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Steve Jobs

The foundation of Apple

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Steve Jobs was the co-founder and CEO of Apple. He also founded NeXT and was the majority shareholder of Pixar, both of which he was also CEO. Jobs is known as an icon of creativity and entrepreneurship. The prolific author Walter Isaacson released Jobs’ biography in October of 2011. Isaacson describes his major accomplishment as being a “creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.”

Jobs attended Reed College for a short period of time before dropping out in 1972. However, he continued to dabble with classes unofficially and came across a calligraphy course instructed by Robert Palladino. This course ended up being highly influential for Jobs as he attributed it to bringing multiple typefaces to the Mac.

Steve Jobs founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. After a drawn out power struggle Jobs was pushed out of Apple in 1985. He then founded NeXT in 1985 and also funded the move of Lucasfilm’s Graphics Group to become its own corporation, which became Pixar in 1986. Just over a decade later in 1997, Jobs returned to Apple as they acquired NeXT. His return marked the beginning of a new era of success. He took over as CEO in July of 1997 and continued on until handing the position to Tim Cook on August 24, 2011 after increasing health problems. Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011.

Isaacson describes his major accomplishment as being a “creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.”

Apple’s iconic ‘1984’ Super Bowl ad aired 40 years ago this week; how it almost didn’t happen

On this day 40 years ago, Apple’s first Macintosh went on sale, just two days after being introduced to the world during a commercial break in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. Although “1984” became a cultural phenomenon and a watershed moment for product launches, Apple’s Board of Directors was against it from the start. Here’s how the legendary ad almost didn’t air…

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Jobs signed Apple check to RadioShack up for auction with this fascinating connection [U: $46K final price]

We’ve seen a couple of rare Apple Computer Company checks from the 70s go up for sale this year. Now an interesting one is up for grabs – a Steve Jobs-signed check to then electronics leader RadioShack. Fascinatingly, this check has a connection to the origin story of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s first partnership before Apple.

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Apple’s second check signed by Jobs and Woz up for auction [U: $135k sale price]

Apple Jobs Woz signed check auction

Following the record-breaking auction of a sealed 4GB original iPhone for almost $200,000, a new lot of rare Apple items is up for grabs. The latest auction includes Apple’s second check ever written which is signed by both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, a working Apple-1, another sealed original iPhone, and more.

Update 8/25/23: The rare check quickly surpassed the $50,000 estimate and ended up going for a bid of $135,261. However, another document signed by Steve Jobs actually sold for more.

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Airbnb Rooms | Stylish bedroom

Airbnb Rooms feature; Apple inspiration; Jony Ive redefining the mission

CEO Brian Chesky has said in a new interview that a number of the changes Airbnb has made – including Airbnb Rooms and a complete reorganization of the company’s structure – were inspired by Apple.

He added that the launch of Airbnb Rooms represents the company returning to its roots: letting people rent out a room in their home, rather than an entire apartment …

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PARC and SRI: Two keys to Apple’s history join forces

PARC and SRI | Apple LISA ad

Two organizations key to Apple’s history are to be merged into one, as Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has been donated to SRI International. This will see PARC and SRI research teams working together on future projects.

PARC was where Steve Jobs famously saw the graphical user interface and mouse that were used in the LISA and then Macintosh, while SRI was where Siri was developed …

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Make Something Wonderful printed books on eBay – and rapidly being removed

Make Something Wonderful printed books | eBay listings

When we learned that a limited run of Make Something Wonderful printed books had been produced by the Steve Jobs Archive to gift to a number of Apple and Disney employees, it was only a matter of time before some of them ended up on eBay.

We weren’t expecting it to happen quite this soon, however, nor in such numbers. However, it appears that the auction site may now be removing these listings …

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Steve Jobs Archive shares a special photo memory of the late Apple co-founder with the Mac in 1984

Steve Jobs would have turned 68 years old today. The recently announced Steve Jobs Archive has shared a special snapshot in time of the late Apple co-founder and the Macintosh to mark the date. In the photo, Steve Jobs is seen closely examining a person using the newly introduced Macintosh in a store window in New Orleans in 1984.

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Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and Laurene Powell Jobs talk Steve Jobs’s legacy, Tesla design, and much more

For her last-ever Code Conference, Kara Swisher gathered Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and Laurene Powell Jobs on the same stage to reminisce on the life and legacy of Steve Jobs. Jobs was Swisher’s first interview at Code Conference 20 years ago, when it was called D: All Things Digital.

Head below for a roundup of some quotes from the wide-ranging interview between Swisher, Jobs, Cook, and Ive. Topics included stories on debates between Tim and Steve, designing with Jony, what Steve might be doing today, and much more.

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Laurene Powell Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook, and others team up to launch the ‘Steve Jobs Archive’

Steve Jobs Archive

CodeCon 2022 held an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, former design chief Jony Ive, and Laurene Powell Jobs on Wednesday. Together they talked about the legacy of Steve Jobs and the impact he had on many people’s lives. Now they’ve all teamed up to launch the “Steve Jobs Archive” with important memories of Jobs.

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‘After Steve’ book review and tidbits: Forstall friction, Apple Car origin, Jony’s exit

After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul, the new book by WSJ turned NYT technology reporter Tripp Mickle, and is out today. 9to5Mac received an advanced copy for review. Its pages split the reader’s time between tracking the origin and careers of Apple’s top two decision makers of the last several years, Tim Cook and Jony Ive, including much of what has already been documented publicly. New details around Scott Forstall’s last year at Apple, the origin of the Apple Watch, and telling moments during the early development of the fabled Apple Car project complement the narrative enough to keep the attention of the most tuned-in Apple observers.

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