The incredible legacy of Steve Jobs: From the mouse to the iPad

Apple's former CEO made furthering technology his passion

Steve Jobs died Wednesday at the age of 56. The former Apple CEO was a visionary in the world of computing and is largely responsible for the level at which computers are integrated with our everyday lives. There's a very good chance that you're reading this story on a computer, tablet, or smartphone that Jobs either invented or inspired, and that's something that is unique to his legacy.


How it all started

Jobs — along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne — founded Apple in 1976. The first computers were simplistic but revolutionary for their time. Then in 1984, the company introduced the Macintosh 128K, the first mainstream computer that abandoned text-only commands in favor of a graphical user interface. Along with it came the mouse, a device which is so crucial to modern computing that it hasn't changed in nearly three decades.

In 1986, during a brief hiatus from the company he helps created, Jobs snatched up a little-known division of film studio Lucasfilm. He renamed this computer animation company Pixar, after the expensive computer imaging technology that his team created. Shortly thereafter, he negotiated a deal with Disney to produce Pixar's first full-length feature, Toy Story. After a string of record-breaking films, he sold the company to Disney for approximately $7.4 billion.


Return to Apple

When Jobs eventually returned to Apple, the company was in shambles. Competing manufacturers held Apple software licenses and were making clones of the company's hardware, undermining the brand. Jobs immediately cancelled the program and brought all Apple development back under one roof.

From there he slowly built up Apple's credibility amongst computer users and eventually oversaw the launch of the iMac and iBook, two of the most iconic Apple products in the company's history. The somewhat unusual look and candy-colored combinations of Apple's hardware began to give the company an edgy appeal, and consumers ate it up. Apple's stock seemed to have no ceiling, as each new product brought new customers into the company's dedicated fan base.


iPod, iPhone, and iPad

Apple launched the iPod in 2001, and along with the iTunes software, Jobs' company revolutionized the way we listen to music. Digital music players can be found in every corner of the globe, and the iPod line is by far the most popular of them all. Apple made purchasing and listening to music so affordable and easy that over 220 million iPod devices have been sold since its introduction.

In 2007 Jobs launched what is undoubtedly the best-selling Apple product to date: the iPhone. His vision of a smartphone was far different than what most wireless consumers were used to, but now it's hard to imagine a world without it. As competitors did their best to catch up, Jobs stayed the course, always standing by his promise to create useful products on Apple's terms, and without influence from the rest of the tech world.

Once the iPhone was firmly a market leader, Jobs took his dream of mobile computing one step further by introducing the iPad — a tablet that didn't try to be a computer. Both the iPhone and iPad product lines have seen massive success and after 4 versions of Apple's smartphone and two iPads, the company is the most valuable brand name in consumer electronics, and has flirted with being the most profitable company on earth.

We'll never forget 

Through it all, Steve Jobs gained millions of fans. His relaxed appearance and style during the frequent Apple keynotes is legendary, and even as new CEO Tim Cook takes over, we can't help but miss the black shirts and blue jeans we were used to seeing for so many years.

Wednesday, pancreatic cancer claimed his life, a disease which he first announced to the public 2004. Through various treatments, Jobs continued to perform his duties at Apple, promising only to step down when he felt the time was right. Just a few short months ago, on August 24, Steve Jobs officially walked away from his post as CEO, and today he is no longer with us.

As the face of Apple for so many years, Jobs became part of the very fabric of the company's products. His legacy will live on with every iPod, iPhone, Mac, and iPad that graces a desk or coffee table around the globe. The next time you power on your smartphone, tablet, or computer, spare a moment for Steve Jobs, one man who made advancing technology his life's work.

News from - http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/incredible-legacy-steve-jobs-mouse-ipad-011010682.html

Steve Jobs Earned His Place in the American Business Pantheon

Steve Jobs, who died on Wednesday, was a singular figure in American business history. He will go in the pantheon of great American entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators, alongside John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton.

Jobs didn't invent computer technology, or the cell phone, or the notion of digitizing music. But he invented methods, business models, and devices that turned each into significantly larger cultural and economic phenomena.

To a degree, one might look back on the arc of Jobs's career and conclude that he simply rode a series of technological waves. But Jobs, and the company he led, rode the waves while pushing back against them.

In an industry frequently hostile to design, Jobs's Apple banked on it. In an industry in which products simply got cheaper every year and everything tends toward a commodity, Apple's products were able to command a premium. And in an age of pinched consumer spending, millions of people were eager — even desperate — to shell out for the latest version of the iPod, the iPad, or the iPhone.

In an era frequently characterized by executive greed and massive pay for significant underperformance, Jobs worked for a dollar a year. At a time when many founding CEOs step down when they hit their late 40s and early 50s to chase other pursuits (a la Bill Gates), Jobs stuck with it. In an era in which many experts fretted about the ability of America's economy to thrive and innovate, Apple grew into a major exporter. Apple now represents American brands, the way McDonald's and IBM and Coca-Cola once did.

In an era in which equity values stagnated, Apple's stock thrived. The performance of the company's stock, which is now worth $322 billion, up from a few billion in 2003, is one of the great examples of value creation in modern history.

It's difficult to put a tag on what it is precisely that Jobs did. He didn't create a fundamentally new business structure, the way John D. Rockefeller did with the vertical integration of Standard Oil. He didn't democratize a product that had only been available to the very rich, as Henry Ford did with the Model T. And he didn't fundamentally alter the distribution, logistics, and production systems the way that Sam Walton did with Wal-Mart. Under Jobs, Apple simply created a bunch of really cool products that people decided they needed to have. And have again. While Apple had brilliant ads, and while Jobs was an excellent salesperson, Apple's rabid, evangelizing fans have been the most effective marketing tool. When it comes to clothes, or shoes, or cars, my kids, 13 and 9, are largely indifferent to brands. When it was time for them to get their own computer, it had to be a Mac.

There are three basic business stories: the rise, the fall, and then the comeback. Jobs provided a vivid example of each. He started Apple Computer in the 1970s out of the proverbial garage with Steve Wozniak, only to be pushed after the company had gained scale. Returning to helm the company in 1997, he led a comeback that was, in many ways, far more impressive than the original rise.

Yes, Steve Jobs got rich in the past decade. But he didn't so at the expense of his shareholders. In fact, they grew rich along with him. And Apple didn't prosper at the expense of partners. The walled-garden approach of iTunes and the Apps store goes against the grain of the notion that everything online should be free. But it was, at root, a courageous act. And it served as a kind of affirmation for content producers. And perhaps that's why he got such good press.

Several industries in the past decade found themselves essentially powerless in the face of the internet and the advent of digital technology. But Jobs and Apple invented devices and business models that encouraged people to pay: for music, for television shows and movies, for books, and for applications. By continuing to roll out new products, Apple has really expanded the playing field for content creators. It's much more compelling to watch a movie on an iPad than it is on an iPod.

The highest form of charity is helping somebody find a job or a means to support themselves. Just so, one might argue that the highest form of business is creating a profitable enterprise that allows and encourages other people to innovate and find means to support themselves. Apple has done that time and again. Yes, the publishing and music industries have griped over payment terms. But Apple is allowing individuals and companies to reach truly massive audiences at a relatively low cost. It has rescued some markets, revived others, and created entirely new ones.

This century is only a decade old. But it's a safe bet that in 2099, when analysts and historians are looking back, Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the giants of 21st century business.

News from - http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/steve-jobs-earned-place-american-business-pantheon-001840746.html

India primes for weather rocket blast-off Oct 12

India is priming to fire into orbit Oct 12 a satellite designed to help study climatic and atmospheric changes in the tropics, the country's space agency said Thursday.

"The rocket and its payload have been assembled and the heat shield has been closed. The first round of tests are over and we will have a final review. The launch rehearsal will be on Oct 8," an official of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS.

Preparations are in full swing at Sriharikota, the rocket launch site in Tamil Nadu around 80 km from Chennai, and Indian space scientists say they are confident they will be able to fill the ferrying vessel with propellant Oct 10.

The official, who did not want to be identified, said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will ferry the 1,000-kg Megha Tropique and three smaller satellites together weighing 45 kg.

Megha Tropiques is an Indo-French collaboration to study climatic and atmospheric changes in tropical regions and will make India the second nation in the world to launch such a space mission.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) -- a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall -- was launched Nov 27, 1997.

According to Indian space officials, ISRO will bear the launch cost of around Rs.90 crore while French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) has spent around Rs.300 crore.

The CNES has built three instruments of Megha Tropiques: SAPHIR, SCARAB & GPS-ROS. The fourth, MADRAS, is a joint effort of ISRO and CNES.

The three nano satellites that will be ferried by the PSLV are the 10-kg SRMSAT built by students of SRM University near Chennai; the 3-kg remote sensing satellite Jugnu from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur; and the 30-kg VesselSat from Luxumbourg to locate ships on high seas.

For ISRO, this will be the third rocket launch this year from India. In April, the agency successfully launched remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 and two others. In July, communication satellite GSAT-12 was put in orbit.

Though ISRO had spoken of another rocket launch, carrying remote sensing satellite Risat, lack of time has put it in doubt.

"Normally, there needs to be a month's time gap between two launches to refurbish the launch pad," an ISRO official said.

"Given this situation, the preparations for the next launch can start only by mid-November, leaving just 45 days in this calendar year. So there may not be fourth launch this year."

News from - http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5489741&page=0

World's cheapest tablet launched

NEW DELHI: India's finally got its much hyped ultra-low-cost tablet, Aakash. The government is buying the first units of the device for Rs 2250 each from a British company which is assembling the devices in India. They will initially be given to students for free in a pilot run of 100,000 units.

"The rich have access to the digital world, the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide," Telecoms and Education Minister Kapil Sibal said.

The tablet runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and comes with a 7-inch resistive touch screen with 800x480 resolution and weighs 350 gram. The tablet has a 256 MB of RAM, a 32 GB expandable memory slot and two USB ports.

The tablet comes with a 12-month replacement warranty and supports formats like DOC, DOCX, PDF and PPTX etc. Aakash has standard 3.5 mm headphones jack.

The tablet has a 2100mAh battery which can reportedly last for 2-3 hours depending on the usage. The device is also said to be completely made in India, as according to a review, a sticker at the back emphasises the fact. Aakash also reportedly packs some pre-loaded apps, however, lacks the Android Market Place.

DataWind, the British-based company that developed the tablet, said the cost would drop when mass production begins. The tablet will be commercially available from November for Rs 2999. The commercial version of the tablet would have no duty waivers or subsidy, as in the government's version and come with added features like an inbuilt cellular modem and SIM to access internet.

Initial reactions to the Aakash were mixed, with the mainly middle-class technology department students at the event saying it needed refinement but was a good option for the poor.

"It could be better," said Nikant Vohra, an electrical engineering student. "If you see it from the price only, it's okay, but we have laptops and have used iPads, so we know the difference."

Some 19 million people subscribe to mobile phones every month, making India the world's fastest growing market, but most are from the wealthier segment of the population in towns.

India lags behind fellow BRIC nations Brazil, Russia and China in the drive to get its 1.2 billion population connected to technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones, according to a report by risk analysis firm Maplecroft.

The number of Internet users grew 15-fold between 2000 and 2010, according to another recent report. Still, just 8 percent of Indians have access. That compares with nearly 40 percent in China.

Some 19 million people subscribe to mobile phones every month, making India the world's fastest growing market, but most are from the wealthier segment of the population in towns.

News from - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Worlds-cheapest-tablet-launched/articleshow/10243846.cms

ALMA telescope opens its eyes on the Universe‎

The most complex ground-based astronomy observatory on Earth has opened its eyes for the first time, 5,000 metres above sea level in Chile's northern Atacama Desert.

The most complex ground-based astronomy observatory on Earth has opened its eyes for the first time, 5,000 metres above sea level in Chile's northern Atacama Desert.ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, was officially opened for astronomers on Monday after a decade of planning and construction.

News from - http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/alma-telescope-opens-its-eyes-on-the-universe--1317797153-slideshow/