Steve Jobs made technology fun. The co-founder of Apple died last Wednesday at the age of fifty-six. He had fought for years against cancer. Mourners gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world. Show Tim Bajarin is president of Creative Strategies, a high-tech research and consulting company. TIM BAJARIN: "If you actually look at a tech leader, they’re really happy if they have one hit in their life. Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar.” Steve Jobs was a college dropout. He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant. They supported his early interest in electronics. He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer now just called Apple in nineteen seventy-six. They stayed at the company until nineteen eighty-five. That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a dispute with the chief executive. Mr. Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer. He rejoined Apple in nineteen ninety-seven after it bought NeXT. He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today. Steve Wozniak, speaking on CNN, remembered his longtime friend as a "great visionary and leader" and a "marketing genius." President Obama said in a statement: "By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun." David Carroll is a professor at Parsons School of Design in New York City. He says Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business. DAVID CARROLL: “The fact that he was able to redesign American commerce top to bottom and across is really stunning. He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the great of all time.” Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August because of his health. Apple's new chief, Tim Cook, will also have to deal with the new Kindle Fire tablet computer from Amazon.com. It costs less than half as much as an iPad but also does less. And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms and Avi Arditti. I'm Christopher Cruise. Apple Inc. shares were down as much as 2 percent in early U.S. trading Thursday, after the company's co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs resigned for health reasons on Wednesday. Jobs said he could no longer meet the "duties and expectations" of the position. Jobs has been fighting pancreatic cancer since 2003, received a liver transplant in 2009, and has been on medical leave since January. In a note on its website, Apple said Jobs had "saved" Apple with "extraordinary vision and leadership." Jobs has been elected as chairman of the board of directors. Company officials say he will continue to contribute "unique insights, creativity and inspiration." Tim Cook will take over as Apple's new top executive at the recommendation of Jobs. Cook had previously served as the company's chief operating officer. Apple's board said Cook has demonstrated "remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does" in the 13 years he has worked for the firm. Apple is now the world's most valuable technology company, but in the 1990s, the company nearly went bankrupt. Its fortunes were transformed when it shifted its focus away from being a personal computer manufacturer into a company producing the trendy iPhone and the iPad tablet for audio-visual media. That is Christian Overland. He is vice-president of The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Last month, museum officials purchased an Apple-1 computer at a public auction in New York. They paid $905,000 for the device, which is one of the first 50 built. And it is still working. The auction house that sold the computer believed it would sell for one-third to one-half of what the museum paid for it. In May of last year, an Apple-1 sold for $671,000 in Germany. Patricia Mooradian is the president of the Henry Ford Museum. In a statement, she compared the Apple-1 to the Model T car. The Model T was the first car that many Americans could buy. Ms. Mooradian said the computer “put technology directly into the hands of the people…completely altering the way we work and live.” In 1976, Steve Wozniak and his high school friend Steve Jobs offered to sell 50 Apple-1 computers to a California store for $500 each. The store sold each one for about $667. The two young men built the 50 computers in 30 days at Mr. Jobs’ boyhood home. When people connected the motherboard to a monitor and a keyboard, they had the first personal computer. Mr. Wozniak and Mr. Jobs later created Apple Computer. It is now one of the most-valuable companies in the world. Christian Overland says he told Steve Wozniak about the museum’s purchase. He says Mr. Wozniak answered: “That’s pretty cool!” “Someday in the future we’re looking forward to having Mr. Wozniak coming back and visit the Apple 1. And, since it’s an operating one, let’s see how he turns it on and works with it, because that’s one of the reasons why we acquired this one, too -- it’s one of the 15 in the world left that actually operate.” The Henry Ford Museum says only 64 of the 200 Apple-1 computers built are known to exist. Officials are now working to bring the computer to the museum so visitors can see history. I’m Christopher Cruise. VOA Washington correspondent Christopher Cruise reported and wrote this story. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Storymotherboard – n. the main circuit board of a computer assemble – v. to connect or put together the parts of (something, such as a toy or machine) auction – n. a public sale at which things are sold to the people who offer to pay the most alter – v. to change (something) monitor – n. a device that shows information or images on a screen Now, it’s your turn to use these Words in This Story. In the comments section, write a sentence using one of these words and we will provide feedback on your use of vocabulary and grammar. Who took over Apple when Steve Jobs died?Tim Cook became CEO of Apple in August 2011. At the time, many wondered if he could fill the shoes left by his predecessor Steve Jobs. But Cook has made his mark at Apple, overseeing the launch of AirPods, the Apple Watch, and Apple TV+. Why is Steve Wozniak not a billionaire?Wozniak's net worth is estimated to be $140 million; he sold of majority of his Apple shares which could have propelled him into a billionaire had he not sold. What did Tim Cook think of Steve Jobs?“I don't think anybody could be Steve. I think he was a once-in-a-hundred-years kind of individual, an original by any stretch of the imagination. And so what I had to do was to be the best version of myself.” But that doesn't mean Cook couldn't take a leadership trick or two from Jobs' book. Why did Steve Jobs step down as CEO?The resignation followed a multi-year saga in which the executive was widely assumed to be in failing health. But, Jobs was not always forthright about the exact nature and severity of his illness. |
