Hate him or love him, but this man led some of the most talented bands of engineers in the history of the planet to create gadgets that have changed the way we understand technoloy. Here’s his greatest works.
For the fandroids, trollboys, and other computing history ignorants of this world, it is easy to dismiss the influence of Steve Jobs in today’s world. But the fact is that, from the Apple II to the Mac to the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, the Steverino has redefined the stuff you use again and again. The computer you are using now, the smartphone you are using now, the tablet you are using now, all of them are tied to a person that has been defined as the man with a vision by every other man and woman that matters in Silicon Valley.
The big leaps
The Apple II jumpstarted the entire personal computing era, prompting IBM to create the first Intel-based PC. If you are using a computer now, it’s because Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak got the idea to create a simple-to-use, affordable computer that anyone could buy.
The Macintosh made the graphical user interface a viable product for consumers. Jobs took a costly experimental machine out of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center and he commanded a band of pirates within Apple — some of whom came out of Xerox — to turn that into a better machine that made computing easy for the first time. Even if you’re using a Dell PC with Windows 7 now, you should be grateful that he made it happen.
The iPod created an entire industry from scratch. When other cheap manufacturers have failed, the iPod’s user interface — which included its now legendary click-wheel — made music on the go a joy. Consumers bought millions and it defined the way we all see digital music now. No matter what MP3 player or what music store or what music streaming you use now, it’s there because of the iPod.
The iPhone. It changed everything again. It took lame phones and made them dumb. If you are using an Android, Windows Phone 7 or WebOS handset right now, make no mistake about it: It’s because Steve Jobs zeroed on creating the best phone possible. He succeeded, and now many people can’t understand life without their smartphones.
And finally the iPad. Hate it or love it, but when HP — the largest PC manufacturer in the world — CEO implies the death of the PC as we know it saying that “the iPad effect is very real” and when Google and Microsoft are turning their OS strategies to catch up with Apple’s most popular computer, you can be sure that the iPad is the future. Whatever tablet you use, it will be because this man thought that a product like this would be insanely great.
Like all the rest.
So even while he may be a dick at times, even while he’s known from being tyrannical and mercurial, even when we all know he can sell fridges to eskimos, the fact is that this is a man who saw beyond the current state of technology every single time. He understood what was needed to reach humans like you and I, and that’s why you should be thankful. Without his drive and vision, we wouldn’t be here today.
His DNA is in every technology product out there.