Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs: A 21st century odd man out

Parents always tell their children that there's more to life than making money.

The children then grow up and disappear into corporate worlds where there seems very little more to life than trousering as much cash as you can, as long as you can.

While many have reflected about Steve Jobs's virtues (and peccadilloes) as a CEO, perhaps the simplest lesson he can offer is that he was truly interested in making things.

In the same period in which he was resuscitating a company that had fallen into the hands of, well, a professional CEO, many professional CEOs … Read more

Tokyo runner makes 13-mile Apple logo for Jobs

Steve Jobs' resignation as CEO of Apple has prompted emotional words from consumers, tech leaders, and journalists alike. For some, however, words can only say so much.

Media producer Joseph Tame showed his appreciation in a more visual way, using two iPhones (plus his legs) to map the equivalent of a digital heart for Steve Jobs. Tame, a marathon runner from Tokyo, ran 13 miles in 2 hours, with a specific route in mind: the Apple logo.

Using the Runkeeper app to track his path through the center of Toyko, Tame's iPhone automatically drew the Apple logo here. The route starts out near the Imperial Palace, goes through Roppongi, and weaves around Shinjuku to Kagurazaka.… Read more

Jobs steps down (Apple Talk Weekly)

This week marked a massive change at Apple, with co-founder Steve Jobs stepping down from his role as CEO. In his place will be Tim Cook, an Apple veteran who was previously the company's chief operating officer.

Jobs had been on medical leave from the company since January, though he had appeared at the unveiling of the iPad 2, as well as at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Jobs' new role at Apple will be as chairman of the company's board.

Jobs has been at the helm of Apple since 1997, following his return to … Read more

Steve Jobs resigns from Apple (roundup)

Marking the end of an era, Jobs steps down as CEO of the iconic company he co-founded. COO Tim Cook, Jobs' fill-in during three medical leaves, will take over the reins.

Steve Jobs steps down from Apple Jobs bids adieu as CEO of the iconic electronics company he co-founded 35 years ago. He has asked Apple's board to put Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook in his place. Text of resignation letter from Steve Jobs Text of Apple's press release on Jobs' resignation Tim Cook: 'Apple is not going to change' (Posted in Apple Talk by … Read more

Steve Jobs will stay on Disney board (report)

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will remain on the board of Walt Disney, according to a published report.

Citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported today that Jobs' position as a board member at Disney is unchanged. What's easy to forget in all the coverage this week about Jobs resigning as CEO of Apple is that he also helped build Pixar into the mammoth animation studio it became.

In May 2006, Jobs sold Pixar to Disney for $7.4 billion, giving him a 7.4 percent stake in Disney, one of the six largest Hollywood film … Read more

What could Apple look like three years from now?

Editor's note: This story was co-written by CNET staffers Donald Bell, Greg Sandoval, Josh Lowensohn, Kent German, and Scott Stein.

Most Apple watchers figure very little will change at Steve Jobs' company over the next few years. There's plenty of product plans in the works and his executive team--with a few exceptions--looks set for the next few years.

The real question is what happens after that, when the plans that will be made without Jobs in Apple's corner office begin to bear fruit, or languish.

The company, which has grown to become the second-most valuable in the … Read more

Apple designs that tug at our heartstrings

More than any design group at any computer technology company, Steve Jobs understands product design. Of course, all CEOs say they get what consumers want. But Jobs has a gift.

In addition to his taste (making products that appeal to people) and technical mastery (making products that work), he has an uncanny sense for imagining products that carry a powerful and unique emotional payload.

The itch these gadgets scratch is satisfying at a level below consciousness and intellect. But the products that reach iconic status don't all do it in the same way. They're not all Eames chairs: ever present and coolly smart. One Apple product can be implausibly beautiful. Another, retro without being twee. Another, playful. But usually not all at once, since that could be confusing, like a psycho lover.

Click on the slideshow below to see the five Apple products that most successfully tap into our emotions. And be sure to share your own thoughts (and feelings) in the comments section below.

Steve Wozniak, who together with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne founded Apple in 1976, said in an interview that Jobs deserves recognition as the "greatest technology business leader of our time."

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Wozniak discussed Jobs' resignation yesterday and applauded Jobs' record of building popular consumer devices and for righting the company, which had struggled after Jobs was forced out in the mid-1980s and was away for nearly 12 years.

"[Steve Jobs] didn't just start Apple," Wozniak said. "He started the music company, iTunes. He started the music iTunes store. … Read more

The charisma of Steve Jobs (video roundup)

Borrowing the idiosyncratic (and some would say infectious) phraseology of Steve Jobs himself, admirers speak of his "insanely great" presentation skills. With Jobs' resignation yesterday as Apple's CEO, we offer a roundup of video clips that capture his ability to grab an audience.

1983: Taking on Big Blue, er, Brother

"Was George Orwell right about 1984?" During a keynote speech not long before the debut of the Mac, Jobs offers one answer to that question by unveiling the famous Ridley Scott-directed Big Brother commercial.

Credit: The Apple History Channel (not affiliated with Apple)

1984: Launching … Read more

Apple's product pipeline looks intact

Apple will keep cranking out a steady stream of "magical products" for the next few years despite the loss of Steve Jobs as chief executive.

Jobs has assembled a massive machine that shows little signs of slowing down. The Cupertino, Calif., company's product pipeline appears to be intact for the next several years, analysts say. In addition, Apple has a strong management team to guide those devices to market.

"Executives change, everything else stays the same," Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley said in a research note.

Jobs announced his resignation yesterday, but was simultaneously … Read more