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Jobs aids in revolutionary circuit board at Atari
In 1974, Jobs took a job as a technician at Atari, Inc. in Los Gatos, California. Jobs returned to Atari and was assigned to create a circuit board for the game Breakout. Jobs had little interest in or knowledge of circuit board design and made a deal with Wozniak to minimize the number of chips. Much to the amazement of Atari, Wozniak reduced the number of chips by 50, a design so tight that it was impossible to reproduce on an assembly line at the time. -
Jobs becomes inspired at the Homebrew Computer Club
Homebrew and How The Apple Came to Be
Jobs began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak in 1975. He greatly admired Edwin H. Land, the inventor of instant photography and founder of Polaroid Corporation, and explicitly modeled his career after him. -
Jobs cofounded the Apple computer company
In 1976, Wozniak invented the Apple I computer. Jobs, Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple computer in the garage of Jobs's parents in order to sell it. They received funding from a then-semi-retired Intel product-marketing manager and engineer A.C. Markkula, Jr. As Apple continued to expand with Wozniak's next version, the Apple II, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its expansion. -
Jobs leads to the creation of the Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa
In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa. One year later, Apple employee Jef Raskin invented the Macintosh. -
Jobs successfully introduces the first Macintosh
Jobs Introduces the First Macintosh
At Apple's annual shareholders meeting on January 24, 1984, an emotional Jobs introduced the Macintosh to a wildly enthusiastic audience; Andy Hertzfeld described the scene as "pandemonium". The Macintosh became the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface. -
Jobs resigns from Apple Computer Company
Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year. In a speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005, he said "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it." -
Jobs starts NeXT Computer
Jobs Leaves Apple and Starts NeXT
In 1984, Steve Jobs was the head of Apple's SuperMicro division, which was responsible for the Macintosh and Lisa personal computers. The Macintosh had been successful on university campuses in considerable part because of the Apple University Consortium, which allowed students and institutions to buy at a discount. The consortium had sold more than $50 million in computers by 1984. -
Jobs buys Pixar
Steve Jobs Bought Pixar
In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm's computer graphics division for $10 million. The new company was initially intended to be a high-end graphics hardware developer. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films. -
Jobs brought success to Pixar with Toy Story
Jobs Brought Success to Pixar
The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story, with Jobs credited as executive producer, brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. Over the next 15 years, the company produced box-office hits A Bug's Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars; Ratatouille; WALL-E; Up; and Toy Story 3. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up and Toy Story 3 each received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. -
Jobs Returns to Apple After They Bought Out NeXT Computer
Jobs Return to Apple
With the purchase of NeXT, much of the company's technology found its way into Apple products, most notably NeXTSTEP, which evolved into Mac OS X. Under Jobs's guidance, the company increased sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac and other new products; since then, appealing designs and powerful branding have worked well for Apple. -
Jobs Starts and Expands Environmental Recycling Programs for Apple
Apple announced it would take back iPods for free at its retail stores. Later in 2006, he further expanded Apple's recycling programs to any US customer who buys a new Mac. This program includes shipping and "environmentally friendly disposal" of their old systems. -
Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple, and Apple May Lose Influence as a Result
How Steve Jobs' Resignation Will Affect Apple and the Media
In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, but remained with the company as chairman of the company's board. Hours after the announcement, Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares dropped five percent in after-hours trading. It was believed, according to Forbes, that the impact would be felt in a negative way beyond Apple, including at The Walt Disney Company where Jobs served as director. In after-hours trading on the day of the announcement, Walt Disney Co. (DIS) shares dropped 1.5 percent.
