Steve Jobs in His Own Words: A Video Retrospective
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Steve Jobs nor Apple (AAPL) were ever known for being, shall we say, loquacious. Both were famous for sticking to tightly scripted and controlled statements. But the better known and more influential you are, the bigger a trail you leave in the world.
Here's a selection of videos giving Jobs, who just retired as Apple CEO, the last word. Some are reflections on the past, while others capture him in an important moment in time, like the launch of the Mac, his rallying speech when he returned to Apple, or introducing the first Apple retail store.
Next: Begin the gallery of Steve Jobs' Video Retrospective»
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Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack got their start building and selling blue boxes -- devices that let people illegally bypass the controls over long distance telephone networks and make free calls. Of course, it was the "best one in the world."
Next: Learning to perform in public»
Learning to perform in public
Jobs is a master at making a presentation, drawing an audience in. But he wasn't always practiced at speaking in public. Here is a backstage look at an early television appearance of his.
Next: Unveiling the 1984 commercial»
The first time the 1984 commercial was shown
When Apple ran its 1984 Macintosh commercial, created by Ridley Scott, during the Super Bowl, the company made advertising history. But the commercial had been seen before -- during a 1983 Apple sales meeting. Here's Jobs as he introduces the product and commercial.
Next: What Jobs thought of Microsoft»
What he thought of Microsoft
Ah, the frenemy relationship between Jobs and Microsoft's (MSFT) Bill Gates:
Next: Lights, camera, action»
Lights, camera, action
With all the focus on Apple and the success Jobs has seen, you might forget about a different company that he started: Pixar. Here's a long interview that Charlie Rose did with Jobs and director John Lasseter.
Next: Jobs returns to save Apple»
Jobs returns to save Apple
When Apple was falling apart and, in desperation, brought Jobs back, he had a clear view of what branding was and what the company had to do to return to its former glory. Here's a talk he gave to a group of Apple insiders, introducing the Think Different campaign. The sound quality is terrible, but it's still worth listening to.
Next: Focus is about saying no»
Focus is about saying no
At a developers' conference after his return, Jobs explains how Apple had suffered from bad engineering management that lost a coherent direction -â€" the total was less than the sum of its project parts.
And in the same Q&A session, here's his response to an engineer who insulted him (and, when asking what he had done in the last 7 years, gave a terrific straight line that Jobs mercifully ignored). Jobs told the group to focus on the customer and work back to the technology, a philosophy he learned the hard way.
Next: Apple goes shopping»
Apple goes shopping
When Apple introduced its first retail store, some industry experts laughed, dismissing the idea as an enormous -- and expensive -- mistake. Well, certainly someone had just made a big miscalculation. In this video, Jobs introduces the store and what consumers could expect. What analysts and shareholders could expect would show up later, as Apple's stores would eventually produce sales the retail industry could only envy.
Next: Jobs on design»
Jobs on design
Apple's success rests on a comprehensive view of design as a fundamental -- something way beyond the simple issue of what products look like. Here Jobs and some others, including head industrial designer and genius in his own right, Jonathan Ive, discuss design at Apple:
Next: The iPad came first»
The iPad came first
Although you might think that the idea for the iPhone came before the iPad, the opposite was true. Here's the story.
Next: Jobs sings the introduction of the iPhone»
Jobs sings the introduction of the iPhone
This is Steve Jobs with a little ingenious help from someone who added a beat with edits and tonal manipulation to have Jobs perform a musical product introduction.
Next: Looking back»
Looking back
Jobs gave the 2005 commencement address at Stanford. He offers three stories and three life lessons.
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