Steve Jobs

The foundation of Apple

658 'Steve Jobs' stories February 2010 - January 2016

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.”

Aaron Sorkin and Kate Winslet pick up Golden Globes for Steve Jobs; Michael Fassbender misses out

Ben Lovejoy Jan 11 2016 - 4:11 am PT

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The movie Steve Jobs last night won two of the four Golden Globes awards for which it was nominated. Aaron Sorkin picked up the award for Best Screenplay, and Kate Winslet won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. However, Michael Fassbender lost out to Leonardo DiCaprio in Best Performance by an Actor. Daniel Pemberton, who wrote the score for the movie, was also beaten by Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight.

Fassbender being beaten to the best actor award by DiCaprio had a certain degree of irony: DiCaprio had previously been offered and turned down the title role in Steve Jobs.

Despite claiming to be lost for words, Sorkin managed a wry acknowledgement of the fact that the movie bombed at the box office …

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Steve Jobs movie may pick up more consolation prizes after bombing at the box office

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2016 - 4:45 am PT

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The Sorkin/Boyle movie Steve Jobs may have bombed at the box office once the opening weekend was over, but it at least looks like it may pick up the consolation prize of some awards.

The Daily Mail notes that the movie has been nominated for three BAFTA awards following four Golden Globe nominations last month. Michael Fassbender, who plays the title role, has already won the International Star prize at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The BAFTA nominations are for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Michael Fassbender) and Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet). The earlier Golden Globe nominations were for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Michael Fassbender), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting role (Kate Winslet) and Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin).

Less enthusiastic were Apple execs like Tim Cook and Jony Ive, and Silicon Valley insiders like Walt Mossberg. Many of those close to Steve said that the movie bore little relation to real events, among them Steve Wozniak and John Sculley,

Opinion: Apple had a good year for product launches in 2015, despite unrealistic expectations from some

Ben Lovejoy Dec 31 2015 - 7:30 am PT

21 Comments

The view that Apple lost its innovative edge with the sad loss of Steve Jobs has been one of the oft-repeated criticisms of the company in recent years. But this idea is based on an entirely mythological view of Apple as a company that was constantly launching ground-breaking new product categories.

The reality is a little more mundane. The Macintosh, a truly revolutionary computer, was launched in 1984. We had to wait 17 years for the next groundbreaking product: the iPod in 2001. We had to wait six years after that for the next major product category: the iPhone in 2007. And a further three years for the iPad in 2010. (If you wanted to push things a little, you could argue that the MacBook Air was also so revolutionary that it deserves to be included; if so, we’re up to five new product categories in 26 years.)

Note, too, that none of the product categories were invented by Apple. Xerox, of course, invented the graphical user interface for personal computers. There were MP3 players before the iPod; touchscreen smartphones before the iPhone; tablets before the iPad. What Apple did in each case was what the company does best: take something clunky and used only by techies, and turn it into a slick product that will appeal to the masses.

So no, Apple never has churned out revolutionary new products on an annual basis. If we’re going to assess its performance today, it has to be against a realistic background. Zac recently reminded us of Apple’s product timeline for 2015. Looking at this in the context of a company whose true history is occasionally taking a new product category and doing it better than anyone else – and in between times merely refining its existing product ranges – how did Apple do this year … ?

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Apple has agreed to settle $347M Italian tax claim in full after profits were funnelled through Ireland

Ben Lovejoy Dec 30 2015 - 5:07 am PT

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Apple, which was accused by the Italian government of failing to declare more than $1.3B of income when paying corporation tax in the country, has now agreed to pay the full €318M ($347M) claimed by the Italian tax office. The company has 16 Apple Stores in Italy.

Apple was accused of funnelling profits from Italian sales through its Irish subsidiary in order to benefit from the lower tax rate the company had agreed there. (Those tax arrangements are the subject of a separate EU investigation.)

La Repubblica (via The Local) reports Apple Italia was listed as a “consultant” for Apple Ireland, enabling the company to book profits through Ireland, paying just 2.5% tax under the terms of an agreement said to have first been reached with Steve Jobs back in the 1980s …

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Kevin Lynch says Steve Jobs tried recruiting him to Apple after Flash debate

Zac Hall Dec 28 2015 - 10:02 am PT

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This may not be widely known, but it’s an interesting piece of history that’s now confirmed: Steve Jobs personally tried to recruit Kevin Lynch to Apple after the big Flash debate in 2010. Lynch, of course, was Adobe’s chief technology officer at the time and had just went head-to-head with Apple CEO Steve Jobs over Flash and iOS.

Apple later hired Lynch away from Adobe in 2013, giving him the title VP of Technology and a project that would later become the Apple Watch, a hire that was widely seen as a bizarre move. Tim Cook’s Apple hired the guy that Steve Jobs basically destroyed…

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Apple Watch Diary: Looking back at the year, and looking forward to the future

Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2015 - 8:29 am PT

29 Comments

Steve Jobs famously said that people don’t know what they want until they see it. To which I’d add that sometimes we don’t know what we want until we’ve used it for a while.

I’m old enough to have been around when the first Macintosh was launched. In that case, I knew I wanted one the moment I saw it. This was how computers were supposed to work. The total cost of the Macintosh plus second floppy drive plus ImageWriter printer was a frightening amount at the time, but I didn’t care – I had to have one.

The iPad was a different story. I originally bought one intending it to be nothing more than the movie equivalent of the Kindle, yet within a very short time it became my primary mobile computing device.

The Apple Watch was different again. As someone who started out as a total smartwatch skeptic and has now been fully assimilated, I thought it might be interesting to briefly look back on that journey and also think a little about what the future might hold for the device …

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‘Steve Jobs’ film set to get digital, DVD, & Blu-ray release February 2

Jordan Kahn Dec 16 2015 - 10:26 am PT

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Universal Pictures has announced it’s set to give ‘Steve Jobs’, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender, a release on digital services, Blu-ray, and DVD February 2.

Blu-ray and DVD bonuses include “Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs,” a documentary detailing the making of the film, as well as feature commentary by Danny Boyle, Aaron Sorkin, and editor Elliot Graham.

The film originally opened to mixed reviews from critics and was, according to reports, generally disliked by those close to Jobs. It eventually bombed nationwide following what were reportedly highest per-theatre earnings of the year on its limited opening weekend. Still, the film may earn its creators a Golden Globe award or two next month.

We’d expect the digital release to hit iTunes and other online video services, but for now Universal is only confirming there will be a “Digital HD UltraViolet” release alongside the Blu-ray and DVD on February 2.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/KnOEdJR0rdM]

Banksy uses Steve Jobs as an example of Syrian immigration at a refugee camp in France

Ben Lovejoy Dec 11 2015 - 6:57 am PT

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With the Mediterranean refugee crisis as much a hot-button issue in Europe as it is in the U.S., famous graffiti artist Banksy has used Steve Jobs as a subtle reminder of the benefits immigrants can offer to a country. Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant.

The artwork appears at a refugee camp in Calais, where many Syrian refugees are among those hoping to enter Banksy’s home country, the UK. The image depicts him carrying a bag with one hand and a Macintosh (sadly with very inaccurate proportions) in the other.

Earlier in the crisis, more than 15,000 people retweeted a photo posted by tech entrepreneur David Galbraith with the caption ‘A Syrian migrants’ child.’

[tweet https://twitter.com/daveg/status/639167370091720704 align=’center’]

Back in September, Apple supported humanitarian aid efforts by making its own ‘substantial’ donation to relief agencies, inviting iTunes users to donate to the Red Cross, and by offering to match employee donations. Earlier this week, Tim Cook mentioned the refugee crisis in a speech to the RFK Center.

[tweet https://twitter.com/krishgm/status/675318860313178112 align=’center’]

Kate Winslet, Michael Fassbender among Golden Globe nominees for roles in Steve Jobs movie

Zac Hall Dec 10 2015 - 11:09 am PT

11 Comments

Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs biopic ultimately may not have performed so hot in theaters with reports saying the film likely lost money, but Michael Fassbender who portrayed the title character in the movie is being recognized for his performance. Earlier today the Golden Globe Award nominees were announced with Kate Winslet, Michael Fassbender, and Aaron Sorkin among the list of nominees credited for their roles in the Steve Jobs movie.

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Tony Fadell discussed what an Apple car would look like with Steve Jobs back in 2008

Fred Lambert Nov 4 2015 - 7:40 am PT

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Tony Fadell, often called the “father of the iPod” and now CEO of Alphabet’s Nest, is on Bloomberg TV today to discuss his time at Apple, the future of mobility and his current effort in the connected home industry. During the interview, Fadell revealed that back in 2008, he had discussions with then Apple CEO Steve Jobs about what an ‘Apple car’ would look like and how the company could approach such a project…
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This graphic novel may actually motivate you to read the iTunes terms & conditions …

Ben Lovejoy Nov 4 2015 - 5:28 am PT

3 Comments

For all I know, Apple may own my house. Like every other person on the planet, when faced with pages and pages of terms & conditions, I just click Accept and get on with my day.
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Google co-founder Larry Page says both he and Steve Jobs were right, despite disagreeing

Ben Lovejoy Nov 3 2015 - 5:04 am PT

5 Comments

Speaking in his first major interview since the formation of Alphabet, Google co-founder and now Alphabet CEO Larry Page said that both he and Steve Jobs had been right in their different approaches to running their respective companies.

Steve Jobs had argued that Google was doing too many things, and should adopt Apple’s focused approach of doing a few things really well. Page said both approaches worked.

He was right. He did fine as well […] We’re trying to make a company for entrepreneurs [we’re trying to] think creatively.

Page said that part of why the company has its fingers in so many pies is that each time Google hits a problem with an external supplier, they start wondering whether it has to be like that. He gave the example of a transformer that took a year to arrive.

Why does it take a year? Why does it have to be shipped on a train car and then a special truck? Is that really the resolution? It makes you wonder […] so ten years later, that might turn into a business.

More on the interview, and the full video, over at 9to5Google.

Steve Jobs movie bombs nationwide, looks likely to lose money – Variety

Ben Lovejoy Oct 26 2015 - 4:44 am PT

43 Comments

Despite a strong weekend opening, the Sorkin/Boyle movie Steve Jobs appears to have bombed in its nationwide rollout, grossing just $7.3M against earlier estimates of $19M. That gives it a total take so far of around $10M, which Variety says leaves it unlikely to turn a profit.

The picture cost $30 million to make and at least as much to market. That means that “Steve Jobs” needs to do at least $120 million in order to break even. Given that the film is dialogue-driven and lacks a major star, its foreign prospects seem bleak.

The piece notes that the earlier success of Sorkin’s The Social Network may have created false hopes …
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PSA: Steve Jobs movie goes nationwide today, as cast discusses the man’s legacy [Video]

Ben Lovejoy Oct 23 2015 - 6:29 am PT

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If you’ve been waiting impatiently for the Sorkin/Boyle movie Steve Jobs to reach a theater near you, your wait should be at an end as the phased rollout completes today, going nationwide.

Universal Pictures yesterday posted a video of a brief roundtable discussion of the cast and others discussing the legacy of the man. Jeff Daniels, who plays John Sculley, said that Jobs was a creative genius who could be spoken of in the same breath as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.

A creative genius, a pioneer, one of the great figures of certainly American, maybe world, history.

You can watch the five-minute video below.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY1MdYlnnvQ]

Mossberg says movie doesn’t show the Steve Jobs he knew [video], as leaked emails take us behind the scenes

Ben Lovejoy Oct 21 2015 - 7:22 am PT

10 Comments

Writing in his column in The Verge, Walt Mossberg – who says he spent “scores of hours” in conversation with Steve Jobs across 14 years – says that the man depicted in the Sorkin/Boyle movie is not the Steve Jobs he knew.

Steve Jobs wasn’t perfect. He was difficult. He was unnecessarily rude and brusque at times. He lied. But he also mellowed and grew as a person, and that mellowing coincided with the best part of his career. Mr. Sorkin opts to hide all of that from his audience. The best of the real Steve Jobs begins to unfold just as Steve Jobs ends.

A lengthy piece in Hollywood Reporter earlier this month – leaning heavily on emails leaked from the Sony hack – provides a lot of insight into what was going on behind the scenes in the run up to the making of the movie. This included the fact that Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures, knew from the start that the project was going to be challenging …
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Opinion: Is Apple getting too greedy, and could that again backfire on the company?

Ben Lovejoy Oct 19 2015 - 8:25 am PT

241 Comments

In 1995, two years before his return to the company, Steve Jobs gave a characteristically blunt answer when asked why Apple found itself struggling in the early to mid 1990s. The issue, he said, was that Apple had gotten greedy.

What ruined Apple wasn’t growth … They got very greedy. Instead of following the original trajectory of the original vision, which was to make the thing an appliance and get this out there to as many people as possible, they went for profits. They made outlandish profits for about four years… What that cost them was their future. What they should have been doing is making rational profits and going for market share.

Much has changed since then, of course. Apple has a substantial market share in both the personal computer and mobile markets, demonstrating that the two goals – growth and profitability – are not mutually exclusive. This is not an ‘Apple is doomed’ piece, nor anything like it. But I do wonder whether the company is once more putting short-term profits ahead of long-term brand loyalty … ?
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Steve Jobs movie: grosses $2.26M to date, Sorkin says “conscience is clear” over artistic liberties

Ben Lovejoy Oct 19 2015 - 4:13 am PT

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The Sorkin/Boyle Steve Jobs movie has grossed $2.26M to date, reports Deadline, as it rolled out to a further 56 theaters over the weekend. The movie had earlier achieved the highest average earnings per theater of any movie this year on its opening weekend.

The limited rollout to a total of just 60 theaters meant it didn’t earn enough to make the top 10, headed by Goosebumps – which was on show at 3,500 locations.

While the movie has been criticized by some for the artistic liberties taken with the truth, with even Steve Wozniak and key system software designer Andy Hertzfeld saying that almost nothing shown really happened like that, scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin defended the movie at a London press conference …
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Woz talks to Bloomberg about Steve Jobs movie, turning down a return to Apple and electric cars

Ben Lovejoy Oct 13 2015 - 5:22 am PT

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Interviewed by Bloomberg, Steve Wozniak reiterated his comments about the difference between fact and fiction in the Steve Jobs movie, saying that almost nothing shown actually happened, but that it was about personalities, not facts.

It’s a great movie. If Steve Jobs had been making movies, this is the quality it would have had.

Asked about the accusation made by Tim Cook and other Apple execs that movies about Jobs were opportunistic and didn’t accurately portray the man, Woz said that the movie showed Jobs at an earlier time in his life …
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Steve Jobs movie opens with highest per-theater earnings of any movie this year, best ever for Boyle

Ben Lovejoy Oct 12 2015 - 4:02 am PT

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Steve Jobs, the controversial Sorkin/Boyle not-quite biopic, achieved the highest opening weekend Per-Theater Average (PTA) of any movie this year, reports Deadline. The movie also gave director Danny Boyle the best ever weekend average of his career.

The feature grossed sizzling $520,942, averaging $130,236. By comparison, Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008) grossed over $360K in 10 theaters its debut weekend, averaging $36K. The drama about the Apple founder, adapted by Aaron Sorkin, easily outpaced Sicario‘s $67K debut PTA.

It’s not an all-time record, though …
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Op-Ed: I watched the Steve Jobs movie 5 times and here’s why you’ll want to too

Zac Hall Oct 9 2015 - 7:30 am PT

30 Comments

[Ed. Note: This is a guest post by Lontih Khatami who [disclosure] works at the same studio, Universal, that produced the film but did not work on the film. Spoiler: it’s better than iSteve]

Interested in seeing the new Steve Jobs movie that Universal is releasing this weekend in select markets (with wide expansion set for October 23)? Well, me, too. Only I’ve already seen it five times within the past dozen days. And I eagerly await my next few viewings.

You’re probably wondering how I’ve been able to see this inevitable Oscar contender so many times prior to its initial release. The more important thing to ponder, though, is “Why would anybody WANT to see it so many times in such a short timeframe?” The answer to that question, quite simply, is because the movie is masterfully made, and it works on so many different levels. Not unlike so many of the products the title character brought into this world…
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Aaron Sorkin tells Conan O’Brien he understands why Tim Cook called his movie “opportunistic” [Videos]

Ben Lovejoy Oct 9 2015 - 5:30 am PT

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Interviewed on Conan, Steve Jobs screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin said that he understood why Tim Cook had described movies about Jobs as “opportunistic.” Sorkin had previously responded angrily, then later apologized.

Tim Cook and Steve Jobs were very close friends, and I absolutely understand the man protecting the memory and the legacy of his friend.

He did, however, make a slight dig at criticizing movies without seeing them …
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Universal Pictures releases powerful new ‘Steve Jobs’ clip featuring Fassbender and Rogen on eve of movie’s premiere

Mike Beasley Oct 8 2015 - 2:03 pm PT

3 Comments

With Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs biopic set to hit theaters tomorrow, Universal Pictures has released what will likely be the final clip before the movie’s premiere. In the two-minute scene, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (played by Seth Rogen) questions Michael Fassbender’s Steve Jobs about his role in the computer industry.

Woz points out that Jobs has no engineering skill or experience and that most of his greatest accomplishments were built on the work of others, including Woz himself—yet Jobs seems to get most of the credit. Jobs goes on the defensive, positioning himself as the “conductor” of an engineering orchestra.

You can see the full scene below.

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Jimmy Iovine says Apple Music paid signups going well, no free ad-based tier needed

Ben Lovejoy Oct 8 2015 - 5:11 am PT

15 Comments

Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, Jimmy Iovine said that “Apple has taught me not to give out numbers [but] I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t doing well.”

Iovine said that while a free ad-supported tier could allow the company to rapidly acquire subscribers, a tactic popularised by Spotify, that wasn’t a route Apple wanted to take …
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Apple’s Jony Ive talks memories of Steve Jobs at Vanity Fair Summit

Chance Miller Oct 7 2015 - 5:43 pm PT

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As expected, Apple’s Chief Design Officer Jony Ive today took the stage at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Ive shared the stage with famed director, writer, and producer J.J. Abrams. During his time on stage, the Apple executive spent a decent amount of time discussing the life of the late Steve Jobs, who passed away four years ago this week.

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