Steve Jobs

From ArticleWorld

Steve Jobs is CEO of Apple Computer, the company responsible for popularizing the personal computer and the iPod craze, and chairman and CEO of Pixar Animation Studios.

Personal biography

Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. He was adopted by and raised solely Paul and Ciara Jobs. His biological parents, Joanne Carole Schieble and political science professor Abdulfattah John Jandali, later married and had his sister writer Mona Simpson before divorcing.

Jobs attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, California and graduated in 1972. He worked his summers at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California and attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon for one semester. He credits a calligraphy course for the fonts available on the original Macintosh computer.

On March 18, 1991, Jobs married Laurene Powell. They have three children. Jobs also has another child from a previous relationship.

In 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer which only required surgery to cure.

Apple

On April 1, 1976, at the age of 21, Jobs co-founded Apple Computer Co. with Steve Wozniack and quickly produced the Apple I and sold it for $666.66. In 1977, the Apple II was released and gained wide acceptance amongst consumers. In December 1980, Apple Computers became publicly traded and produced the Apple III, which was less successful than the Apple II.

In 1983, Apple hired John Sculley, a Pepsi executive. Also in 1983, Apple released the Lisa, a technical advance but a commercial disaster.

In 1984, Apple released the first Macintosh computer. The Macintosh was the first computer to used a graphical user interface and solidified the personal computer’s place in the home.

In the 2000s, Apple expanded into the music market with iPod and iTunes.

In 2005, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. published an unauthorized biography entitled iCon Steve Jobs by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon. Apple immediately banned all Wiley books, including the popular For Dummies series, from their stores.

For many years, Jobs has worked at Apple for a $1 a year salary. Gifts (such as a $90-million jet) and stock, however, balance his work with Apple very well.

Pixar

Pixar Animation Films produces both short cartoons and feature-length films including The Incredibles and Toy Story.

In the summer of 2006, Disney will take ownership of Pixar for $7.4 billion. In turn, Jobs will be Disney’s largest individual shareholder and sit on the entertainment giant’s board of directors.