Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

258 Jobs, Steven Paulan enthusiastic interest in electronics starting in his highschool years and gained experience through summer workat Hewlett-Packard, one of the dominant companies of theearly Silicon Valley. In 1974, he began to work for pioneervideo game designer Nolan Bushnell at Atari. He alsobecame a key member of the Homebrew Computer Club, agroup of hobbyists who designed their own microcomputersystems using early microprocessors.Meanwhile, Jobs’s friend Steve Wozniak had developedplans for a complete microcomputer system that could bebuilt using a single-board design and relatively simple circuits(see Wozniak, Steven). In it Jobs saw the potentialfor a standardized, commercially viable microcomputersystem. They formed a company called Apple Computer(named apparently for the vanished orchards of Silicon Valley)and built a prototype they called the Apple I. Althoughthey could only afford to build a few dozen of the machines,they made a favorable impression on the computer enthusiastcommunity. By 1977, they were marketing a more completeand refined version, the Apple II.Unlike kits that could be assembled only by experiencedhobbyists, the Apple II was ready to use “out of thebox.” It included a cassette tape recorder for storing programs.When connected to a monitor or an ordinary TV,the machine could create color graphics that were dazzlingcompared to the monochrome text displays of most computers.Users could buy additional memory (the first modelcame with only 4K of RAM) as well as cards that coulddrive devices such as printers or add other capabilities.The ability to run a program called VisiCalc (see spreadsheet)propelled the Apple II into the business world, andabout 2 million of the machines were eventually sold. In1982, when Time magazine featured the personal computeras its “man of the year,” Jobs’s picture appeared on thecover. As he relentlessly pushed Apple forward, supporterspointed to Jobs’s charismatic leadership, while detractorssaid that he could be ruthless when anyone disagreed withhis vision of the company’s future.However, 1982 also brought industry giant IBM into themarket. Its 16-bit computer was more powerful than theApple II, and IBM’s existing access to corporate purchasingdepartments resulted in the IBM PC and its “clones” quicklydominating the business market (see ibm pc).Jobs responded to this competition by designing a PCwith a radically different user interface, based largely onwork during the 1970s and the Xerox PARC laboratory.The first version, called the Lisa, featured a mouse-drivengraphical user interface that was much easier to use thanthe typed-in commands required by the Microsoft/IBMDOS. While the Lisa’s price tag of $10,000 kept it out of themainstream market, its successor, the Macintosh, attractedmillions of users, particularly in schools, although the IBMPC and its progeny continued to dominate the businessmarket (see Macintosh). Meanwhile, Jobs had recruitedJohn Sculley, former CEO of PepsiCo, to serve as Apple’sCEO.After a growing divergence with Sculley over managementstyle and Apple’s future priorities, Jobs left thecompany in 1985. Using the money from selling his Applestock, Jobs bought a controlling interests in Pixar, a graphicsstudio that had been spun off from LucasFilm. He alsofounded a company called NextStep. The company focusedon high-end graphics workstations that used a sophisticatedobject-oriented operating system. However, while itssoftware (particularly its development tools) was innovative,the company was unable to sell enough of its hardwareand closed that part of the business in 1993.In 1997, Jobs returned as CEO of Apple. By then thecompany was struggling to maintain market share for itsMacintosh line in a world that was firmly in the “Wintel”(Windows on Intel-based processors) camp. He had somesuccess in revitalizing Apple’s consumer product line withthe iMac, a colorful, slim version of the Macintosh. He alsofocused on development of the new Mac OS X, a blending ofthe power of UNIX with the ease-of-use of the traditionalMacintosh interface.Beyond the MacAt the beginning of the new century, Jobs and Apple madebold moves beyond the company’s traditional strengths.The Power PC chip in the Mac was phased out in favor ofIntel chips, the same hardware that runs Microsoft Windowsmachines. (Indeed, the Mac was also given a utilitythat allowed it to run Windows.) This potentially openedthe Mac to a much wider range of software.The biggest move, however, was into media, first withpowerful video-authoring software for home users as wellas professionals, then with the tiny iPod that redefined theportable media player (see music and video players, digital).At the same time, Apple entered the digital musicbusiness in a big way with the iTunes store (see music andvideo distribution, online). In 2007 Apple charged intothe mobile communications market (see smartphone) withthe innovative if expensive iPhone. So far the market hasresponded positively to Jobs’s initiatives, with Apple stockincreasing in value more than 10 times between 2003 and2006.While Jobs is brash and unconventional (reflecting hiscountercultural roots), critics have accused him of egotismand of having an overly aggressive (and abrasive) managerialstyle. Jobs has also been the subject of lingeringinvestigations into his receiving discounted Apple stockoptions, failing to report the resulting taxable income, andcorrespondingly overstating Apple’s earnings. In December2006 Apple’s internal investigation cleared Jobs ofresponsibility for these issues, and the options were neverexercised. Whatever the future brings, Steve Jobs has anassured place in the history of entrepreneurship and innovationin computing.Further Reading“Bill Gates and Steve Jobs” [on-stage interview]. All Things Digital,May 30, 2007. Available online. URL: http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/d5-gates-jobs-interview/. Accessed August 11,2007.Jobs, Steve. “Steve Jobs: Oral History” [interview]. April 20, 1995.Available online. URL: http://www.cwheroes.org/archives/histories/jobs.pdf. Accessed August 11, 2007.