- HubPages»
- Books, Literature, and Writing»
- Books & Novels»
- Nonfiction»
- Biographies & Memoirs
Steve Jobs: A Short Biography
"The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." And out of those people, there was one man who had managed to revolutionize the world, radically changing the computer, music, movie, smartphone, and tablet computing industry. His name, was Steven Paul Jobs. His impact on the world is impossible to describe in just a small essay. Take a walk through town; you can't turn one corner without seeing the famous Apple logo in someone's hands. But you might be wondering, how did this all begin? Well, be prepared to feast your eyes on the life story of the one and only, Steve Jobs.
Early Years/Childhood
Joanne Schible and Abdulfattah Jandali decided they wanted a baby girl. So on February 24, 1955, when their baby boy was born, they gave him up for adoption. And on the same day, Paul and Clara Jobs adopted that baby boy, and they named him Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs knew from a very early age that he was adopted by his parents. He spent his early years with his father, Paul Jobs. Paul Jobs tried to pass down his love for mechanics to his son, but Steve was not interested in mechanics. Instead, he watched his father designing cars with perfection, which stood out to Steve. His father was a perfectionist, as he always made sure everything was done right. And by doing so, Steve Jobs had developed a sense of being a perfectionist as well. This boy was very curious about who his real biological parents were, but he always considered his adoptive parents as his real parents. He was also a very mischievous prankster all through his elementary life. Steve also realized later that he was considered special by his parents and teachers. One day an incident occurred where Steve had outsmarted his parents by proving that a microphone can work without an amplifier, and realized his parents were wrong. And from that day on, Steve Jobs had known that he was smarter than his parents. And this thought had stuck with him all through his life. Now let's move onto Steve's education, which also played quite a big role on who he is.
Education
Steve Jobs basically proved that education is not the key to intelligence. After graduating from high school in 1972, Jobs attended Reed College. He was a very mischievous boy, always pulling little pranks on his colleagues and teachers. He also did not respect authority; he always did what he wanted himself. In college, he took a calligraphy course which later turned out to be very important in helping him build the font for Macintosh. He always did what he thought was right, no matter what. After just two years, he dropped out of college, but continued to take auditing classes at Reed College. He made friends with a computer whiz whose name was Steve Wozniak, nicknamed "Woz". The two Steves both had a passion in electronics, and spent their time working with lots of them. They made small little gadgets and computers, and together they created the first Apple computer; The Apple I. And this is where the achievement streak began for Mr. Jobs… The Apple I.
Achievements and Successes
One paragraph isn’t enough to describe the thousands of achievements accomplished by Steve Jobs. Let’s go through his biggest ones. Remember the Apple I? That was Steve Jobs’ first computer for Apple. It was a huge success, and it is what sparked up the rivalry between other computer companies and Apple. And the Apple I wasn't just any ordinary computer, it was different, something Steve Jobs put much emphasis on. After just one year, Apple released the Apple II. This computer had new color graphics, and this computer was an even huger success compared to the first model. On January 24, 1984, Steve Jobs and his company had released a MacBook, which was basically a portable Macintosh. Macintosh then became the first commercially successful small computer with a graphic user interface. Then, on February 3, 1986, Jobs had purchased Pixar, which was back then a very small company which created animated shorts. Steve turned this company into a huge success. Pixar's first full featured film "Toy Story" was a ground breaking success, which eventually led to other successful movie hits. Then, on November 10, 1997, Jobs introduced the Apple Store, which was a whole new interactive way to sell and display products. There was a huge difference in Apple Stores compared to the other retail stores. And just when it was time for a new Mac to roll in, the brand new iMac was released on January 8, 1998. This computer was basically the transition into the 21st century. Next, Apple decided to dominate the music industry as well. January 9, 2001 was the day iTunes, Apple digital music store, was released. This turned out to world's largest online digital music seller. Now, to listen to this music, Mr. Jobs released a revolutionary product, called the iPod. October 23, 2001 was the day when people could finally say goodbye to their bulky old Walkman. The iPod could hold an unbelievable amount of songs, compared to other devices at the time. This product was Apple's biggest hit, ranking it #1 on the world's digital music players. And if you thought this iPod was bulky, then say hello to the iPod Shuffle. On January 11, 2005, the iPod Shuffle was released. It was "lighter than a pack of gum" according to Apple. iPod Shuffle was the world's smallest music player. Next, Steve Jobs decided to step into the smartphone industry. On January 9, 2007, the iPhone was released. The iPhone had an interactive user interface (touch screen) that was very easy to use for people of all ages. Later on September 5, 2007, Apple decided to implement the same intuitive user interface that was on the iPhone, onto the iPod. This device was called the iPod Touch. To increase the functionality of these devices, Apple released the App Store on January 15, 2008. This allowed users to download third party applications to their iPhone and iPod touch. Even after all of this, Steve Jobs decided they weren't gonna stop. Let's leap into tablet computing! On January 27, 2010, Apple released the iPad, which used the same interactive interface as the iPhone and iPod touch. And then, on March 2, 2010, Apple introduced an upgraded iPad, called the iPad 2. This iPad had a 10 inch screen, apps, cameras, and an HD Screen. This was Jobs' last product release before he died. As you can see, he accomplished a lot through his life. But this was only one side of his life. Let's take a look at the other side, his personal life.
Personal Life
Jobs' life had its ups and downs. Jobs had one child with his girlfriend Chris Ann Brennan. Jobs, after two years of denying paternity, took responsibility for his daughter Lisa Brennan Jobs. He later married Lauren Powell. He had 3 children: Reed, Erin, and Eve Jobs. In 2003, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite the doctors request, Jobs didn't have surgery for his tumor until 9 months later, when his health had greatly declined. In April 2009, Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant. Later, on August 24, 2011, Steve Jobs had resigned as his position as CEO of Apple due to medical problems. And shortly after, his death followed.
Death
On October 5, 2011, Jobs had peacefully passed away in his California home. He left behind his wife and four children. He was buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in California. A private funeral was held within the Jobs family on October 7, 2011. On October 19 2011 a private memorial service was held within the Apple Community. There is no doubt people were shocked by his death.
Conclusion
Steve Jobs was a man who had impacted the world so much, that it left a dent on the planet. The world has lost an innovative man, who has changed many lives, and has changed how the world thinks about technology. There was one thing about Steve Jobs that differentiated him from every other person. He thought different than other people. He didn't care what other people said about him.
"Think Different."