The Amazing Life of Steve Jobs In 14 Photos

I was shocked to know that the brilliant Steve Jobs has passed away today. As I switched on my laptop and viewed the streams of timeline fo...

I was shocked to know that the brilliant Steve Jobs has passed away today. As I switched on my laptop and viewed the streams of timeline for my tweets...I was taken aback to see people talking about his death. Initially I thought it was a hoax. Did some search and the whole news revolving around Steve Jobs is real. The man who single-handedly resurrected Apple while it was ailing, is no longer around. A hero has fallen. His demise is a huge blow not only to Apple but to the whole technology industry.

A hero has fallen...

Just yesterday, yours truly me biasedly published a blog post comparing about Apple's latest iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy SII...and now the man who brought iPhone to the lives of million people-Steve Jobs, has gone. Honestly I don't like hate Apple at all. The thought of people feeling smug while showing off their iPhone made me wanna kick them in the ass...but Steve Jobs is the only thing (or person) that is able to make my jaw drops and head turns. In fact he is the only reason that I almost ended up buying an iPhone last year. Because of him, I still (ironically) marvel at Apple's products and gimmicks.

Steve Jobs-The icon of Apple.

It is such a shame for this genius to die so young. Perhaps his death is inevitable and somewhat predictable as he stepped down from his mantle some time ago. Still it is a devastating blow to see him being wasted by cancer! Steve Jobs (1955-2011), the genius behind iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes has died at the age of 56 showing us how mortal he is. However all the magic that he has conjured for Apple will be immortalized forever in our lives. Shall we take a look at his amazing life?

Steve Jobs in Photos

 

Computer Genius: Through Apple Inc., the company he co-founded in 1976, Steve Jobs has permanently redefined the method, look and feel of personal computing. He was amongst the first to recognize the vast commerical potential of the graphical user interface, the mouse-drive point and click system that pilots virtually every desktop computer today. During the course of a career spanning almost four decades, he has introduced several paradigm-shifting devices, reshaping entire industries in the process

Early Partners: Jobs met his Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, seated, above, while working as a summer employee (he had yet to graduate high school) at computer giant Hewlett-Packard. He enrolled at Reed College, then dropped out after one semester, returning in 1974 to Silicon Valley, where he and Wozniak began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club
.

Revolution in a Box: Marketed initially through Bay Area computer shops, the Apple 1 computer sold for $666.66. The do-it-yourself kit contained a blank printed circuit board, a collection of parts and 16 pages of insructions. To make a functional machine, the user needed to provide a power supply, keyboard and display.

Portrait of the Entrepreneur as a Young Man: Jobs' technical brilliance was equalled only by his consumate skill as a salesman and pitchman. His unswerving commitment to his ideas and product led him to clash frequently with his colleagues and critics, giving him a reputation as a brash and tempestuous manager.

Power Struggle: In 1983, Jobs invited PepsiCo President John Sculley, center above, to join him and Wozniak at the helm of Apple, Inc. The partnership soon soured, though, as an industry-wide sales slump forced lay-offs and a re-examination of marketing and technical strategies. By 1985, Jobs was removed from the company he helped found.

What's NeXT: Jobs' departure from Apple only seemed to inflame his desire to remold the world of personal computing. His next venture, NeXT Computer, took the Apple ideal one step further, and featured a sleek magnesium cube with a greatly enhanced graphical interface, built-in Ethernet port and many other technical advancements. Though the machine was priced too high to break into the mainstream market, it had a tremendous influence over the next generation of computing.

Return to Apple: In Jobs' absence, Apple drifted, and, at one point in the mid-1990s, flirted with bankruptcy. In 1996, the company announced that it would buy NeXT Computer for $429 million, thereby bringing Jobs back to the company he founded. By 1998, a restless board gave him the title of interim CEO.

Jobs on the Job: Much of the technology behind the NeXT machine found its way into the subsequent generation of Apple products. At the same time, Jobs restored the company's reputation for excellence in design with products like the iMac, and reinvigorated the Apple brand by opening a series of slick, retail outlets devoted exclusively to the sale and nurturing of Apple devices.

Animated: During the years he was away from Apple, Jobs also bought and developed a computer animation lab called Pixar. The unit's first feature film, Toy Story, released in 1995, grossed $360 million and instantly established the studio as a major Hollywood player. Pixar has enjoyed a virtually unbroken string of successes since then, with films such as Finding Nemo, Cars, Wall-E and Up. In 2006, Disney negotiated a $7.4 billion all-stock deal to acquire the unit, a deal that made jobs the legendary studio's largest stockholder.

Rock and Roll: In 2001, Jobs initiated another paradigm shift with the introduction of the iPod. Though it did little to advance the functionality of earlier portable music players, it featured superior usability and a sleek design. What's more, its roll-out was accompanied by the debut of iTunes, a web-based music store that permanently reshaped the parameters of the music industry. U2 band members Bono and The Edge, above, joined Jobs at an iPod promo event in 2004.

The iPhone: By 2007, having already transformed the personal computing and music industries, Jobs set his sights on cellular telecommunications. At that year's Macworld convention, he unveiled the iPhone, which, after it went on sale in June, quickly sold over 6 million units, putting on the same footing with products, like the Blackberry, that had been on the market for years. In addition to the phone, the device features internet connectivity, a user interface built around multi-touch technology and a vast library of apps, created by a virtual army of Apple devotees and developers.

The Success of the iPad: In January 2010, Jobs announced that Apple would introduce a new tablet computer, the iPad. Though similar in functionality to the iPhone, the iPad features a much larger screen, increasing the visibility for reading, gaming and watching video. The first iPad was an overwhelming success, with more than 1 million sold in less than a month — about half of the time it took for the iPhone to achieve the same milestone. In March 2011, the second generation iPad was released, and it quickly became Apple's biggest success to date. Close to 1 million units of the tablet were sold just during its debut weekend. As of August 2011, more than 25 million iPads have been sold around the world.

End of an Era: On August 24, Apple's maestro told the company's board and the world that he was unable to continue as chief executive. Jobs, seen above on June 6, 2011, asked to serve as chairman, and recommended that Apple COO Tim Cook succeed him as CEO. And he said that Apple's best days were ahead of it and expressed gratitude to his coworkers.

Tribute: On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that its visionary founder had died. "We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," the company said. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

I salute Steve Jobs not only for his brilliance in bringing us iPhone, iPad etc. but also how he showed us that he has never given up on his dreams while being booted by the company that he, himself founded. In my eyes, Steve Jobs is the epitome of a true fighter who never quit even in the face of insurmountable obstacles! He reminded us that live is all about rise and fall. More importantly he has taught us how to stand up again on our own two feet when you have fallen down. Rest in peace Steve Jobs...

Steve Jobs-An Immortal.