The surprising–but yet not entirely unexpected, considering the health issues he’s been facing–retirement of Steve Jobs has rocked the tech industry. To say he’s the topic of conversation since the announcement would be like saying water is wet. Clearly, both are obvious points.
While Apple has long since been a niche company that offered an alternative to the world of Bill Gates and the ubiquitous Windows operating system, the company didn’t reach dominant levels in the tech industry until it launched the iPhone. Granted, Apple was always considered a “cool” company to buy products from, but it wasn’t until their handheld devices–let’s not forget the iPod’s role in Apple’s modern popularity–hit that allowed the company to become one of the most powerful brands in the world.
And Apple owes a lot of its success directly to Jobs guidance as Apple CEO and his forward thinking in terms of handheld devices.
With that in mind, we’ve thrown together a modest video retrospective of Jobs, that charts his career from a 1980s nerd who was passionate about computers to the modern-day mobile device evangelist that spurred Apple’s push to the top of charts, at least in relation to brand name power.
The videos will be presented in something of a chronological order, detailing the rise of the man who became so popular, he was famously featured in an episode of South Park as well as having his likeness encased in Carbonite.
As indicated, we’ll start in the past and work our way towards the future. The first video is Jobs’ first appearance on television in 1978, at least according to the YouTube description. Just think, most members of the iPhone fan club weren’t even alive when the video was made:
This next video is from 1983, and it’s a take on The Dating Game and it famously features a plucky young software developer/company chairman who goes by the name of Bill Gates. You may have heard of him. Awesomely enough, during the introduction phase, Gates offers a quote that should never, ever be forgotten:
“During 1984, Microsoft expects to get half of its revenues from Macintosh software.“
See for yourself:
The next video is from 1984, and it features Jobs demonstrating the first Macintosh desktop computer. Oh, how times have changed:
Here’s how Jobs views the concept of computers, which, to him, are “the most remarkable tool we’ve ever come up with.”
Considering the quote from Bill Gates in the second video, this next clip demonstrates the love and happiness being shared on that stage in 1983 didn’t last forever. The next video, from 1996, details some of Jobs’ issues with his now-competitors over at Microsoft:
“They, they don’t think of original ideas…” Apparently, Jobs wasn’t a fan of Windows 95.
Fast forwarding to the modern era–the 2000s–and thanks in large part to the iPod and the subsequent release of the iPhone, when Apple’s role in the tech industry shifted dramatically. No longer were they the plucky company who made alternatives to “PC compatible” computers, in other words, computers that ran the Windows OS. Instead, Apple was redefined into the company that made cool-looking phones and hand-held portable music devices that everybody had to have.
The next video is the first debut of the iPod:
And with that release, Jobs and Apple became permanent fixtures in regards to popularity and as an incredibly powerful brand; so much so, in fact, videos of Apple product reveals, complete with Steve Jobs debuting the product, became events. To further this point, the hour-plus iPhone 4 announcement video that has a running time of almost two hours, has over 500,000 views:
Before that, however, Jobs had already entered full circle in relation to Microsoft when he appeared on stage with Gates, discussing the future of technology, as well as the admiration they share for each other:
Jobs also gave a commencement speech to Stanford University’s 2005 graduating class, a further testament to growing popularity of Apple, thanks, in large part, to Jobs’ guidance of the company as CEO:
This final video, and perhaps one of the last major appearances by Jobs, is at a Cupertino City Council meeting, and it discusses the building of Apple’s new campus, one that would, in Jobs’ word, augment the current Apple campus:
From an uncomfortable computer programmer appearing on TV for his first time in 1978, to the Cupertino City Council’s hanging on of Jobs’ every word in 2011–clearly, the city council did not want Apple to move to another county–it’s been an incredible ride for both Apple and Jobs. The company, while still making sought-after home computing products, has essentially transformed itself into what’s largely seen as developers of incredibly popular handheld devices like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
The only thing missing from Jobs’ career is completion of the HumanCentiPad:
Of course, as the new chairman of Apple’s board of directors, Jobs could still see this project through to its completion.
