Steve Jobs; the name is synonymous with innovation, temper, drive, a piece of fruit, but one word rings out above all of the rest…
Genius.
It doesn’t matter whether or not you like Apple products, no one can say that Steve Jobs wasn’t one of the most intelligent people on the planet.
It is with a heavy heart and thoughts towards his loved ones that I write this article bidding farewell to a legend. Steve Jobs started Apple Computer in 1975 when he and Steve Wozniak started building the Apple 1 in Job’s garage and on April 1st, 1976 Apple Computer was incorporated by Jobs. After many different turns an twists such as Steve leaving Apple in 1985 (when he started NeXt computer and bought part of George Lucas’ ILM and making it into Pixar) and coming back to pull the company out of the gutter in 1997 (Apple’s stock price was as low as $3 a share before Jobs came back) Steve finally hit his stride and Apple never looked back.
One of Steve’s first decisions when he came back to Apple in 1997 was to get rid of the “museum” of previous Apple products on the companies campus. Jobs knew that any company that looks at its past won’t spend enough time looking at its future. An icon of a new age of computing and a evangelist for humanity Mr. Jobs you will be missed.
A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets.
Steve JobsApple’s market share is bigger than BMW’s or Mercedes’s or Porsche’s in the automotive market. What’s wrong with being BMW or Mercedes?
Steve JobsBe a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
Steve JobsDesign is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
Steve JobsI think we’re having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we’re always trying to do better.
Steve JobsI want to put a ding in the universe.
Steve JobsInnovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Steve JobsIt is piracy, not overt online music stores, which is our main competitor.
Steve JobsIt took us three years to build the NeXT computer. If we’d given customers what they said they wanted, we’d have built a computer they’d have been happy with a year after we spoke to them – not something they’d want now.
Steve JobsPretty much, Apple and Dell are the only ones in this industry making money. They make it by being Wal-Mart. We make it by innovation.
Steve JobsSometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.
Steve JobsThe people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.
Steve JobsTo turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.
Steve JobsYou can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.
Steve Jobs
The thoughts and cares of the 8 Days a Geek staff go out to Steve Jobs’ family and loved ones.
As much as I like to joke around about Jobs and his “evil” corporation, this is tragic. Very few people are born and make a difference, and even fewer make the world a better place with the time they spent here. I don’t like to see anyone die young, especially someone who not only pushed the limits of technology, but was charitable as well. Steve Jobs was a good man, there are no amount of turtleneck jokes that can take that away, he will be missed.