Apple Inc., the maker of the famed iPod, iPhone, iPad and of course the Macintosh computers announced today that its long time CEO, the charismatic Steve Jobs has resigned from his post yesterday. Mr. Job’s reason for leaving were not specifically cited but is widely believed to be due to his medical condition. He has nominated Mr. Tim Cook, the Chief Operating Officer to replace him as CEO.
This little piece of news has shaken the tech industry and tech users alike. Steve Jobs cofounded Apple Computers in 1975 along with his friend the lesser known Steve, Steve Wozniak and thus gave birth not only to a company or a technology, but to an industry.
Steve Jobs was responsible for launching the famous Macintosh in the mid 1980s which even then was known for its “different looks” which made it stand apart from the rest of the competition. Mr. Jobs also introduced the concept of the mouse based Graphical User Interface (GUI) which he borrowed from Xerox Corporation at the time and brought it into the public sphere. What happened after that to the personal computer (yes, the Macintosh for all uses and purposes except marketing is a personal computer) industry is history.
After being booted out of the company in 1985, Mr. Jobs founded NeXT, a computer platform aimed at the higher education and business markets. He was also responsible for the incredible rise to fame of Pixar Animation Studios which was subsequently bought by The Walt Disney Company.
But Mr. Jobs’ greatest fame came after his return to Apple in 1997 when he was appointed as the CEO in a then floundering company badly in the need of his iconic vision. He was criticized in the beginning of his second tenure by hardcore pro-Apple anti-Microsoft loyalists when he secured Apple’s financial health by asking Microsoft for a cash infusion of $150 by investing in non-voting stock. Little did everyone know that that was the beginning of Apple’s Golden Decade.
In 1998, Mr. Jobs helped Apple launch an “extraterrestrial” looking desktop – the iMac, which integrated the CPU and monitor into a single box.
In 2001, Mr. Jobs launched Apple’s groundbreaking MP3 player – the iPod which took the then highly fragmented portable digital music player by storm. Mr. Jobs’ iconic vision was in display when he tied the iPod to Apple’s new music management software iTunes, which not only managed one’s music but also incorporated a new music store which enabled users to download individual songs at rock bottom rates ($0.99 a track then). Thus, in a single stroke, Mr. Jobs’ not only launched a legendary product, but also tied it to an innovative service which enabled Apple to have a monopoly on all media added on to the iPod and also played a tremendous role in curbing then rampant online music piracy.
In 2007, Mr. Jobs launched the now legendary iPhone which integrated an iPod, a phone and a breakthrough Internet communications device. Mr. Jobs did an iTunes like move with the iPhone by tying it to the Apple App Store which gave Apple a monopoly on the type and content of applications that can be installed on the iPhone. It is now one of Apple’s juiciest cash cows. The iPhone as of today is in its 5th avatar (I count the iPhone 3G and 3GS as separate avatars) and is awaiting a 6th avatar in form of the 5th generation iPhone.
And in 2010, Mr. Jobs helped redefine computing and computing ergonomics yet again with the launch of the iPad, a tablet computer loaded with a powerful version of the iPhone Operating System or iOS. The iPad was also tied to the Apple App Store which gave it complete control of the entire hardware-software ecosystem for the device, just like the iPhone.
Mr. Jobs tenure from September 1997 to August 2011 saw Apple going from what people called a nearly bankrupt one hit wonder like company to the largest software company (by market valuations) in 14 years. In the process he not only beat giants like Microsoft and Google, but also in the process literally changed the world by changing our perceptions about entertainment, communications and computing. That’s a giant feat by any standards.
Steve Jobs will always be missed.
Thank You Steve.
Mitul Choksi
Ahmedabad, Republic of India
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