Those who don’t know the man behind the Apple machine recognize its immensely popular products: the iPod, iPhone, iPad tablet, and iMac computers. On Wednesday, Steve Jobs passed away, after his longtime battle with pancreatic cancer.
At only 56 years old, Mr. Jobs already had some fantastic accomplishments and was hailed as one of America’s greatest visionaries by fans and competitors alike. Though he is most famous for co-founding Apple Computer Inc. and its 21st century technological achievements, Mr. Jobs has been changing the way we use electronic devices singe he first began in 1976, after dropping out of college.
In the early 1980s, he created the first prototypes for font variations. Mirroring the calligraphy he saw in the real world, Mr. Jobs manipulated serif and sans serif typefaces into bold and italicized styles and innovative fonts like Times New Roman and Helvetica – and allowed us access to them. After his multimillion-dollar success with the Apple II computer, designed for mass market affordability, the Macintosh of 1984 premiered with a choice of alphabets. The functionality of his PCs soon forced other companies, like IBM and Microsoft, to follow suit.
In 1998, he introduced the iMac – a one-piece computer that revolutionized modern operating systems – accompanied by a “Think Differently” ad campaign. The years that followed proved the he was indeed thinking differently. In 2001 he unveiled the iPod, followed a few years later by the iTunes Music Store. For the first time in history, even those not so well to do could afford to carry 1,000 songs – more than 80 CDs could hold – on a device small enough to fit in their pockets.
Today, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing the company’s latest inventions, namely the various iPhone and iPad generations, which are in high demand worldwide.
“I was the guy always against the iPhone trend, and now that I have one, I don’t remember what I did before,” senior Reis Ladd said.
Though Mr. Jobs stepped down as CEO in August to go on medical leave, he personally selected many of the engineers and innovators that would continue on his legacy and further these advancements
As the adopted son of a family in California, Mr. Jobs knew the value of spreading good fortune. Throughout his career, he gave speeches and lectures to young tech trendsetters, in order to share his wealth of knowledge with the coming generations. Even after his cancer diagnosis in 2003, he wanted to be the one who introduced the products he loved and worked so hard on to the world. Though he was absent from the unveiling of the company’s newest device, the iPhone 4S, his presence was felt in the hearts and minds of all those he influenced.
“There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing through a device he invented,” President Obama said.
