Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, but he stayed near the campus for the next year and a half taking a few classes in creative subjects that interested him. One class in calligraphy sparked his interest in creating different styles of type.
In the early 1970s, Jobs continued to try different paths for his life. He worked for a short time as a video game designer for Atari in 1974 and then traveled around India and other parts of Asia for several months. Meanwhile, his old friend Steve Wozniak was still in California, working for the computer company Hewlett-Packard. Wozniak spent his spare time learning more about computers and trying to build his own personal computer.
When Jobs returned from his travels, Wozniak showed him the computer board he had finally finished building. Jobs knew right away that his friend's clever invention had big possibilities. He told Wozniak that he thought they should start a company together. Apple Computer, Inc. was born on April 1, 1976, when Jobs was just twenty-one years old.
The two first worked out of Jobs's garage, where, as a boy, he had first discovered his passion for technology while building electronics with his dad. To get the money to fund their start-up, Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his scientific calculator. According to Wozniak, the name Apple Computers was suggested by Jobs while the two were on a car trip. At the time, Jobs was working part time caring for apple trees on a farm. Wozniak also said that Jobs may have borrowed the name from Apple Records, the record label for The Beatles.
Together, Jobs and Wozniak brought the power of computer technology into the hands of everyday people. Instead of giant, expensive computers that only businesses could afford to use, Apple created smaller machines that were user friendly and affordable for many more people. Their first product, the Apple I, released in 1976 and sold for $666.66.
For the next three years, the two men continued to make improvements to the design of the Apple I, and in 1979, they released the Apple II. This system was much more powerful, and it was able to display color graphics. When the Apple II hit the market, sales increased by 700 percent. Jobs and Wozniak were millionaires after just three years in business.
Despite their early successes, the next several years brought challenges and disappointments. Design problems caused a few products to be recalled. Other manufacturers, such as IBM, created new software and options for consumers and soon started to outperform Apple's sales. Some of Apple's top executives began to feel that Jobs was hurting the company, and they started to question his leadership.
Steve Jobs left his position as CEO of Apple in 1985 and started his own company, called NeXT, Inc. This company had only limited success, and in 1997, Jobs sold the company to Apple for $429 million. By this time, the top leaders at Apple had changed their minds about Jobs's ability to run the company, and they asked him to come back as CEO.
The 1980s and early 1990s were a tough time for Apple. IBM products continued to grow in popularity, and Apple needed innovation to get its products noticed again. Back in the top seat at Apple, Jobs provided the marketing and creative genius that put Apple back on top when, during the late 1990s, the company introduced the stylish new iMac line.
The Apple II ___.
was more popular than the Apple I
had many design problems
was smaller than IBM's computers