10 Things That Defined Steve Jobs’ Career – Jobs Leaves a Lasting Legacy

Mr Steve Jobs passed away on October 6, 2011 after battling with cancer from 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009.  He took a leave of absence for unspecified health problems. And, subsequently, took another leave of absence in January — his third since his health problems began — and resigned in August.

Jobs became Apple’s chairman and handed the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.

What is the 10 Things that defined Steve Jobs’ career?  Let’s take a last look at his legacy:

1. Apple I (1976):  Apple’s first product, a computer for hobbyists and engineers.  Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak designed it, while Mr Jobs orchestrated the funding and handled the marketing.
2. Apple II (1977):  A mass-market product rather than something for engineers or enthusiasts. Several upgrades for the model followed, and the line continued until 1993.
3. Lisa (1983):  The first commercial computer with a graphical user interface, with icons, windows and a cursor controlled by a mouse – the foundation for today’s computer interfaces.  But the Lisa was too expensive to be a commercial success.
4. Macintosh (1984):  It had a graphical user interface and was also cheaper and faster.  That led to “desktop publishing”, which soon became a sales driver.
5. NeXT computer (1989):  After being forced out of Apple, Mr Jobs started a firm that built a powerful workstation computer.  The world’s first Web browser was created on a NeXT computer.  Its software also lives on as the basis for today’s Macintosh and iPhone operating systems.
6. iMac (1998):  The radical iMac was the first step in reversing the company’s sliding fortunes when Mr Jobs returned in 1996.  It was strikingly designed as a bubble or blue plastic that enclosed both the monitor and the computer.
7. iPod (2001):  The first successful digital music player with a hard drive.  The iPod’s success prepared the way for the iTunes music store and the iPhone.
8. iTunes store (2003):  The store simplified the process of buying digital music and brought together tracks from all the major labels.
9. iPhone (2007):  The iPhone made the power of a smartphone easy to harness.  Apple is now the world’s most profitable maker of phones, and the influence of the iPhone is evident in all smartphones.
10. iPad (2010):  The iPad started the craze over tablet computers, creating a whole new category of computer practically by itself.

Charismatic, visionary, ruthless, perfectionist, dictator – these are some of the words that people use to describe the larger-than-life figure of Mr Jobs.  He may be the biggest dreamer the technology world has ever known, but also a hard-edged businessman and negotiator through and through.

We will sadly miss the man and his muses.  God bless his soul.