Steve Jobs Dies At 56: His Lifetime And Impact On The World Of Technology

STEVEN Jobs, the man who single-handedly revolutionised the technology industry died at the age of 56 due to complications from his long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Politicians – including US President Barack Obama – and business leaders around the world mourned his passing in tributes hailing him as one of the greatest creative minds of his generation.

Apple fans, his co-workers and even his tech rivals paid tribute to Jobs, labeling him a "creative genius" and an "inspiring mentor" and saying his impact "will be felt for many generations to come."

Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955 out of wedlock. He was adopted by Californians Paul and Clara Jobs.

He never met his biological parents and reportedly knew nothing about them until he was 27. His father, Syrian immigrant Abdulfattah John Jandali, reportedly sent him birthday cards every year.

Jobs had to be given up for adoption after Mr Jandali's girlfriend at the time – an American graduate student and now speech pathologist – refused to let her marry.

Jobs' biological father recently admitted regretting giving him up for adoption and said he longed to meet his son. "I honestly do not know to this day if Steve is aware of the fact that had it been my choice, I would have loved to have kept him," he told The Sun newspaper.

During his time at Apple, Jobs took three medical leave three times, underwent surgery in 2004 and received liver transplant surgery in 2009.

In August this year Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple handing over the reins to Timothy Cook, who was then Chief Operating Officer.

"I have always said that if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's C.E.O., I would be the first to let you know," Jobs wrote in a letter released by the company.

"Unfortunately, that day has come."

Jobs was a college dropout. He left Reed College in Portland, Oregon, after a single semester, but continued to take classes, including a calligraphy class he cited as the reason Macintosh computers were designed with multiple typefaces.

After returning from a spiritual trek to India in 1974, he worked as a technician for video game pioneer Atari and joined a club of computer hobbyists with Steve Wozniak, a fellow northern California college dropout.

Wozniak's homemade computer drew attention from other enthusiasts, but Jobs saw its potential far beyond the geeky hobbyists of the time. The pair started Apple Computer Inc in Jobs' parents' garage in 1976.

According to Wozniak, Jobs suggested the name after visiting an "apple orchard" that Wozniak said was actually a commune.

Though he did not invent the first personal computer, Jobs certainly made them easier to use. His vision of simple, effective technology came to define the computer industry.

Before the Apple II, one of the first successful mass-produced home computers, machines were typically clunky wooden boxes encased in metal.

With its sleek design the Apple II – encased in plastic – went on sale in April 1977, and earned the company $600 million in 1981, a $598 million increase on the previous year's sales.



By the end of 1983 Apple had earned a spot in the Fortune 500 list.

Unfortunately the hit product's successor, Apple III, did not earn the company the same success, after a host of technical problems and poor sales Jobs refocused on the "Lisa" – named after his daughter whose design was aimed at the corporate world.

But the Lisa project was short-lived.

In 1985 Jobs was fired as the head of Apple's Macintosh division following internal power struggles and a hostile working relationship with Apple's then CEO John Sculley.

Jobs later claimed that getting fired freed him "to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

During his time away Jobs bought the graphics division of Lucas Film – Graphics Group - which would later be renamed Pixar.

Toy Story was produced under his supervision and earned the company more than US$362 million worldwide.

Ten years later Jobs was invited to rejoin the company which bought the NeXT computer he had been working on during his time away. It would come to be the framework for all Apple Mac computers. 

In 2001 Jobs would once again revolutionise the technology industry with the introduction of the first Apple iPod portable music player and the first iTunes store.

More than 20 updated models would follow.

In 2007 Apple launched the iPhone with the goal of selling 10 million handsets in 2008 - or 1 per cent of the global mobile phone market. The company sold 11.6 million.

In June 2010 Apple overtook Microsoft as the world's largest IT company, valued at US$222 billion.

Microsoft was then worth US$219 billion.

So much of what we know about computers is due to Jobs' vision.

Even the common computer mouse and the idea that users should be able to "click" on a computer icon to access the software came from him. 

The now commonplace structure of a laptop was Jobs' vision – with a scrolling pad located below the keyboard with space either side to rest your wrists. Before Jobs got his hands on laptop technology, computers looked completely different. The keyboard was lower down, with little or no space to rest your wrists.

What a genius! May his soul RIP, Amen.