The Genius of Steve Jobs Behind Apple’s Success - I
Honoring the Visionary Who Changed the World 🫡
The world in which we live is dominated by technology. What if, however, I told you that you would continue to own a BlackBerry with a Querty keyboard? Just imagining it makes it seem terrible, right?😨 However, I’ll let you in on a little secret: it would still be a fascinating environment with lots of improvements taking place all around us.
The fundamental cause of this is that most people strive to make the most of the lives that are provided to them. They would be pleased if they had access to the majority of high-end resources and believed they had already tasted the best of the world. But, they did not receive the Chef’s special! because, after all, there was no Chef!
Steve Jobs was the MasterChef of technology who altered the world for the better. Please keep in mind that this has nothing to do with cooking abilities😛, but rather the vision of innovation that helped shape the tech with new products and excellent marketing techniques.
It’s fascinating to believe that he lived an ordinary life to do something extraordinary.
Early Life and Career 👦🏻
Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, his unmarried biological parents, gave him up for adoption. Two years later, Paul and Clara Jobs, a lower-middle-class couple, adopted Steve and relocated to Mountain View.
Many semiconductor businesses established Silicon Valley in Santa Clara County, south of the Bay Area, in the early 1950s. Therefore, young Steve Jobs lived in an area where many engineers spent their weekends working on electronics and other devices in their garages. From this, his interest in the subject grew. He first met Steve Wozniak, a prankster who was an electrical prodigy, when he was just 13 years old! Their shared passion for electronics and technology sparked an immediate connection and they soon became friends.
Steve Jobs told his parents he planned to attend Reed College, an expensive liberal arts college in Oregon when he turned 18. However, Steve left Reed after one semester because his classes weren’t interesting to him. He raised apples and resided in a hippy commune in Oregon.
A few months later, Steve moved to California to look for work. With the money he received from Atari, he and his college friend Dan Kottke traveled to India to seek enlightenment💡. He returned disappointed and grew more curious about his pal Wozniak’s new interests.
The Founding of Apple 💻
Together, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. Who’d have imagined that this would lead to a chain of events that would ultimately determine the future of personal computing?
Jobs’s entrepreneurial spirit and marketing skills went well with Wozniak’s technical talent as an engineer and designer. The two set out on a mission to make computers that regular people could use. This was a revolutionary idea at that time when computers were mostly used by big businesses and institutions. They started to build their first computer prototype under the shed of Jobs’ parents.
They entered the market with the release of the Apple I computer as their initial product. While primitive by today’s standards, the Apple I was a notable breakthrough in personal computing. It featured a microprocessor and a built-in circuit board that distinguished it from other computers. Yup, it’s still called a computer without the video screen component support!
Apple I specs for the nerds 🤓:
Microprocessor: Utilized a 1 MHz MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.
Circuit Board: Fully assembled motherboard provided for easy setup.
Memory: Equipped with 4 KB of memory for program storage and processing.
Video Output: Supported a 40x24 monochrome display for viewing output.
Keyboard Interface: Required a separate keyboard connection.
Cassette Interface: Enabled program loading and saving via cassette tapes.
Expansion Capability: Featured an expansion slot for adding peripherals.
BASIC Programming Language: Bundled with BASIC for programming capabilities.
Limited Availability: Only approximately 200 units were sold initially.Although the Apple I drew attention from the computer enthusiast community, it was the arrival of the Apple II in 1977 that catapulted the firm to new heights. The Apple II was a fully assembled, ready-to-use personal computer that included a keyboard, a color display, and a floppy disc drive. It was an instant success and became the foundation of Apple’s early success.
One of the main reasons for the Apple II’s appeal was its simple user interface, which was made possible by the development of the graphical user interface (GUI) and the mouse. These improvements, combined with the computer’s expandability and ability to show color graphics, distinguish the Apple II from its competitors. Now this shows some resemblance with the current generation computers right?
Apple II specs for the nerds 🤓:
Microprocessor: Powered by a 1 MHz MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.
Memory: Expandable RAM and ROM for program and data storage.
Color Graphics: Supported color graphics with a resolution of 280x192 pixels and 16-color palette.
Sound: Built-in sound generation for basic audio output.
Storage: Cassette interface and support for external floppy disk drives.
Expansion Slots: Seven slots for adding hardware expansions.
Keyboard and Input: Built-in full-size keyboard for direct input.
Software Compatibility: Compatible with a wide range of software, including BASIC and various applications.
Expandability and Upgradability: Allows for system expansion and upgrades.
Apple II Plus: Enhanced version with more memory, improved graphics, and lowercase support.Furthermore, Apple’s marketing campaigns, led by Jobs, were critical to the company’s expansion. The legendary “1984” Super Bowl commercial which debuted the Macintosh was a big hit 🔥
The establishment of Apple signaled not simply the beginning of a firm, but also a fundamental revolution in how people engaged with technology. Jobs and Wozniak’s idea of making computers more accessible and user-friendly established the groundwork for personal computing’s future. Their relentless pursuit of innovation, along with an emphasis on design and user experience, sent Apple on a path that would reshape the technology sector.
Thank you for accompanying me on this exploration of Steve Jobs’ enduring legacy 🙏🏻 You can find the part-2 here.
