23 January 2009

We'll all miss you, Steve

The New York Times has an article by John Markoff about the Jobs situation:
Returning to Apple Computer in 1997 after a decade in exile, Mr. Jobs set out to modernize the company's computers. Then, beginning in 2001, Apple began rolling out an expanding family of entertainment and communications products, most notably the iPod, that have taken the quirky computer maker (now Apple Inc.) far beyond the personal computer.
His decision not to give his annual Macworld keynote in January of 2009 lead to rumors about his health. Forced to respond, Mr. Jobs said that his doctors had recently diagnosed his visible weight loss as the result of a hormone imbalance that was depleting proteins in his body. A week later, Mr. Jobs announced he would take a medical leave of absence from Apple until the end of June, saying his health-related issues were “more complex” than he originally thought.
Mr. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, and built an early reputation for the company with the Apple II computer. After the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, the company's business stalled, and Mr. Jobs's relationship with John Sculley, then Apple's chief executive, soured. Their conflict ended with Mr. Jobs's departure from Apple in 1985. The following year, with a small group of Apple employees, he founded NeXt Computer, which ultimately focused on the corporate computing market, without notable success. In 1986, he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Inc. and re-established it as the independent animation studio Pixar. A decade later he sold the NeXt operating system to Apple and returned to the company. In short order he was again at the helm.
Mr. Jobs has long been known for his intense focus on product design and marketing, but since Apple introduced the iPod digital music player in October 2001, he has also come to exemplify what is hip across many American and international cultures, in areas from business to music. The iPod has successfully withstood competitors— from Asian consumer electronics giants to his longtime nemesis Microsoft— for almost six years, a rare achievement in a world of fancy and fad.
Beginning in September of 2006, Apple broadened its aim with the announcement of Apple TV, a device to relay video from a computer to a TV, followed in January of 2007 with the long-rumored addition of an Apple cellphone and music player, the iPhone. In each case, Mr. Jobs has tried to use Apple's design ideas to differentiate the company in highly competitive consumer markets.
Mr. Jobs's re-ascent has not been without controversy. In 2006 Apple began an internal investigation into irregularities in its granting of stock options as a wave of options scandals swept Silicon Valley. Although Mr. Jobs appeared to have escaped unscathed, two former lieutenants were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the backdating of options granted to Mr. Jobs and others in 2001. Mr. Jobs, who survived a bout with pancreatic cancer in 2004, sold the Pixar studio to Walt Disney Studios in 2006. He joined the Disney board, but focuses his efforts on Apple.
Rico says his career (such as it was) at Apple and Claris (1985 through 1995) was overlaid on Jobs' tenure as head of Apple. What a long, strange trip it's been...

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