apple
In 1983, Steve hired John Sculley from the Pepsi-Cola company, to serve as Apple's CEO. But after a short time, he realized their visions for the company, greatly differed. Sculley favored open architecture computers like the Apple II, while Jobs wanted the company to focus on the Macintosh, as a business alternative, to the IBM PC.
The Apple II and Macintosh divisions, operated like separate companies within Apple and John Sculley, had very little control, over Steve’s Macintosh division. Sculley decided to reorganize Apple, in May of 1985. He presented a plan to the board, that would remove Steve from the Macintosh devision and in turn, render him powerless within Apple.
In response to Sculley’s reorganizations plans, Steve developed one of his own, which would get rid of Sculley and allow him to take over the company. But after Steve's plan was discovered, he decided just to leave Apple.
The Board declined Steve’s resignation and asked him to reconsider leaving the company. But at the same time, Sculley told Steve, he had all of the votes he needed, to go ahead with the reorganization. So on September 17, 1985, Steve turned in his letter of resignation.
NeXT Computer
After leaving Apple, Steve founded NeXT computer platform. He started the company, along with five senior employees, who resigned from Apple, when he did.
NeXT released their first workstations, in 1990 and they were priced at $9,999. The workstation was known for its technical strengths, but they were largely dismissed, because of the cost. They later released a revised version called the NeXTcube, which was able to share voice, image, graphics, and video in email for the first time. But after selling only 50,000 machines, NeXT transitioned the company, to software development.
In February 1986 Tim Berners-Lee, create the first World Wide Web browser, using a NeXT Computer.
While Steve was away from Apple, he also funded a spin-off company of Lucasfilms which they renamed, Pixar. Toy Story, released in 1995, was the first film produced by the company and it brought critical acclaim, to the studio. Pixar went on to produce numerous box office hits and helped make the visual effects industry, what it is today.
Return to Apple
In 1996, Apple announced it would purchase NeXT, which would in turn bring Steve, back to the company he cofounded. The deal was finalized in February of 1997, and in July of 1997, Steve was given the title of interim CEO, after then-CEO Gil Amelio, was ousted.
Steve terminated a number of projects at Apple in March 1998, in order to concentrate efforts, on returning the company to profitability. One of the biggest things he changed, was the licensing program, for Macintosh clones. It was now too costly, for the manufacturers to continue making them.
After Steve returned to Apple, they started the "Think Different" ad campaign, which brought about one of the most powerful, television commercials, in history. The original plan was for Steve to do the voiceover for the commercial, but Steve didn't want it to be about him. So Richard Dreyfuss did the voiceover, for the one that aired on TV.
Below is a quote of that ad.
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
– Apple Inc.
Under Steve’s guidance, Apple significantly increased sales and with the introduction of products like the iMac, iPod, iTunes Store, iPhone and iPad, the company has become one of the most profitable and recognized companies, in the world.
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." - Apple Inc.
Health Issues
In October of 2003, Steve was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, in his pancreas. Despite his diagnosis, he resisted the recommendations from his doctors' for medical intervention, and refused to undergo surgery for the cancer, for nine months. Instead, he relied on a vegan diet, acupuncture, and other types of natural healing, to fight the disease. And according to many doctors, that choice, led to his early death.
Steve finally decided to get professional help and in July of 2004, underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy. The surgery appeared to remove the tumor successfully, but he did not receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy, afterwards.
On January 14, 2009, Steve wrote in an internal Apple memo, that said his health issues were more complex than he originally thought, and he took a six-month leave of absence. Then in April, of 2009, he underwent a liver transplant and his prognosis, was described as excellent.
After the transplant, Steve returned to work at Apple, but a year and a half later, was granted another leave of absence. During the leave, he said he would continue to be involved, in major decisions, at the company.
Then on August 24, 2011, Steve wrote a letter to the board, announcing his resignation as Apple's CEO, and said the following
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.
– Steve Jobs
Steve died on October 5, 2011, at his home in Palo Alto, California, with his wife, children, and sisters, by his side. The cause of death, was determined to be a relapse of his previously treated islet-cell neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer, which resulted in respiratory arrest.
Remembering Steve
Stanford Speech
In 2005 Steve left a powerful message with his now famous “How to live before you die” commencement speech at Stanford University. He talked about the rather delicate subject of mortality and told the students, that death is a great motivator, to live a better life.
Here is just one part of the speech, and it truly makes a lot of sense.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking.
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
– Steve Jobs 2005
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." – Steve Jobs 2005
If you would like to watch the Stanford University speech, click the link below.
Apple's Memorial Ceremony
At Apple's memorial for Steve, new CEO Tim Cook, played an unaired version of Steve narrating "The Crazy Ones" TV ad. Now that he is gone, the words from the ad seem to have even more of a meaning, and show the essence of his life, and what he was truly all about.
To hear Steve's version from the memorial, click the link below.
Steve's Memorial Page
Many people have been touched by Steve's life, and the things he envisioned and created. And after he died, Apple launched a memorial page, where you can read thoughts and memories, from people all over the world.
To visit the Steve Jobs memorial page, click the link below. You can even post a message of your own, If you'd like.
There is One More Thing… Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.
– Steve Jobs
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