Enterprise IT Watch Blog » Steve Jobs

This week in tech history: Steve Jobs passes away

Michael Tidmarsh — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:23:51 +0000

On October 5, 2011, the technology world lost a legend as Apple founder Steve Jobs passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 56.

Known as the ‘Father of the Digital Revolution’, Jobs created Apple in 1976 and turned it into one of the most valuable companies in the world. He developed the future of Apple’s operating systems, Mac OS X and iOS and changed the tech world forever with the creation of the iPhone and iPad. He also founded the computer company NeXT and bought the highly successful animated film studio Pixar.

What do you think was Jobs’s greatest contribution to the IT world? Tell us in the comments below.

Each Tuesday, the ITKE team will take you back in time, as we take a look at the events that have changed technology history. Have a tip for us? Email mtidmarsh@techtarget.com or find us on Twitter (@ITKE).

Disclaimer: All posts presented in the “This week in tech history” series are subjectively selected by ITKnowledgeExchange.com community managers and staff for entertainment purposes only. They are not sponsored or influenced by outside sources.

This week in tech history: Steve Jobs resigns

Michael Tidmarsh — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:09:04 +0000

Steve Jobs image via Shutterstock

On September 16, 1985, Steve Jobs resigned from Apple after losing control of the company five months earlier in a battle with former CEO John Sculley. Jobs went on to found the computer company NeXT and also purchased Pixar before returning to Apple and, well, you know the rest.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Michael Morisy — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:55:16 +0000

Wired.com has put together a particularly moving tribute to Steve Jobs, who died yesterday at the age of 56. In it, the thoughts and admiration of his friends, followers and competitors are collected, memorializing a man who reshaped, and fundamentally rethought, his industry.

Bill Gates:

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

President Barack Obama:

By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

Tim Cook, Jobs’ successor as Apple CEO:

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

For many years, that work was misunderstood as style over substance, a dumbed-down experience that preferred simplicity over power. Today, it’s rare to attend a technology conference attended by people who build things where Macs aren’t the dominant hardware of choice. This change is the result of a tireless, relentless pursuit of excellence on behalf of the user: Apple under Jobs refined and polished and never compromised, except for the good of its users.

That’s the spirit that created the iPhone, a device that, against all odds, upended a complacent mobile industry. Few of its features – 3rd party apps, a touch screen, a music player – were unique, but they were uniquely built not only to a higher level, but also a higher purpose: Serving the user.

In an era of cutbacks, austerity and uncertainty, Apple under Jobs showed how investment of talent, money, passion and focus could win the day, that quality and care still matters. In technology and beyond, his legacy and memory will continue to inspire and shape the things that are insanely great to come.

Image courtesy of Apple. Michael Morisy is the editorial director for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.