by Alec Bandler, staff writer
Imagine a world with no iPhones, iPods, iPads, iMacs, or Pixar.
This would have been the world without the presence of entrepreneur Steve Jobs, who died on Oct. 5. The world has mourned his death since.
Jobs changed the way we use and appreciate technology, as almost every American was affected by at least one thing he created.
A native of the Bay Area, Jobs began his impact of the world in 1976 by creating the
Apple I with Steve Wozniak.
In 1977, Jobs and a group of venture capitalists incorporated Apple, which unveiled Apple II. It instantly became a hit, making more than a million dollars in its first year. In 1980, Apple went public and within two years, accrued a billion dollar profit.
In 1985, he was blamed for Apple’s sales slump, and was ousted from the very company he created. Even during his break from Apple, he continued to change the world.
In 1986, Jobs purchased Graphics Group from George Lucas for $5 million, rechristening it Pixar Animation Studios. The very first Pixar movie, “Toy Story,” of which Jobs was the executive producer, became ingrained in the minds and hearts of everyone who was young and young at heart. It made Pixar a household name, bringing us into a new era of digital animation.
In 2006, when Disney purchased Pixar, Jobs inherited seven percent of the world’s largest entertainment corporation. He also earned a spot on Disney’s board of directors, making him an influence on the world’s entertainment and theme park industry.
In 1995, Apple brought back Jobs into his ranks. He quickly became the interim CEO, or as he called it, iCEO. Jobs once again earned a rank in Apple. When he became CEO in 1997, Jobs changed the world with the introduction of Apple’s greatest line of products.
The most revolutionary of these was the iPod, which revolutionized the music industry because people could purchase music from iTunes and upload it to their iPods. The sales for the iPod was so successful that on Sept.1, 2010, Apple announced that total number of iPods sold worldwide was 275 million.
When the interactive touch screen was introduced to the iPod and its companion product, the iPhone, who among us was not captivated.
The iPhone changed the way we interfaced because of its mobile browsing ability along with all the other function of a cell phone. By a touch of a button, people could now check baseball scores, Facebook, and important news worlwide.
The new iPhone 4S has qualities that only a genius like Jobs could create. Recently, my friend told his iPhone that he was hungry. It audibly directed him to the nearest food joints. It was funny how seriously the phone took him, yet it’s so useful.
The iPad was a new simpler technology that could be used by anybody ranging from a five year old to a senior citizen. By touching simple buttons, people could browse the Internet and use all the functions of a normal computer. Even my technologically challenged aunt has had an easy time using the iPad.
Everything Jobs achieved in his life affect hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people worldwide. Even if you used PCs over the last 30 years, you probably were bought over by awe-inspiring iPods and iPhones.
Even if you’re Bill Gates’s stooge and still hate Apple and Steve Jobs with passion to this day, don’t forget you’ve enjoyed Pixar movies and other things Disney-related.
Although Jobs has passed on, we all hope that Apple will continue to thrive and use his intelligence to create more products that we don’t even know yet that we need.
