The Death of a True Artist

“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them.”

That quote pretty much sums up what Steve Jobs believed in- attention to minute detail.

For a man who obsessively micromanaged the operations of Apple Inc., it was not just delivering a product that worked which mattered, but making something that looked so aesthetically appealing that it made you feel it was essential to own it.

That Jobs achieved what he wanted is quite evident if you go through the bags of someone seated next to you- there will be an iPod.

If you ask anybody what their dream gadget is, you would probably receive an answer that begins with an ‘i’.

From making Mackintosh desktop computers the fashion statement of the era of big computing machines, to shaking up the music and entertainment industries with his sleek music devices, Jobs expanded the horizons of innovation in the Silicon Valley.

With the launching of the iPhone and iPad that straddled both worlds of telecommunication and computing, Jobs was forced to change the name of his company from Apple Computer Inc., to Apple Inc.

His main gripe about his rival Microsoft was that they lacked taste.

For a man who even looked into the design of the packaging as astutely as he designs the machines themselves, he found Microsoft incredibly bland and boring.

Not much is known of his early life, but Steve Jobs was an adopted child.

Not many people are aware of the fact that Jobs is actually Arab American.

The son of Syrian immigrant Abdulfattah Jandali and Joanne Carole Schieble who were both unmarried undergraduates, Jobs was born on February 24, 1955.

As the young couple couldn’t raise the child, he was given away for adoption and would be raised by Clara and Paul Jobs.

A born inventor, Jobs designed computers in his garage and believed that “real artists ship”, meaning that it is not only creating that matters but also the delivery.

While he was far ahead of his time and delivered products that people didn’t realise they needed till he made it, Jobs was not too self-conscious of his millionaire status.

He apparently took home a salary of $1 in 2010 but as he held some 5.5 million shares in his company, he was worth $1.8billion.

For all the charisma and energy he infused into Apple, Jobs was also a hard task master and was rumoured to be a ruthless perfectionist.

His battles with pancreatic cancer were well known and earlier this year, he handed over the reins of his company to his long-time associate and Apple’s chief operating officer Tim Cook.

The man who symbolised the era of cool computing machines passed away on October 5, 2011 and the world learnt of his death through the devices he created.

He is survived by his wife Laurene and four children.