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"This is going to be a tough day. Early this morning, I downloaded the new Walter Isaacson Steve Jobs biography (simply titled Steve Jobs), which arrives in stores and in digital devices today, and started reading it almost immediately. Now I can't put my Kindle down. This is a problem. I have work to do today. Can I read and work at the same time? Not likely. Yet, here I am at my desk with my laptop in front of me and the Amazon Kindle next to it. \nApple's former CEO and tech icon Steve Jobs died less than a month ago and the fascination with this mercurial and visionary leader has only grown since the world learned of his death. The early days were filled with hagiography, but as is natural, a truer picture of the man has begun to emerge. This eagerly awaited biography promises to paint the clearest image of Jobs yet.\nSo far, I've read just 3% of the 656-page tome, but I'm already hooked. Here are just some of the interesting insights and revelations I've already discovered:\nIsaacson on Jobs and their semi-frequent meetings and communication: \"He would take me to a sushi restaurant in Lower Manhattan to tell me that whatever he was touting was the best thing he had ever produced. I liked him.\"\nOn Steve Jobs's early tech desires:\"He began by recalling that he had wanted to build a frequency counter when he was twelve, and he was able to look up Bill Hewlett, the founder of HP, in the phone book and call him to get parts.\"\nSteve Jobs taking responsibility for, perhaps, his biggest mistake:\u201CI\u2019ve done a lot of things I\u2019m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was twenty-three and the way I handled that,\u201D he said.\"\nIsaacson on Jobs and \"The Reality Distortion Field\":\"I witnessed what his veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his 'reality distortion field.' Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory cells that happens to us all; at other times he was spinning his own version of reality both to me and to himself.\"\nJobs's wife Laurene on how Isaacson should approach the biography:\u201CYou shouldn\u2019t whitewash it. He\u2019s good at spin, but he also has a remarkable story, and I\u2019d like to see that it\u2019s all told truthfully.\u201D\nIsaacson's succinct description of Jobs and his impact on society:\"A creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. You might even add a seventh, retail stores, which Jobs did not quite revolutionize but did reimagine.\"\nIsaacson on Jobs's view of products, himself:\u201CHe wants to control his environment, and he sees the product as an extension of himself.\u201D\nAn early and surprising influence on Steve Jobs:Jobs said that his appreciation for [Real Estate Developer Joseph] Eichler homes instilled in him a passion for making nicely designed products for the mass market. \u201CI love it when you can bring really great design and simple capability to something that doesn\u2019t cost much,\u201D said Jobs.\nI know many of you are reading the Steve Jobs biography today \u2014probably right now \u2014 as well. As you read along, share your reactions in our open comment thread below.\n\n\nSteve Jobs Life &amp; Times\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1955 - 1960s: Birth - Childhood\n\nFebruary 24, 1955: Steve Jobs is born in San Francisco. He is adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.\n1969: Jobs meets Steve Wozniak at Homestead High School.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1970s: Apple II\n\nApril 1, 1976: Founds Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne. Wayne would later sell back his stake in the company, after becoming skittish that Apple would succeed.\nJuly 1976: The Apple I goes on sale for $666.66. The computer was a fully assembled circuit board, however, users had to provide their own case, keyboard, power supply and display. About 200 units were made, many with wooden cases.\nApril 17, 1977: The Apple II makes its debut at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. In June, the system goes on sale. It becomes a huge success and helps kickstart the personal computer revolution.\n1979: Jobs visits Xerox PARC and gets a glimpse at the mouse and the graphical user interface. Jobs immediately realizes that the GUI is the future of computing.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, Detroity2K\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1980s: Macintosh / NeXT\n\nDecember 12, 1980: Apple goes public. Its shares are priced at $22 and close at $29 their first day, giving the company a market valuation of 1.77 billion.\nMarch 1981: Jobs becomes chairman of the board at Apple.\nFebruary 15, 1982: Jobs appears on the over of Time magazine.\nApril 8, 1983: Jobs convinces John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, to join Apple as its CEO. Jobs famously asked Sculley if he would rather \"sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?\"\nJanuary 22, 1984: Apple's \"1984\" commercial introducing the Macintosh airs during the Super Bowl.\nMay 28, 1985: John Sculley and the Apple board of directors fire Jobs from his role as head of the Mac division.\nSeptember 13, 1985: Jobs resigns from Apple and goes on to found NeXT.\n1986: Jobs buys The Graphics Group, which would later become known as Pixar Animation Studios, from George Lucas.\nOctober 12, 1988: The NeXT computer makes its debut.\n1989: Pixar's animated short, Tin Toy wins an Academy Award.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1990s: Pixar / iMac\n\nMarch 18, 1991: Jobs marries Laurene Powell.\nFebruary 11, 1993: NeXT stops selling hardware in order to focus on software. That software NeXTSTEP, would end up becoming the building blocks for Mac OS X and iOS.\nNovember 1995: Disney releases Toy Story over Thanksgiving weekend and amidst a big media campaign. The film is a box office sensation.\nNovember 29, 1995: Pixar goes public and its resulting IPO makes Jobs a billionaire.\nJune 1996: Triumph of the Nerds airs on PBS. Jobs is featured prominently alongside Microsoft founder and CEO, Bill Gates.\nDecember 1996: Jobs convinces Apple to buy NeXT and its assets for $400 million. In exchange, he will return to the company in what is initially posed as a \"limited advisory role.\"\nJuly 9, 1997: Apple CEO Gil Amelio resigns. Jobs is made interim CEO, or \"iCEO.\" Jobs still maintains his post as CEO of Pixar.\nAugust 1997: Jobs announces that Apple will be signing a new business partnership with arch rival Microsoft.\nMay 6, 1998: Jobs announces the iMac. The translucent, egg-shaped aqua-marine computer looks like nothing else on the planet. It helps kick off Apple's renaissance and re-birth.\nJune 20, 1999: Jobs is portrayed by Noah Wyle in the TNT telefilm, *Pirates of Silicon Valley.* Wyle will appear on-stage with Jobs at Macworld later that sumer.\nJuly 1999: Te clam-shell iBook is released. It has lots of fun colors and built-in wireless.\nImage courtesy of SacBee\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEarly 2000s: iPod\n\nJanuary 5, 2000: Steve Jobs drops the \"interim\" from his title and becomes Apple's permanent CEO.\nMay 2001: The first Apple retail store is opened. Within a decade, more than 300 stores would pop up worldwide. Apple also officially releases Mac OS X, its next generation operating system.\nOctober 23, 2001: Jobs announces the iPod. Slashdot famously sums up the device, writing \"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.\" The world would be proven wrong.\nApril 28, 2003: The iTunes Music Store launches for Mac users.\nFebruary 2004: Pixar and Disney appear to be at an impasse for future distribution deals.\nAugust 2004: Jobs announces that he will be taking a short leave of absence to recover from surgery. He reveals that a cancerous tumor was found in his pancreas but that he is expected to make a full recovery.\nJanuary 10, 2005: The Mac mini is introduced. \nJune 2005: Apple announces that it is transitioning to Intel processors. This decision will make Apple a true competitor in the world of computer hardware.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLate 200s: iPhone\n\nJanuary 2006: Disney buys Pixar for $7.4 billion. Jobs gets 7% of Disney stock, becoming its largest individual shareholder and earning himself a seat on the board.\nJune 2006: Jobs's thin appearance causes concern at WWDC.\nJanuary 9, 2007: Jobs unveils the iPhone. For the next six months, it will captivate the tech world before its release. Jobs also announces that Apple Computer, Inc. will just become Apple, Inc.\nJune 29, 2007: The iPhone is released.\nJanuary 15, 2008: Jobs takes the stage at Macworld for the final time and introduces the MacBook Air.\nJune 2008: Jobs's gaunt appearance at WWDC again cause concerns over his health.\nJanuary 14, 2009: Jobs announces that he is taking a leave of absence to focus on his health. Tim Cook takes over as acting-CEO.\nApril 2009: Jobs undergoes a successful liver transplant.\nJune 2009: Jobs returns to work at Apple.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, --David and Jennifer--\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2010-2011: iPad\n\nJanuary 2010: Jobs introduces the iPad to the world.\nApril 2010: The iPad goes on sale and quickly becomes the fastest selling new electronic gadget of all time.\nJanuary 17, 2011: Jobs announces that he is taking an extended leave of absence to focus on his health.\nFebruary 2011: Jobs pleases fans by introducing the iPad 2 to the public.\nAugust 24, 2011: Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple, advocating for Tim Cook to act as his replacement. Cook is appointed by the board, who also vote to make Jobs chairman.\nOctober 5, 2011: Steve Jobs passes away due to complications stemming from pancreatic cancer.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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