Jobs developed his first computer, the Apple I, in his parents’ garage in 1976, which was so primitive that it lacked a keyboard and display, and customers had to assemble it themselves, despite the over $600 price tag. Next year’s Apple ][ was produced and it was a huge success, launching Jobs’ career.
The Macintosh, released in the mid-80’s, introduced the concept of a Graphic User Interface (GUI) and the mouse/keyboard combination. Despite Apple being a distant second to the Windows PC, it remained a boutique item and the computer of choice for visual and music artists.
Apple finally dominated a market when it began its line of MP3 players, the iPod, which evolved into the iPod touch, the iPhone and most recently, the iPad. Apple now operates more than 300 retail stores in 11 countries. The company has sold more than 275 million iPods, 100 million iPhones and 25 million iPads worldwide.
However, Jobs battled serious health issues, first when he announced to his employees in 2004 that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer, which became so severe a wire service reported his death and published his obituary. In 2009, he had a secret liver transplant in Tennessee during a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple. He took another medical leave in January this year.
With eerie timing, an autobiography penned by Jobs will be released by Simon & Schuster in November, which is sure to be a best-seller, as it will be a postmortem document for Jobs’ legion of fans.
Jobs is survived by his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children, including one from a prior relationship.
