Steve Jobs' greatest products

The 11 most influential computers and other gadgets that Jobs brought about
Rosa Golijan
10-6-11
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44805821

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died on Wednesday, but he left behind a legacy full of iconic products. We've rounded up some of the most significant ones for you — along with a little bit of their history.

Mac OS X - Overhauling the operating system

The Mac OS X title encompasses a series of operating systems released by Apple under code names including Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion. Mac OS X 10.0 — better known as Cheetah — was made publicly available in March 2001. The latest version of the popular operating system series, Mac OS X Lion, was released in July 2011.

NeXT - Innovation in exile

The NeXT computer was packaged in a one-foot cube-shaped case and introduced in 1988, after Jobs had been removed from Apple. It was a high-end workstation which — despite not winning over many customers — is noted as being the system on which the first Web browser was written. It is also worth mentioning that the world's first Internet-connected server was supposedly a NeXT system.

Macintosh - Computers get cute

Recognizable by its iconic beige all-in-one case, the Macintosh 128K is the first member of the Macintosh family of personal computers. It was released in January 1984 — with a dramatic Super Bowl commercial — and touted a $2,500 price tag (which was considered quite reasonable when it came to personal computers at that time).

The original Macintosh 128K would be discontinued in October 1985, but its lineage continued on — with models including the Macintosh 512K, the PowerBook Duo, the Power Macintosh, the PowerBook G3, the iMac, the Power Mac G4, the iBook, the Mac Mini, the MacBook, the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and many more models in-between and after.

MacBook Air - Winning with thin

The MacBook Air was described as the "world's thinnest notebook" during its January 2008 introduction. And that was no joke — the device was an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point. Steve Jobs presented it by pulling it out of a manila envelope. Initially Apple would only offer a 13.3-inch MacBook Air model, but in October 2010, an 11.6-inch version was announced.

The MacBook Air managed to squeeze a full-sized keyboard and display into a powerful little package which included 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (which would in later years be replaced by Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors).

It's worth noting that — like all of Apple's notebooks since the original MacBook Pro — the MacBook Air incorporates Apple's MagSafe —a proprietary magnetically-attached power connector system.

Lisa - Ahead of its time

The Apple Lisa was a personal computer introduced in the early 1980s. Its name is supposedly either an acronym for "Local Integrated Software Architecture" or a nod to Steve Jobs' first daughter, Lisa Jobs.

While it wasn't exactly a bestseller — it is rumored that thousands of unsold units were sent to a landfill — the computer is noted for its significance in computing history. It was considered to be superior to what was coming out of the Macintosh project at that time and included a tight integration between hardware and software. Oh, and a built-in screensaver, which was uncommon at the time.

iTunes - Instant gratification via the Internet

Apple introduced the iTunes digital jukebox software in January 2001, a few months before the uveiling of the first-generation iPod. Two years later the company announced the opening of the iTunes Music Store, a place where over 200,000 songs could be purchased for 99 cents each.

In October 2005, the iTunes Store would expand to include TV shows and music videos. In September 2006, it would begin offering full-length movie downloads and by January 2008 movie rentals would be available thanks to arrangements with all major film studios.

As of October 2011, Apple has sold over 15 billion songs through the iTunes Store.

iPod - A pocket-sized revolution

When it introduced the iPod in October 2001, Apple advertised that the portable media player is a way to carry "1,000 songs in your pocket." Since then, the company has introduced — and retired — several members of the iPod product family including the iPod Mini, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch. Each new model has offered significantly more storage capacity than the original 5GB device.

As of October 2011, Apple has sold over 320 million iPod devices and deemed it the "world's most popular music player."

iPhone - Mobile computing hits next level

In January 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone. It described the gadget as "combining three products — a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, Web browsing, searching and maps — into one small and lightweight handheld device."

The iPhone ran Apple's very own mobile operating system, which has since been dubbed iOS. The phone was initially offered in the U.S. exclusively by cellular provider AT&T.

Since the first-generation iPhone, Apple has introduced the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 and — most recently — the iPhone 4S. At this point the mobile devices are available on three major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint — as well as a number of international cellular providers.

iPad - Challenger to the PC

When he stepped onto a stage to show off the iPad for the very first time in January 2010, Steve Jobs described the device as something "magical and revolutionary." The 9.7-inch slate-like gadget offered a high-resolution multi-touch display, Apple's A4 system-on-a-chip processor and an impressive 10-hour battery. The device was offered in a Wi-Fi-only as well as in a 3G-enabled version.

The next generation tablet, the iPad 2, was announced in March 2011. It was thinner, lighter and faster than the original device — and included front- and back-facing cameras for use with Apple's FaceTime video chat and Photo Booth apps.

iMac - End of the beige computer

Apple's iMac line of desktop computers includes several models introduced since 1998 — from the brightly colored iMac G3 all-in-one to the lamp-shaped iMac G4 to the slender iMac G5 to the latest aluminum unibody model.

The iMac line has seen a great deal of change since the first iMac G3, which was a 233-MHz CRT unit. The most recent model comes in 21.5- and 27-inch flat-panel versions and advertises processor speeds of up to 2.93 GHz.

Apple II - Homeward bound

The Apple II series of computers is considered among the first successful mass-produced personal computers. The first model was introduced in June 1977 and the line withered off in November 1993.

This particular line of PCs was significant as it was competitively priced and as a result made its way into many households, businesses, and educational institutions.

To this day, there are individuals who use Apple II applications on either carefully maintained systems — which are considered collectors' items — or by relying on emulator software.

Steve Jobs Earned His Place in the American Business Pantheon

Daniel Gross
10-5-11
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/steve-jobs-earned-place-american-business-pantheon-001840746.html

Steve Jobs, who died on Wednesday, was a singular figure in American business history. He will go in the pantheon of great American entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators, alongside John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton.

Jobs didn't invent computer technology, or the cell phone, or the notion of digitizing music. But he invented methods, business models, and devices that turned each into significantly larger cultural and economic phenomena.

To a degree, one might look back on the arc of Jobs's career and conclude that he simply rode a series of technological waves. But Jobs, and the company he led, rode the waves while pushing back against them.

In an industry frequently hostile to design, Jobs's Apple banked on it. In an industry in which products simply got cheaper every year and everything tends toward a commodity, Apple's products were able to command a premium. And in an age of pinched consumer spending, millions of people were eager — even desperate — to shell out for the latest version of the iPod, the iPad, or the iPhone.

In an era frequently characterized by executive greed and massive pay for significant underperformance, Jobs worked for a dollar a year. At a time when many founding CEOs step down when they hit their late 40s and early 50s to chase other pursuits (a la Bill Gates), Jobs stuck with it. In an era in which many experts fretted about the ability of America's economy to thrive and innovate, Apple grew into a major exporter. Apple now represents American brands, the way McDonald's and IBM and Coca-Cola once did.

In an era in which equity values stagnated, Apple's stock thrived. The performance of the company's stock, which is now worth $322 billion, up from a few billion in 2003, is one of the great examples of value creation in modern history.

It's difficult to put a tag on what it is precisely that Jobs did. He didn't create a fundamentally new business structure, the way John D. Rockefeller did with the vertical integration of Standard Oil. He didn't democratize a product that had only been available to the very rich, as Henry Ford did with the Model T. And he didn't fundamentally alter the distribution, logistics, and production systems the way that Sam Walton did with Wal-Mart. Under Jobs, Apple simply created a bunch of really cool products that people decided they needed to have. And have again. While Apple had brilliant ads, and while Jobs was an excellent salesperson, Apple's rabid, evangelizing fans have been the most effective marketing tool. When it comes to clothes, or shoes, or cars, my kids, 13 and 9, are largely indifferent to brands. When it was time for them to get their own computer, it had to be a Mac.

There are three basic business stories: the rise, the fall, and then the comeback. Jobs provided a vivid example of each. He started Apple Computer in the 1970s out of the proverbial garage with Steve Wozniak, only to be pushed after the company had gained scale. Returning to helm the company in 1997, he led a comeback that was, in many ways, far more impressive than the original rise.

Yes, Steve Jobs got rich in the past decade. But he didn't so at the expense of his shareholders. In fact, they grew rich along with him. And Apple didn't prosper at the expense of partners. The walled-garden approach of iTunes and the Apps store goes went against the grain of the notion that everything online should be free. But it was, at root, a courageous act. And it served as a kind of affirmation for content producers. And perhaps that's why he got such good press.

Several industries in the past decade found themselves essentially powerless in the face of the internet and the advent of digital technology. But Jobs and Apple invented devices and business models that encouraged people to pay: for music, for television shows and movies, for books, and for applications. By continuing to roll out new products, Apple has really expanded the playing field for content creators. It's much more compelling to watch a movie on an iPad than it is on an iPod.

The highest form of charity is helping somebody find a job or a means to support themselves. Just so, one might argue that the highest form of business is creating a profitable enterprise that allows and encourages other people to innovate and find means to support themselves. Apple has done that time and again. Yes, the publishing and music industries have griped over payment terms. But Apple is allowing individuals and companies to reach truly massive audiences at a relatively low cost. It has rescued some markets, revived others, and created entirely new ones.

This century is only a decade old. But it's a safe bet that in 2099, when analysts and historians are looking back, Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the giants of 21st century business.

Daniel Gross is economics editor at Yahoo! Finance

Email him at grossdaniel11@yahoo.com; follow him on Twiter @grossdm

Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies

Apple's passionate pitchman
Brandon Griggs, CNN
Wed October 5, 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/us/obit-steve-jobs

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Jobs had battled cancer for years
Jobs founded Apple when he was 21
He developed the concept of the personal computer and mouse
He oversaw the launch of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad

(CNN) -- Steve Jobs, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world's leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56.

The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet -- all of which changed how we consume content in the digital age.

His friends and Apple fans on Wednesday night mourned the passing of a tech titan.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

More than one pundit, praising Jobs' ability to transform entire industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci.

"Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. "His intuition has been phenomenal over the years."

Jobs' death, while dreaded by Apple's legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could "no longer meet (his) duties and expectations."

Born February 24, 1955, and then adopted, Jobs grew up in Cupertino, California -- which would become home to Apple's headquarters -- and showed an early interest in electronics. As a teenager, he phoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard, to request parts for a school project. He got them, along with an offer of a summer job at HP.

Jobs 'set the agenda' for tech industry Jobs dropped out of Oregon's Reed College after one semester, although he returned to audit a class in calligraphy, which he says influenced Apple's graceful, minimalist aesthetic. He quit one of his first jobs, designing video games for Atari, to backpack across India and take psychedelic drugs. Those experiences, Jobs said later, shaped his creative vision.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

While at HP, Jobs befriended Steve Wozniak, who impressed him with his skill at assembling electronic components. The two later joined a Silicon Valley computer hobbyists club, and when he was 21, Jobs teamed with Wozniak and two other men to launch Apple Computer Inc.

It's long been Silicon Valley legend: Jobs and Wozniak built their first commercial product, the Apple 1, in Jobs' parents' garage in 1976. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to help finance the venture. The primitive computer, priced at $666.66, had no keyboard or display, and customers had to assemble it themselves.

The following year, Apple unveiled the Apple II computer at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire. The machine was a hit, and the personal computing revolution was under way.

Jobs was among the first computer engineers to recognize the appeal of the mouse and the graphical interface, which let users operate computers by clicking on images instead of writing text.

Apple's pioneering Macintosh computer launched in early 1984 with a now-iconic, Orwellian-themed Super Bowl ad. The boxy beige Macintosh sold well, but the demanding Jobs clashed frequently with colleagues, and in 1986, he was ousted from Apple after a power struggle.

Then came a 10-year hiatus during which he founded NeXT Computer, whose pricey, cube-shaped computer workstations never caught on with consumers.

Jobs had more success when he bought Pixar Animation Studios from George Lucas before the company made it big with "Toy Story." Jobs brought the same marketing skill to Pixar that he became known for at Apple. His brief but emotional pitch for "Finding Nemo," for example, was a masterful bit of succinct storytelling.

In 1996, Apple bought NeXT, returning Jobs to the then-struggling company he had co-founded. Within a year, he was running Apple again -- older and perhaps wiser but no less of a perfectionist. And in 2001, he took the stage to introduce the original iPod, the little white device that transformed portable music and kick-started Apple's furious comeback.

Thus began one of the most remarkable second acts in the history of business. Over the next decade, Jobs wowed launch-event audiences, and consumers, with one game-changing hit after another: iTunes (2003), the iPhone (2007), the App Store (2008), and the iPad (2010).

Observers marveled at Jobs' skills as a pitchman, his ability to inspire godlike devotion among Apple "fanboys" (and scorn from PC fans) and his "one more thing" surprise announcements. Time after time, he sold people on a product they didn't know they needed until he invented it. And all this on an official annual salary of $1.

He also built a reputation as a hard-driving, mercurial and sometimes difficult boss who oversaw almost every detail of Apple's products and rejected prototypes that didn't meet his exacting standards.

By the late 2000s, his once-renegade tech company, the David to Microsoft's Goliath, was entrenched at the uppermost tier of American business. Apple now operates more than 300 retail stores in 11 countries. The company has sold more than 275 million iPods, 100 million iPhones and 25 million iPads worldwide.

Jobs' climb to the top was complete in summer 2011, when Apple listed more cash reserves than the U.S. Treasury and even briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil as the world's most valuable company.

But Jobs' health problems sometimes cast a shadow over his company's success. In 2004, he announced to his employees that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. He lost weight and appeared unusually gaunt at keynote speeches to Apple developers, spurring concerns about his health and fluctuations in the company's stock price. One wire service accidentally published Jobs' obituary.

Jobs had a secret liver transplant in 2009 in Tennessee during a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple. He took another medical leave in January this year. Perhaps mindful of his legacy, he cooperated on his first authorized biography, scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster in November.

Jobs is survived by his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children, including one from a prior relationship.

He always spoke with immense pride about what he and his engineers accomplished at Apple.

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.

"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."

CNN's Augie Martin contributed to this report.

iPhone Outsells Nokia

It's official.  Apple is now the top-selling smart phone company, with 20.3 million iPhones being sold last quarter vs. 16.7 million phones from Nokia...
Nokia abdicates smartphone crown to iPhone
Tarmo Virki
Thu Jul 21, 2011 11
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-nokia-idUSTRE76K0TE20110721