Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

[csmart 472]

Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO: analysis

What does the departure of Steve Jobs mean for Apple and the technology industry? Shane Richmond explains.

Source...

It’s a sad day for the technology industry: one of its most charismatic figures, a genius in an industry filled with brilliant minds, has stepped aside.

Steve Jobs is one of the founding figures of the modern computer industry. He has twice run Apple: once from its creation in 1976 until he was ousted in 1985, and again, 20 years later, when he returned to rescue a company on the brink of collapse. Turning the company around and presiding over the release of one hit product after another, from the iMac and iPod, through to the iPhone and iPad, is perhaps Jobs’s greatest achievement.

Eleven years ago, another of the modern computer industry’s founders, Bill Gates, stepped aside from his role as chief executive of the company he had founded. However, Gates’s resignation came in happier circumstances. The Microsoft chief executive planned to work instead on his charitable foundation.

In contrast, Steve Jobs, in a letter to the Apple board, said that he is resigning because he “could no longer meet my duties and expectations as CEO”. In 2004, Jobs announced that he had pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he underwent a liver transplant. At the beginning of this year, he went on medical leave again. This, then, is how Steve Jobs’s third medical leave of absence ends: with Jobs replaced by Tim Cook, who was until yesterday, acting CEO, and Jobs serving as Chairman.

Each time Jobs went on medical leave it was Cook who took over, so this decision should not be a surprise. With Cook at the helm Apple has continued to release products and to grow in a way has astounded investors. Early reaction from investors and analysts suggests that the market will greet the news calmly.

It would be foolish to believe that Apple is a one-man company, though the firm’s desire to focus on its products and not its people means that Jobs’s team is not terribly well known. One exception is Jonathan Ive, the British design guru behind some of Apple’s best-known products, who has become relatively well-known.

In fact, the unusual thing is that Jobs and Gates became household names at all. Most people outside the technology industry could not name the person in charge of Sony PlayStation or Amazon, despite the popularity of both brands.

Apple’s innovations over the last decade are the result of the company’s structure: a small team at the top, focusing on a tightly-controlled number of products. Ideas can come from anywhere but those top executives spend a lot of time deciding what not to work on, to ensure that the company’s resources aren’t spread too thinly. Though Jobs played a key role in developing those working practices, the ideas are embedded deep within the company by this point. Apple's competitors might be hoping that the company's fortunes will change for the worse without Jobs but I wouldn't bet on it.

Still, Jobs has been the face of Apple for a decade now. Something that the company has only belatedly begun to challenge. When the iPad 2 was launched earlier this year, not long after Jobs had taken sick leave, the chief executive returned to host the announcement. “I just didn’t want to miss today,” he told the audience.

However, by June this year, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Jobs introduced the event and then left the bulk of the presentation to his colleagues Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall. Apple-watcher John Gruber described it as the company’s “first post-Steve keynote”.

Apple likes to have its big on-stage reveals for new products and, at present, they don’t have a figure with the charisma of Steve Jobs to take those on. But watch Jobs’s earliest presentations and you’ll see that he was once far less polished than he is now. His successors will learn, just as he did.

The departure of Steve Jobs is not the end of Apple but it is the end of an extraordinary chapter in the history of the technology business.

[phonegeek 588]

Vic Gundotra, Senior VP of Google has shared this on Google+, reproducing it here......

Icon Ambulance

One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said "Caller ID unknown". I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. "Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss" it said.

Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

"Hey Steve - this is Vic", I said. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn't pick up".

Steve laughed. He said, "Vic, unless the Caller ID said 'GOD', you should never pick up during services".

I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

"So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I've already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow" said Steve.

"I've been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I'm not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn't have the right yellow gradient. It's just wrong and I'm going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject "Icon Ambulance". The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I'll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

To one of the greatest leaders I've ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic

[sgiitk 32]

When a giant who is so iconic hangs up his boots things will change. When Jobs quit (or was forced to quit) Apple was in the dumps. He comes back, electrifies things and they are back at the top. I do not expect innovations to dry up immediately - there must be some in the pipeline.

It is indeed a sorry feeling that we will not have Steve Jobs to look up to (and sometimes kick around), but then this is life. with his health reports it was on the cards for some time.

Apple will no longer be the iconic innovator any more. I hope they do not descend to being another HP! Also, I expect their shares to take a hit, and maybe one day we may see Maple (Microsoft + Apple) or Gaple (Google + Apple). One can only dream.

[kshah 452]

Steve Jobs is steve jobs. One can love him or can hate him (because of own inferiority) He is the men with ORIGINAL IDEAS.

[lostjournal 7]

I love Steve Jobs! He changed the world we see it today!

[csmart 472]

Apple CEO Tim Cook's letter to employees

Source

CALIFORNIA: Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobsas the chief executive of Apple has told the staff that 'company will not change'.

In an email to Apple's staff, cook said he is confident that the future of the company was 'safe' and the 'best years' were yet to come.

The email was sent a day after Steve Jobs stepped down as the CEO. Jobs resigned after telling the board that his health problems meant that he 'could no longer meet my duties and expectations as CEO', The Telegraph reports.

Below is the full text of the email:

Team,

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I've ever made and it's been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve's optimism for Apple's bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that -- it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim

(The email comes from a source with a track record with Ars and the headers have been verified.)

[Karthik R 246]

Tim Cook, the new Apple chief executive who replaced Steve Jobs, has been awarded 1m shares in the company in a bid to keep him at the helm until at least 2021.

The stock transfer, which is worth just over $383m (£235m) at current prices, was disclosed in a mandatory document filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Half the shares will vest in Mr Cook on August 24, 2016, while the other half will vest on the same date in 2021, subject to his continued employment at Apple.

via : The Telegraph

This puts to an end the speculation that Cook had been appointed as an interim figure

[city02 63]

while steve jobs is a great leader - its a mistake to consider him 'original'

http://linuxrants.com/?p=1467

Steve Jobs is steve jobs. One can love him or can hate him (because of own inferiority) He is the men with ORIGINAL IDEAS.

http://semiaccurate....e-time-machine/

most of apple's greatest 'innovations' have been blatantly copied from other companies [like Xerox PARC] and repackaged with much better marketing

http://www.infoworld...eas-os-wars-046

make a list of the biggest leaps made by apple and see who invented them first:

http://www.cracked.c...ve-it-away.html

Steve Jobs described the graphical user interface as "the best thing I'd ever seen in my life", and the next day he brought over much of his senior staff and practically demanded to be given a closer look at the Alto's technologies, as well as demos for every one of his programmers. Researcher Adele Goldberg tried to keep this from happening, saying that Xerox was "about to give away the kitchen sink." Apple responded by literally ordering PARC to give their technology to Apple.

Read more: How Xerox Invented the Information Age (and Gave it Away) | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.c...l#ixzz1WODvuoIs

http://www.nytimes.c...le+xerox&st=nyt

should i go on?

http://blogs.telegra...e-a-difference/

or is this enough?

http://unweary.com/2010/09/what-left-xerox-parc.html

[admirer2000 100]

Apple is Apple! To copy, improvise and sustain also one needs gr8 brain.

[kshah 452]

If we talk on these lines there is nothing like ORIGINAL innovation. First automobile was built long before ford's T model. And Airplane designs were there in many novels and science books, Right brother's just copy it and made it commercially viable. Carts were just application of invention of wheels. CFL's are extension of bulbs made by Edison, dams built on river are just extension of small check dams made since centuries, Linux is off shoot of UNIX and so on. .

Originality is translating concept (This is innovation) in to reality and then making it to touch life of larger mass and then making it to make money. Doesn't matter how much money it makes. But it certainly matter how many lives it touches to.

And debate goes on................................

[HetalDP 947]

it was not Steve who was doing Innovations in Apple its a Team efforts !

iPhone, iPad, iOS ,MACs, OSX all need too many ideas and innovation from every side ! its a Team work silly ! so if the Team is Intact ideas will keep coming ! new thing will be innovated and old Innovation will be renovated !

[rajanmehta 4,056]

Of course, it's team work but the quality of the LEADER is as important. Everything else being equal, it is the leader who makes an idea flower or flounder. In absence of an inspirational leader, many great ideas remains foot notes of history. We don't have to go too far to see the practical example.. Rcomm in MDA days and ADA days!!

[admirer2000 100]

Rightly said that quality of the LEADER is as important!

Another latest example is 'Anna Hazare'.

Edited August 29, 2011 by admirer2000

[silent_god 121]

it was not Steve who was doing Innovations in Apple its a Team efforts !

iPhone, iPad, iOS ,MACs, OSX all need too many ideas and innovation from every side ! its a Team work silly ! so if the Team is Intact ideas will keep coming ! new thing will be innovated and old Innovation will be renovated !

I agree with this to an extent, but having a highly innovative team is only half way to success. Having a leader like Steve is other half. These leaders actually provide the vision, direction, facilities, enthusiasm to the team, which in turn reciprocates by extra ordinary creative delivery.

Examples are plenty. Every Indian, who has excelled in his/her field while being at US. While in India, they were only one half, but US system provided them with other half.

[lostjournal 7]

From 9 dollars a share when Steve joined Apple, to 372+ dollars - that is what he did to Apple. And with that kind of success comes the role of critics. I adore the man called Steve Jobs. No matter what opinion anybody has. A legend forever.

[city02 63]

If we talk on these lines there is nothing like ORIGINAL innovation.

absolutely not true - originality is alive and well in the world outside of apple!

First automobile was built long before ford's T model.

but henry ford built the world's first production line allowing mass production of cars that would have been otherwise unaffordable for the masses - apple is hardly affordable in fact its always been positioned as a premium product for a high end market!

ford was MORE innovative than jobs.

And Airplane designs were there in many novels and science books,

no one is making this claim - being the first to implement an idea is great but apple was NOT the first for most of its products if not all.

if you paid attention to the xerox parc article you would see that all the greatest innovations claimed by apple had already been implemented!

it was not something on paper ....

Right brother's just copy it and made it commercially viable.

you mean 'wright' brothers and they were the first to make a functioning prototype but not to make it commercially viable - however they were still MORE innovative than apple!

Carts were just application of invention of wheels. CFL's are extension of bulbs made by Edison, dams built on river are just extension of small check dams made since centuries, Linux is off shoot of UNIX and so on. .

you are correct on 2 points which is a more accurate analogy to what apple did [linux and carts] however completely wrong on the other two:

if dams were being used to only store water then your comparison is correct however if they are also being used to generate power then its significantly different than what apple did with xerox.

same applies to CFL vs bulbs - apple produced a different shaped bulb in a different colour but did NOT change the underlying technology in any meaningful way since CFL is technologically different than incandescents.

bulbs to CFL is more innovative then xerox to apple.

Originality is translating concept (This is innovation) in to reality and then making it to touch life of larger mass and then making it to make money. Doesn't matter how much money it makes. But it certainly matter how many lives it touches to.

wrong again [Originality is NOT translating concept] - this is not MY opinion but the dictionary's:

orig·i·nal·i·ty

noun \ə-ˌri-jə-ˈna-lə-tē\

Definition of ORIGINALITY

1: the quality or state of being original

2: freshness of aspect

3: the power of independent thought or constructive imagination

apple did NOT translate ANY concept - xerox did!

copying implemented ideas is not an example of INDEPENDENT thought [at least in technology] and the same applies to:

The term

innovation

derives from the Latin word

innovatus

, which is the noun form of

innovare

"to renew or change," stemming from

in

-"into" +

novus

-"new". Although the term is broadly used, innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective

products

,

processes

,

technologies

, or

ideas

that are accepted by

markets

,

governments

, and

society

. Innovation differs from

invention

or

renovation

in that innovation generally signifies a

substantial positive change compared to incremental changes

.

apple was completely EVOLUTIONARY when it copied xerox and not at all REVOLUTIONARY from a pure technology perspective [you should really read the articles above since i'm just repeating the same points here]

pls note the most important part of the definition above '

substantial positive change compared to incremental changes'

And debate goes on................................

for sure it does!

no company is perfect and neither is any leader so lets not get carried away:

http://www.wired.com...ery_apple_flops

there is always room for improvement anywhere [but that is NOT the primary point of my reply here so don't obsess on this footnote - consider it an aside].

the primary point is that neither steve or apple were ORIGINAL - just read up on history and facts...

[city02 63]

Apple is Apple! To copy, improvise and sustain also one needs gr8 brain.

no doubt steve has a 'great brain' but that was not the point i made above - he was NOT original!

a better analogy of xerox to apple would be hollywood to bollywood:

a large number of bollywood movies copy foreign scripts / shooting styles / camera angles / special effects / editing tricks / dialoges / melodies etc and repackage them for a wider domestic audience that has never seen this content before and while there are superficial tweaks in the plot or characters so they make sense for our movie watchers, it can hardly be called 'original' or 'innovative' but obviously there is a creative element involved in all the costumes / sets / acting styles etc which have to be different

but this would be making a virtue out of necessity [like the 'mumbai spirit' after any tragedy]

[Karthik R 246]

It is worth a retrospective to see how it all started. Check out the original 1984 Macintosh introduction when Steve Jobs unveils the Macintosh when he takes it out of a bag. The video is titled "The Lost 1984 Video : young Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh.":

via : techzone360

[nitink 279]

2015 i see the demise of apple :rip:

[lostjournal 7]

Dream on..

[csmart 472]

@karthik good video