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Entries in Steve Jobs (4)

1998: Steve Jobs introduces the iMac

As I sit typing this post, just behind me is an original Bondi Blue iMac. It looks as gorgeous today as it did back in 1998. The launch of the iMac marked the beginning of the spectacular rebirth of Apple under the guidance Steve Jobs. Within months of the iMac going on sale it began to appear in primetime TV shows and blockbuster movies. People simply could not get enough of the iMac's spectacular curves, it was everywhere!

The iMac era was an exciting time to be an Apple fan, here was a computer that didn't have the appearance of an office hand-me-down, here was a computer that was fun, colourful and simple to use. Almost everything you needed to get onto the Internet came in the box.

The iMac was Steve's idea. Focusing on what truly matters to people and having the strength to push those insights through from inception to shipping is a primary skill of Steve Jobs. Will anyone else in the firm have his focus and determination?

Further Reading: Steve Jobs

1984. Steve Jobs introduces the Macintosh

Gutted.

That's how we felt when hearing the news that Steve Jobs is resigning his position as CEO. Gutted that his health is such that he has had to make this decision and gutted because Steve Jobs is the lens that gives Apple laser-like focus. Actually, scratch that, he gives the entire computing industry focus. We have no doubt whatsoever that he has infused his love of art, design, technology, engineering and humanity into every fibre of the company that he and Steve Wozniak founded on April 1, 1976. However there is no denying that he will be missed and that Apple will be somewhat diminished as a force for change.

We wish him well and hope that his reduced workload will give him more time and energy to focus on a full recovery.

We thought it would be interesting to run a series of posts that present some of Steve's highlights during his time as Apple's CEO.

We start with the introduction of the Macintosh. The 'insanely great' personal computer that defined the way that we would interact with computers for over 25 years.

To sell innovation you need to be able to tell a good story. Every keynote that Steve Jobs gave was a lesson in storytelling. It's not enough to simply add cool new features or new ways of doing things, communicating the reason for those 'features' and 'ways' in a style that can be easily understood and passed on to others is essential.

We wonder if any of the other Apple executives can step up in this regard.

Apple's iPad 2 Keynote Video

Just in case you missed it and are wondering what all the fuss is about, Apple have kindly posted the whole of the iPad 2 Keynote for you to watch/re-watch. Make sure you look out for the FaceTime, iMovie and amazing GarageBand demos. We can't wait to get our hands on these. Enjoy!

 

iPad news from the WWDC 2010 keynote

 

We will come back later with our initial thoughts on the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 and what it means for iPad owners, but in the meantime here is a quick recap of some of the iPad related announcements from last night's WWDC keynote address.

Steve Jobs presented a video reel featuring news clips from America, parts of Europe and Japan. Most of the clips were from the launch of the iPad in each territory with lots of smiling faces and excited punters. People really do love the iPad it seems.

Steve then mentioned some quite astonishing figures. 1 iPad sold every 3 seconds on average, 17 apps per iPad downloaded, 5 million eBooks downloaded via the iBooks store, many of which were probably free, 22% of all eBook sales are purchased on the iPad. That's some impressive stats.

Steve didn't dwell on the iPad too much, this event was focusing squarely on the new iPhone. However, he did have one piece of important iPad news, something which will please anyone who like us have been itching for Apple to open up iBooks to include more published material.

The next version of iBooks, due at any time, includes full support for the popular PDF format. It's too early to tell just how well iBooks will display complex PDF files, but if the experience when viewing PDFs is similar to when viewing ePUB files, this could be quite a game changer.

The ePUB format is limited in scope by its basic nature. Font formatting, for example, is very limited. The PDF format supports just about every typographic and image control available. In short, it forms the basis of almost all printed publications in existence.

We can't wait to see how this develops.