Steve Jobs

“Never trust a computer you can’t lift” Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs is one of the founders of Apple, Next, Pixar corporations and a key figure in the world computer industry, the person, who in many respects has defined a course of its development.

At school, Steve Jobs has taken a great interest in electronics and when has met the namesake Steve Wozniak, for the first time has reflected on the business connected with computer technologies. The first partners’ project became BlueBox – the device, which was allowed free of charge to use by long-distance communication and on sale on 150 dollars for a piece. Wozniak was engaged in working out and device assemblage and thirteen-year Jobs marketed the illegal goods. Such cast will remain and further, only their future business will be now quite legal.

In 1972, after graduating from high school, Steve Jobs arrives in Reed College.

After the first semester, he was kicked out at own will, but he stayed to live in rooms of friends about one and a half years, spending the night on a floor, living on money for the handed over bottles from under Coca-Cola and once a week coming for free dinners to a local temple of Hare Krishna.

Then it has got on calligraphy courses that in subsequently has suggested an idea to it to equip system Mac OS with scaled fonts.

Then Steve has got a job in Atari. Steve Jobs was engaged in working out of computer games. In four years kicked out are created by the first computer, and Jobs, continuing to work in “Atari”, adjusts its sales.

Apple

Apple is a company (name “Apple” Jobs has offered that in this case telephone number of firm went in the telephone directory directly before “Atari”) that grows from a creative tandem of friends. Date of basis of Apple is considered to be April, 1st, 1976, and the garage of parents of Jobs was the first office-shop. Officially, Apple has been registered in the beginning of 1977.

Stephen Company, where Jobs acted as the expert in marketing, was the author of the majority of working-outs. It is considered, what exactly Jobs has convinced Wozniak to finish the scheme of a microcomputer thought up by it and that was an impulse to creation of the new market of personal computers.

Debut model of the computer was named Apple I. For a year partners have sold 200 such cars (the price of each was 666 dollars and 66 cents). Quantity was decent for beginners, but in comparison with Apple II, it left in 1977.

Success of computers Apple I and, especially, Apple II together with occurrence of investors made the company a conclusive leader in the computer market up to the beginning of the eightieth, and both of friends became millionaires. It is remarkable that the software was developed for computers Apple then by young Microsoft Company created on half a year later than Apple.

Macintosh

The contract conclusion between companies Apple and Xerox created Sign Event. Revolutionary workings, out of which Xerox could not find worthy application for a long time, became subsequently a project part “Macintosh” (a ruler of the personal computers designed, developed, made and sold by firm Apple Inc.). As a matter of fact, the modern interface of the personal computer with its windows and virtual buttons is in many respects obliged to this contract.

It is possible to tell with confidence that Macintosh is the first personal computer in modern sense (the first Mac has been let out on January, 24th, 1984). Earlier, management of car was carried out by means of the intricate commands typed “devoted” on keyboard. Now the mouse becomes the main working tool.

Success of Macintosh was simply stunning. In the world, at that point in time there was no competitor, even close comparable on a sales volume and technological potential. Soon after the exit of Macintosh, the company has stopped working out and manufactured the family Apple II, which was earlier the main source of the income of the company.

Jobs is Leaving

Despite considerable successes, in the beginning of 80th, Steve Jobs gradually starts to lose positions in Apple, which has expanded by then to huge corporation. Its authoritative management style leads at first to disagreements, and then to the open conflict to the board of directors. In 30 years (1985) the founder of Apple has been simply dismissed.

Having lost the power in the companies and work, Jobs has not lost courage, and at once was approved for new projects. At first, it has based the NeXT firm, which specialized on manufacture of difficult computers for higher education and business structures. This market was too narrow; therefore, it was not possible to reach any considerable sales.

Graphic studio of the Graphics Group became much more successful undertaking (later renamed into Pixar), bought at Lucasfilm practically twice is cheaper (5 million dollars) than its estimated cost. Super cash animation films have been let out under the direction of Jobs. The most known: “Corporation of monsters” and well-known “History of toys”.

In 2006, Pixar have been sold to Walt Disney already for 7.5 billion dollars, thus, Jobs has received of 7 % in possession of actions of Walt Disney. In comparison, Disney’s lineal heir has inherited only 1 %.

Returning to Apple

In 1997, Steve Jobs comes back in Apple. At first, he was interim director, and with 2000 – the full managing director. Unprofitable directions have been closed and while working on the new computer iMac the company’s affairs promptly have gone uphill and successfully finished.

Later, the weight of working-outs, which become fashion-makers in the technological market, will be presented. It both a mobile phone iPhone, and a player iPod, and the tablet computer iPad, gone on sale in 2010. It will make Apple the third company on capitalization in the world (it will bypass even Microsoft).

Illness

In October, 2003 scanning of belly area has shown that Steve Jobs had a cancer tumor of a pancreas. In general, this diagnosis is deadly, but the head of Apple had very rare form of disease, which can be cured by means of operation. First, Jobs has refused it as on personal belief did not recognize interventions in a human body. Within 9 months, Steve Jobs hoped to recover independently, and anybody from the management of Apple has not informed all this time to investors of the deadly illness. Nevertheless, then Steve has dared to trust in doctors and has informed the public on the disease. On July, 31st, 2004, the medical Centre at Stanford has performed a successful operation. In December, 2008, doctors have found out a hormonal misbalance in Jobs. In summer of 2009, according to representatives of University Medical Center in Tennessee, it becomes known that Steve has undergone a liver transplantation. On March, 2nd, 2011, Steve has acted on presentation of a new tablet – iPad 2.

He died on October 5th, 2011.

Advancement Methods

For definition of charisma of Steve Jobs and its influence on developers of the original project the Mackintosh, his colleague in Apple Computer Bud Tribble has invented the phrase “Reality Distortion Field” in 1981. Later this term was used for definition of perception of its key performances by observers and fans of the company.

According to colleagues, Steve Jobs is capable to convince associates in everything, using a mix of charisma, charm, impudence, persistence, pathetic, and a self-trust. Basically, the RDF deforms at an audience feeling of proportions and harmony. Small progress is presented as break. Any errors are ignored or presented as insignificant. The overcome difficulties are considerably exaggerated. Certain opinions, ideas and definitions can vary cardinally further without any relation to the fact of such changes. Basically, the RDF is no more than a mix of a political propaganda and advertising technologies.

For instance, one of the most typical examples, the RDF has statements that consumers “suffer” from poor-quality products of competitors, or that company products “a change of life of people”. As frequently unsuccessful technical decisions speak that it is not necessary for the consumer. The term is often used in a pejorative context for criticism of Apple, or its supporters. Nevertheless, many companies pass today to a similar technique, seeing how much far it could advance Apple in the economic plan.

Awards

Jobs has been awarded by the National medal of the USA in area of technologies by the president Ronald Reagan in 1984 together with Steve Wozniak (becoming one of the first ones, who received this award), and in 1987 – Jefferson’s award for public service in a category “the best public service of the person of 35 years. Magazine Fortune on November 27, 2007, named Jobs as the most influential person in business. On December, 5th, 2007, the governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver have entered Jobs into a hall of glory of California, located in the Museum of California.

In August, 2009, Jobs has been chosen by the most esteemed businessman among teenagers during interrogation Junior Achievement. On November, 5th, 2009, magazine Fortune named Jobs CEO decades. In November, 2009, Jobs has taken the 57th place in the list of the most influential people of the world in Forbes. On December, 2010, Jobs was recognized as the person of year by the Financial Times.

Inventions

Jobs is specified as the primary inventor or as the co-author in more than 230 awarded patents or the patent demands connected with a spectrum of technologies from real computers and portable devices to the user interfaces (including touch), stereo speakers, keyboards, and adapters of a food, ladders, fasteners, sleeves, belts and packages.

Estate

Though Jobs received only 1 dollar a year as CEO Apple, he possessed 5,426 million actions of Apple, and also 138 million actions of Disney (which it has received in exchange for acquisition Pixar). Forbes estimated its net wealth at a rate of 5.1 billion dollars in 2009 that makes him the 43rd in a rating of the richest Americans. When Bloomberg has casually published Jobs’ obituary in 2008, Arik Hesseldahl from magazine BusinessWeek has noticed that “Jobs is not widely known for charity”, in comparison with Bill Gates’ efforts. After control finding over Apple in 1997, Jobs has cancelled all corporate programs of charity.

Management Style

In the work, Jobs was guided by the well-known principle, which has been put forward by Alan Keem – «the best way to predict future – to invent it». Jobs always aspired to position Apple and company products in the foreground of the industry of an information technology, expecting and establishing tendencies, at least in the field of innovations and style. He has formulated it in the end of the keynote speech at conference Macworld Expo in January, 2007: “There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very beginning. And we always will.”

When Steve Jobs in 60 Minutes have asked about a business model ideal, he has answered: “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 not done by one person; they are done by a team of people.”

Thus, Jobs was exacting and authoritative perfectionist, often categorical in judgments. In the early eighties, at work over Macintosh it showed despotism, roughness and obstinacy. In group, even there was a comic annual tradition to award a special prize of the employee, managed to reject worthy pressure to Jobs. However, subordinates always respected him and recognized that, as a rule, Steve appeared the rights, and otherwise, it could be out-argued. As to design questions, – here nobody tried to object Jobs, and it had full freedom of decision-making. Unique employee of Apple, whose opinion Jobs recognized as equivalent to his own, there was Jonathan Ive:

Because Steve is so quick to give an opinion, I don’t show him stuff in front of other people. He might say, ‘This is shit,’ and snuff the idea. I feel that ideas are very fragile, so you have to be tender, when they are in development. I realized that if he pissed on this, it would be so sad, because I knew it was so important – Jonathan Ive.

According to Atkinson, Jobs’ habitual phrase “This full dung” was understood as “Prove me that this is the best decision”. Moreover, not all of Jobs’ ideas found support, and when he felt it after a while simply they “forgot” about them.

Jobs was among strongly pronounced charismatic leaders. Bud Tribble, the manager of the team on working out Macintosh, for the description of charisma of Jobs and its influence on subordinates has thought up the term “a field of distortion of a reality”. Tribble asserted that the term was taken from “The Star Track”. Since then, the term also was used for a designation of perception of speeches of Jobs. Andy Hertzfeld defined a field of distortion of a reality as Steve Jobs’ ability to convince others and to trust almost to everything, using a combination of charm, charisma, bravado, hyperboles, marketing, a pacification and persistence. Being the object of criticism, the so-called field of distortion of a reality of Jobs also admitted that creation of sensation that is impossible can be possible:

“His reality of distortion is when he has an illogical vision of the future, such as telling me that I could design the Breakout game in just a few days. You realize that it can’t be true, but he somehow makes it true.” – Steve Wozniak

After the term became widely known, it was often used in a press for the description of influence of Jobs on public, especially, during announcements of new products.

Jobs’ character was a little softened after dismissal from Apple and works in NeXT. So, according to animator Floyd Norman, it never interfered with creative process of cinematographers of Pixar. But in the rest, Jobs remained true to himself, continuing “to deform a reality” when it was a question, for example, of possible prospects of this or that working-out of Pixar.

“I grew up as a Southern Baptist, and we had revival meetings with mesmerizing but corrupt preachers. Steve’s got it: the power of the tongue and the web of words that catches people up” – Alvy Ray Smith.

Inventions and Projects

On Steve Jobs’ aesthetic sense the great influence was rendered by a Zen-Buddhism: as designer, Jobs always sought to simplicity and even minimalism and in decision-making took away the big role of intuition.

As of October, 6th, 2011, Jobs is the co-author in 312 American patents for design projects and the inventions, concerning as to actually computers and portable devices, and to the user interfaces (including touch), to stereo speakers, keyboards, food adapters, ladders, buckles, sleeves, belts and packages. The majority of patents are given out not on technological innovations, and on design decisions. On inventions 43 patents are given out in the USA. The patent for the user of interface Dock in Mac OS X with the “increase” function has been given out a day before his death.