Remembering Steve Jobs
Apple's late CEO is still venerated and missed. On the tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs's death, AppleInsider explores what the man himself thought about living and dying.
Tim Cook (left) and Steve Jobs (right)
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died at around 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday October 5, 2011. He was at his Palo Alto home. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department recorded the immediate cause of death as respiratory arrest but that "metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor" was the underlying cause.
Flowers left outside Steve Jobs's Palo Alto house
Later that day, his wife Laurene Powell Jobs issued a statement.
At that point, he had already had a successful operation to remove a tumor but in 2009 he took an extended leave of absence from Apple to undergo further treatment. He had a liver transplant and at the September 2009 Apple event thanked his donor.
"I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs," said Jobs. "I am alive because of their generosity."
We now know that Jobs had refused Tim Cook's offer of a liver transplant but in this same speech he thanked Cook and others for how they "rose to the occasion".
Cook would again take over while Jobs went on another medical leave of absence in January 2011.
Jobs's final public appearance was on June 7, 2011, representing Apple at a Cupertino county meeting where he spoke about plans to build Apple Park.
Just under three months later on August 24, 2011, Jobs formally stepped down as Apple CEO. On his last day he reportedly chaired a board meeting, tried to fool a pre-release version of Siri with questions, and then rode home with Apple attorney George Riley.
That evening, he told biographer Walter Isaacson that "I've had a very lucky career, a very lucky life. I've done all that I can do."
"I was at the gym, and I got a bunch of calls. The news broke late and I rushed home to cover it. For me it was a story -- I wasn't really emotional at the time, I was just in work mode, covering it as it needed to be covered," he said. "From a news perspective, I kind of knew it was coming, but it was still unexpected. You just assume a guy like that will live forever."
Journalists write obituaries regularly and you don't put your personal reaction into these pieces. After the work is done, though, things are different.
"I never realized I had a 'relationship' with Steve until later," Hughes said. "There was a lawsuit that involved emails between Eddy Cue and Steve. Something about iBooks. And Steve read one of my stories and actually learned something about his own company from it. The truth is Apple always paid attention, including Steve."
Writer Bob LeVitus, who Steve Jobs would occasionally quote on slides in keynote presentations, says now that even though his death had been expected, it was upsetting. "I was really sad when he died. It was like the end of an era," he remembers.
Bob "Dr Mac" LeVitus
"He was one of those once in a generation guys," says LeVitus. "He was brilliant. Apple isn't going to be the same after Steve. I think Tim Cook tries really hard to keep the spirit of Apple alive and the way Steve would've wanted it. [However] as the company gets bigger and bigger it gets harder and harder to stay true to doing everything excellently."
"I don't know what the next big thing is but I don't know that Apple will hit on it without Steve," continues LeVitus. "Maybe. There's so many smart people at Apple that I'm sure something good will come out of it but Steve was the one that said let's build an MP3 player fo real people who are not geeks. And let's build a phone that actually is smart."
On October 19, 2011, Apple held a memorial service for Jobs. It was initially a private event for employees and live-streamed only to Apple Stores around the world. Around a week later, Apple released the video publicly. That video is no longer available on Apple's site but a memorial page is. You can read a selection of people's memories about Steve Jobs and still contribute your own.
Apple continues to maintain that page and every year, Tim Cook pays tribute to Jobs on the anniversary of his death, with tweets such as this one in 2020:
Writing in 2021, ex-Apple Chief Designer Jony Ive says it was a "brutal, heartbreaking day" when Jobs died.
"After he died, I walked out into the garden," wrote Ive. I remember the sound of the latch on the wooden door as I gently pulled it closed. In the garden, I sat and thought how talking often gets in the way of listening and thinking."
"Perhaps that is why so much of our time together was spent quietly," he continued. "I miss Steve desperately and I will always miss not talking with him."
Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.
Read on AppleInsider
Tim Cook (left) and Steve Jobs (right)
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died at around 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday October 5, 2011. He was at his Palo Alto home. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department recorded the immediate cause of death as respiratory arrest but that "metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor" was the underlying cause.
Flowers left outside Steve Jobs's Palo Alto house
Later that day, his wife Laurene Powell Jobs issued a statement.
Jobs was 56 years old and had been being treated for this rare form of pancreatic cancer since he was 49. Consequently he had been conscious of his health when giving a commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005. He chose to speak about mortality.Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.
In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve's illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.
We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.
At that point, he had already had a successful operation to remove a tumor but in 2009 he took an extended leave of absence from Apple to undergo further treatment. He had a liver transplant and at the September 2009 Apple event thanked his donor.
"I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs," said Jobs. "I am alive because of their generosity."
We now know that Jobs had refused Tim Cook's offer of a liver transplant but in this same speech he thanked Cook and others for how they "rose to the occasion".
Cook would again take over while Jobs went on another medical leave of absence in January 2011.
Jobs's final public appearance was on June 7, 2011, representing Apple at a Cupertino county meeting where he spoke about plans to build Apple Park.
Just under three months later on August 24, 2011, Jobs formally stepped down as Apple CEO. On his last day he reportedly chaired a board meeting, tried to fool a pre-release version of Siri with questions, and then rode home with Apple attorney George Riley.
That evening, he told biographer Walter Isaacson that "I've had a very lucky career, a very lucky life. I've done all that I can do."
The day he died
AppleInsider managing editor at the time was Neil Hughes. He wrote Steve Jobs's obituary for the site on that day."I was at the gym, and I got a bunch of calls. The news broke late and I rushed home to cover it. For me it was a story -- I wasn't really emotional at the time, I was just in work mode, covering it as it needed to be covered," he said. "From a news perspective, I kind of knew it was coming, but it was still unexpected. You just assume a guy like that will live forever."
Journalists write obituaries regularly and you don't put your personal reaction into these pieces. After the work is done, though, things are different.
"I never realized I had a 'relationship' with Steve until later," Hughes said. "There was a lawsuit that involved emails between Eddy Cue and Steve. Something about iBooks. And Steve read one of my stories and actually learned something about his own company from it. The truth is Apple always paid attention, including Steve."
Writer Bob LeVitus, who Steve Jobs would occasionally quote on slides in keynote presentations, says now that even though his death had been expected, it was upsetting. "I was really sad when he died. It was like the end of an era," he remembers.
Bob "Dr Mac" LeVitus
"He was one of those once in a generation guys," says LeVitus. "He was brilliant. Apple isn't going to be the same after Steve. I think Tim Cook tries really hard to keep the spirit of Apple alive and the way Steve would've wanted it. [However] as the company gets bigger and bigger it gets harder and harder to stay true to doing everything excellently."
"I don't know what the next big thing is but I don't know that Apple will hit on it without Steve," continues LeVitus. "Maybe. There's so many smart people at Apple that I'm sure something good will come out of it but Steve was the one that said let's build an MP3 player fo real people who are not geeks. And let's build a phone that actually is smart."
Legacy
As news of Jobs's death broke, friends, colleagues and former rivals spoke about him. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."On October 19, 2011, Apple held a memorial service for Jobs. It was initially a private event for employees and live-streamed only to Apple Stores around the world. Around a week later, Apple released the video publicly. That video is no longer available on Apple's site but a memorial page is. You can read a selection of people's memories about Steve Jobs and still contribute your own.
Apple continues to maintain that page and every year, Tim Cook pays tribute to Jobs on the anniversary of his death, with tweets such as this one in 2020:
"A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again." -- Maya Angelou. You're always with us Steve, your memory connects and inspires us every day. pic.twitter.com/X85bjObkPK
-- Tim Cook (@tim_cook)
Writing in 2021, ex-Apple Chief Designer Jony Ive says it was a "brutal, heartbreaking day" when Jobs died.
"After he died, I walked out into the garden," wrote Ive. I remember the sound of the latch on the wooden door as I gently pulled it closed. In the garden, I sat and thought how talking often gets in the way of listening and thinking."
"Perhaps that is why so much of our time together was spent quietly," he continued. "I miss Steve desperately and I will always miss not talking with him."
Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I was around when Apple was the outcast. Few people wanted their quirky products regardless of how well they worked, how reliable they were, or how simple they were to use.
Apple became a part of my life about a decade ago when I purchased my first Mac and iPhone and sold my last Windows-based PC and flip phone. I've since had several Apple computers, tablets, phones, and other devices and accessories. My Apple Watch and iPhone are always present every where I go. Most of the movies and television shows I watch come from one of my Apple TV devices. Most of the music I listen to comes my HomePods.
In only ten years, Apple has grown from a curiosity to a constant part of my daily life.
We need the next Steve Jobs to pick up and carry things forward instead of repacking what we already have.
What's been "stripped out" of the Mac experience isn't anything in the Mac -- it's your privilege as the centre of Apple's attention as a Mac user 25 to 30 years ago, when Apple made little else but Macs, and the experience you enjoyed was being one the "elite" who purchased a "boutique" computer that was (and still is!) awesome and not to the taste of the "mundanes." To put it more bluntly, you miss the cult and find it polluted by the mainstream now.
Your rose-coloured glasses have overlooked or conveniently ignored the many missteps Apple made while Steve was around (both times) in favour of his titanic accomplishments, and I certainly don't blame people for this -- but it's not the truth, and it's not healthy to mythologize him (Steve would certainly have hated that). The truth is that Apple has evolved pretty much the way Steve always hoped it would -- into a mainstream and influential company that finally has the power to make "a dent in the universe" bigger than catering exclusively to some well-off snobs, and (of chief importance when he was alive) stabilizing the company through excellent products that nearly everyone can access.
Whether you think Apple is still doing that or not doesn't really matter -- the facts are all on the record, and the Apple experience in 2019 is more diverse, more interesting, higher-quality, and more popular (and yes, lucrative) than it has ever been at any time in its history. And that's not an opinion.
"Steve showed me—and all of us—what it means to serve humanity. We miss him, today and every day, and we’ll never forget the example he set for us"
There are those who changed the world forever -- and changed it for the better: People like Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein -- and Steve Jobs.
And, each of them had one thing in common: Their goal, their life's work, was to serve humanity. Yes Tim, they should serve as examples for each and every one of us!
While the world moves on from their deaths, it will never be the same again -- and they can never be replaced. All we can do is accept what they gave us and try to do our best, in our own way, to follow the examples that they set.
Thank You!
Steve had many, many faults - as do we all. He managed to accomplish a great many things that are admired by lots of people, despite these faults. I choose to see the silver lining, not the cloud.
So, if they were smart enough, they should say: “Thanks Steve!”
So yeah, Jobs had his faults. He also had vision to see what he wanted and go for it. He had the confidence to toss the first iPod in a fish tank, point at the bubbles, and say "See, there's still wasted space, make it smaller." He had the ego to come back to a company that was staggering and think he could bring it back from the brink, and then do it. He then had the courage to take that same company and bet everything on a revolutionary phone without a keyboard that most every "expert" said would fail. It was his confidence, his demanding attitude to what he saw as the "right" way to do something, his ability to look everyone in the world in the face and say 'you're doing it wrong, let me show you how to do it right,' that made him who he was.
So yeah it would be bad if the world were made up of people like that. But you need a few to shake things up. Otherwise we would still be typing on DOS computers, or flying propellor airplanes, or riding steamships, or sitting in a cave in Europe.
However there is one area where it failed him badly; his cancer. He got the diagnoses, and immediately thought he could treat it himself with diet and other "alternative" treatments. It didn't work. Months later he finally realized that he had to do what the doctors said, but it was too late. Mind you pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate. It's possible that standard treatments would not have been any more effective. But by delaying he gave up any chance of them working.
This is personal for me. Six months after Jobs passed away from cancer, I was diagnosed. I heard all the alternative theories, all the snake oil claims, all the BS about how using marijuana oil will make it all go away, or how these special mushrooms will cure it without side effects, and I dumped all of it in the trash. I did what my Doctors said and now, three major surgeries, seven months of chemo, and eight years of hell later I'm cancer free. Doing what his Doctors said may not have saved Jobs life, but not doing it, taking the 'alternative therapy' route he guaranteed the outcome.
I go as far back as the Vic 20. You want an interesting book, read Commodore: A Company on the Edge by Brian Bagall. You’ll quickly see Jobs’ behavior was not unique.