Steve Jobs revolutionized the computer industry with his innovative idea of a personal computer. When Jobs was twenty one, he and Steve Wozniak built a personal computer called the Apple. The Apple changed people's idea of a computer from a gigantic and inscrutable mass of vacuum tubes only used by big business or the government to a small box used by ordinary people. No company has done more to democratize the computer and make it user-friendly than Apple Computer Inc. Jobs software development for the Macintosh introduced a windows interface and mouse technology which set a standard for all applications interface in software.
The venture capitalists who backed Apple in 1977 immediately installed professional management. But Jobs dominated. Often brilliant, sometimes exasperatingly flaky, he imprinted Apple Computer with his distinctive, hip personality. By 1980, the company was the leading PC maker. It went public as the hottest IPO of the time, raising $96.8 million. There were fumbles, too: The Apple III office computer was a bug-infested flop. Lisa, precursor to the Mac, was also an expensive dud. Jobs's masterpiece, however, the 1984 Mac, was a stunner--with groundbreaking, easy-to-use software and a cool design. It was also severely underpowered and limited in expandability. The market balked, and in May, 1985, Jobs lost a management battle with John Sculley and was pushed out of the company that he had founded.
Jobs returned to Apple in September, 1997 as interim CEO after abortive efforts by Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio. He has since shed interim as his job title and is once again running the company. With a market share of 3-5% depending on what one counts, Apple has become more of a niche player than an industry leader. But as Jobs has stated in the past, while the war may be over to determine who will rule the PC Industry, there are still many battles that can be successfully won. Winning these battles can sustain Apple as a successful company.
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