Apple's 1984 launch of the Macintosh was iconic in a number of different ways, and while that famous 1984 TV spot might be the one that first springs to mind, some might also remember a certain Steve Jobs suit.

That suit – one that Jobs wore during a photoshoot to promote the new Macintosh while leaning on one, is now available for auction which means that you could soon own a little slice of Apple, and Steve Jobs, history.

The problem? It'll probably cost you around $30,000 to get it.

Suits you, sir

The suit is currently up for auction at Julien's Auctions with a current high bid of just $10,000. However, the reserve is yet to be met with an estimated final sale price of between $20,000 and $30,000.

As for the suit itself, the auction house explains that it's a "navy blue pin-striped Brioni for Wilkes Bashford suit, worn by Steve Jobs in a January 1984 marketing photograph taken by Bernard Gotfryd, heralding the release of the new Macintosh Computer." It has thin vertical stripes, two front pockets, one pres pocket, three interior pockets, and a cream lining. It comes with dress pants, but you'll need to add your own shirt. You do, however, get the original Wilkes Bashford brand wooden hanger and a pin that was found in one of the pockets.

Not sure that you want to spend quite so much? A Ralph Lauren tie worn by Jobs in a 1977 Apple-II photo is also on offer with a current $2,000 high bid, among other things.

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There have been tons of high-profile Apple auctions over the last few years including some huge figures changing hands for mint, sealed original iPhones.We've also seen things as basic as business cards bring in a lot more money than you might expect, but nothing comes close to a new collection of Apple-related lots that have now sold as part of a so-called Apple Computer Revolution auction.

The auction, run by the folks at RR Auction, as is so often the case with Apple-related actions, includes a ton of lots that sold for a variety of different fees ranging from almost $323,000 to just $125. At the very top of the pile was an Apple-1 computer signed by Steve Wozniak, shortly followed by a business card signed by Steve Jobs that sold for more than $181,000. That item was expected to sell for around $10,00 which was clearly somewhat short of where things eventually ended.

The full auction covered a total of 120 different items across a range of categories including those related to NeXt and Apple as well as iPhones, iPads, and a range of Apple computer hardware. There were also eight different lots that fell under the Steve Jobs category including that business card.

Huge sums of money

Going back to the Apple-1, this item is quite a little bit of Apple history, as RR Auction's lot description explains.

"Highly sought-after fully functional 'Byte Shop'–style Apple-1 computer (also commonly known as the Apple I, or Apple Computer 1), complete with all components and accessories required for operation," the description explains. "This computer was originally used as a demonstration system at the Data Domain computer store in Columbus, Indiana, in 1977, before being given to the original owner in 1978."

That incredible Steve Jobs business card originated around 1983 and was signed by Jobs in his typical lower-case style. "The off-white card, 3.5 x 2, features the iconic 'rainbow' version of the Apple 'byte' logo and reads: 'Steven Jobs, Chairman Board of Directors,' with the company's address and contact information listed below: '10260 Bandley Drive, Cupertino, California 95014, (408) 996-1010.' The business card is listed as being "in fine condition, with a faint stain on the front from an old tape stain on the back."

Less costly items included an Apple Computer vintage employee shirt as well as an iconic Apple Computer sweatshirt. There was even an Apple Macintosh II Desktop brochure which ultimately sold for $125.

Describing the auction before it closed, RR Auction said that the "March 2024 sale chronicles Steve Jobs and the Apple revolution, with additional featured items from the realms of vintage computing and video games. Highlighted by Steve Jobs autographs and memorabilia—including ultra-rare Apple Computer checks, significant signed letters, and business cards—the auction also plays host to a wide variety of original Apple hardware, including a functional Apple-1 Computer, colorful iMacs, scores of new-in-box iPods, and sealed iPhones." There were also rare Atari prototypes and schematics included including items developed by the famous Douglas Engelbart.

With the kinds of sums some of these things are being sold for, now might be a very good time to start checking those cupboards and garages in case you happen to have a $100,000 windfall waiting to be found. You might be surprised what could be worth a small fortune.

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Apple co-founder Steve Jobs stands as a true industry visionary even almost 13 years after his passing in 2011.

As if to illustrate this, a business card signed by the man himself was auctioned off this week in Boston, reaching a staggering $181,183 at auction.

The card is from 1983 (the year of the Lisa computer) and has been graded by memorabilia experts PSA.

Containing Apple's previous 10495 Bandley Drive address, the older style of font, and the still-iconic six-color logo, it's a piece of Apple history and it's reached a hefty price as a result.

Why the high price?

Auctioneer RR Auction notes that "prior to this sale, RR Auction has offered a total of 10 Steve Jobs business cards, with just one dating to circa 1983," but it's not the age of the card that makes this a big deal.

Steve Jobs was a man who didn't like to sign a lot of autographs throughout his storied career, meaning items bearing his signature are a rare find.

"Less than five Jobs-signed Apple Computer business cards—from any period—have successfully passed PSA/DNA authentication," the RR Auctions site explains.

Prior auctions of items signed by Jobs have also reached hefty fees, with a cheque from 1976, the year Apple was founded, paid to Radio Shack, sold for $46,063 (also through RR Auction).

Another signed cheque, paid to a management consulting firm in the same year, hit $106,985.

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When it comes to the retail experience, Apple sits atop the mountain for customer experience alongside luxury fashion brands like Louis Vuitton.

Now, a new report from Fortune gives us an insight into how Steve Jobs consulted with Louis Vuitton’s CEO Bernard Arnault before opening the first-ever Apple Store in McLean, Virginia.

According to the article, Jobs turned to Arnault to help make Apple’s retail experience as similar to a luxury flagship store as possible despite his peers saying it was “completely crazy.”

The first Apple Store opened in 2001, but before then the best Macs and other Apple products were only sold in retailers like Sears. Wanting to control the retail experience, as he felt the customer journey was lacking, Jobs would reach out to Arnault to ask for “advice on opening Apple Stores in the same areas as Louis Vuitton’s prime retail locations.”

Arnault, in a 2016 interview, said, “I must say, I was myself a little doubtful of selling [iPods in shops],” but gave Jobs advice anyway, which evolved into the Apple Store experience we’ve grown to know and love today.

The Apple Stores of today

While the first Apple Retail experience in 2001 would’ve been incredibly different to what we experience today, the groundwork and ethos have passed on through the decades. The excitement that customers share when queuing for the new iPhone or even the Apple Vision Pro is something that was meticulously thought out over twenty years ago.

Everything from the way you’re greeted when entering the store to the angle of the products on the table went through rigorous studies to make sure the customer had the best experience possible.

The parallels between Jobs' vision for an Apple Store and the most luxurious shops on the planet, like Louis Vuitton or Hermès, are what make shopping at Apple so enthralling. With the new M3 MacBook Air now available, it may just be an excuse to go and check out that retail experience again for yourself.

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A check Steve Jobs signed way back in 1976 has just gone up for auction and it is already worth 6000 times its original value. 

The $4.01 check was originally paid to a Radio Shack on July 23, 1976, when Jobs was just 22 years old. Accounting for inflation, that works out to just over $20 today. The current highest bid is now $25,000, with a potential buyer having to put down $27,500 to top it. The listing ends on December 7, but the 30-minute rule takes place before this, meaning only previous bidders can continue bidding until the end. 

Part of what drives this price up is just how important this year was for Steve Jobs. 1976 was the founding year of Apple and the check itself is even ‘from the account of Apple Computer Company’. You can own an original piece of Apple’s history right now for just the price of an iPhone 15 Pro Max, M3 MacBook Pro, Apple Watch Ultra 2, iPad Pro, and a few Vision Pros combined – a steal. 

A little more background

In the original listing, RR Auction says that “During this period in the summer of 1976, roughly four months after founding the Apple Computer Company, Jobs and Wozniak were hard at work building their first product."

“Though initially conceived as a kit to be soldered together by the end user—like most enthusiast computers of the era—the Apple-1 became a finished product at the behest of Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, one of the first personal computer stores in the world.”

Many Apple products and items have gone up for sale over the last few years, like these four original iPhones reaching almost $200k and this single iPhone selling for $63,000 at auction, but this check is one of the oldest and strangest. It is unsure what exactly that $4.01 got Steve Jobs, but whatever it was, it may well have helped in the invention of Apple’s first products in some small way. 

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Vintage Apple items are quite popular, and quite a few end up at auctions. We've seen a bunch of first-batch original iPhones from 2007 being auctioned off recently, but now we have something even rarer — a handwritten Apple ad from Steve Jobs that has survived the times.

The ad copy for Apple-1, handwritten by Steve Jobs, was recently auctioned off by Boston-based RR Auctions. It fetched a whopping $175,759 at the auction, which is six times the estimated value of the artifact. It's one of the earliest Apple marketing copies you will be able to find an original copy of, even though this is still an early draft.

Handwritten ad gives a glimpse into early Apple marketing

The ad copy in question dates back to somewhere before 1976. It has been confirmed by Apple historian Corey Cohen to line up with the original ad for the Apple-1, which was published in the July 1976 edition of Interface Magazine. The auction listing also included two original color glossy Polaroid photographs showing an assembled Apple-1 computer board with a keyboard and monitor, and the monitor showing an Apple Basic program running. 

The ad draft shows Jobs' focus on the hardware and software capable of the early Apple machine and Apple's price-based marketing, calling the $75 bundle a "real deal." 

RR Auctions also noted the origin of these auction items, "The provenance of this extraordinary piece stems from a close friend of Steve Jobs, who shares fond memories and experiences with the technology pioneer. Having been present during the Apple-1's developmental phase, the original recipient received these items as cherished keepsakes, amplifying their historical significance."

The ad copy and the photographs give a rare glimpse into the early Apple days, right around the inflection point that propelled the company from being a garage startup to making the best Macs, iPhones, and more today.

You probably don't open it all that often and some might forget it's there. Others might have deleted it ages ago, but did you know that the iPhone Stocks app has a hidden secret?

That secret is all about how it came about that famous icon. The one that shows a stock going up and the blue line pinpointing a very specific point at the crest of a wave. You know the one, right?

Well, did you know that the icon shows the point when Apple's share value surpassed that of Dell way back when? Well, now you do.

You'll never guess why

I'll fess up because I didn't know that either. But according to Mac Life and designer Andres Storm, it's the case. And that isn't the end of it, either.

The story goes that Dell founder Michael Dell famously suggested that Apple be sold off, saying that the best course of action would be to "give the money back to the shareholders." Apple wasn't doing great in 1997, see. But when things turned around Jobs didn't forget.

So when Apple's share price surpassed that of Dell's in January 2006, Jobs remembered what Dell had said. And it's that point in time that's reflected in the icon that appears on every iPhone around the world.

Without that point in time, we likely wouldn't have everything we have today. No iPhone 15 just around the corner, and the best iPhone would probably be a Motorola ROKR. And that would just be sad, wouldn't it?

Unless of course, this is all just the thing of myth and legend, in which case it's even better. Because let's be absolutely honest here, what makes this so brilliant is that we could all absolutely imagine Jobs having someone make the Stocks icon this way just to annoy Michael Dell.

Apple's Think Different ad campaign is famous for bringing the company and its products to a new audience between 1997 and 2002, but now it's been retooled and used in a whole new way.

Forget Think Different, we're now being told to Eat Differently in an attempt to promote plant-based diets and persuade people to stop eating meat.

But beyond simply re-working Apple's slogan, the people behind the Eat Differently campaign are also using Steve Jobs' likeness to help promote their course.

Eat Differently

This new ad campaign was first shared by VegNews in a post that now doesn't seem to be available — here's a Wayback Machine link — and Jobs is far from the only famous plant eater used to promote it.

According to that report, Eat Differently is a new LLC and a self-described “public service resource”. As part of that it's paid to have 29 billboards put up across San Diego with Jobs, Paul McCartney, Greta Thunberg, and Cesar Chavez some of those included.

"In the 90’s, Apple launched one of the most prolific and poignant advertising campaigns in modern history. The “Think Different” campaign highlighted luminaries throughout history and correlated their extraordinary “thinking” with brilliance," Eat Differently states. "We noticed that many of these luminaries featured in the campaign had a common thread—they ate differently." 

Eat Differently says that it is paying homage "to icons past and present who invite us to think differently, eat differently, and become part of a movement that propels humanity towards a brighter tomorrow" in the spirit of the original campaign. 

Eats Differently quotes Jobs specifically, who once said in a keynote “the dairy industry tried for 20 years to convince you that milk was good for you. It’s a lie, but they tried anyway.” He went on to say that the "Got milk?" marketing campaign was far more effective because they were focusing on the absence of the product. 

However, it'll now be interesting to see what Apple thinks of all of this. In a world where Apple is trying to trademark the use of an apple in logos, we can't imagine it taking kindly to a previous ad campaign being reused in this way. The Eat Differently logo even features a green apple with a fork.

As for what comes next, we'll have to wait and see if there's any response from Apple or the Jobs estate surrounding Eat Differently and its ad campaign. It'll also be interesting to see if any of the other people whose likenesses are used were aware of that before these ads went live.

When Steve Jobs received a letter asking him for an autograph back in 1983, the sender of that letter might have hoped that they'd get what they'd asked for. And sure enough, they did — but not in the way that they might have expected.

What they did receive was a letter from Jobs in which he said that he was "honored" to have received the request. But he went on, adding that he didn't sign autographs.

That letter, of course, was hand signed by Jobs himself, making for what might be the funniest autograph you're likely to come across.

An (almost) priceless letter

This letter later made its way to RR Auction and sold for a huge sum of money — a whopping $480,000 in fact.

Jobs was known for not giving out autographs very often, something that might have helped the 2021 auction hit such heady heights. The letter itself was a single page and carried the Apple Computer, Inc. letterhead. Dated May 11, 1983, the letter itself is already more than 40 years old.

"A notoriously difficult signer, Steve Jobs routinely declined most requests—whether in person or through the mail, he very rarely satisfied the appeals of autograph seekers," the auction description reads. "In this curious correspondence, he both declines to sign an autograph—perhaps a photograph or magazine was enclosed—while boldly endorsing the close of the letter in ink with his distinctive, lowercase signature. A great, early autograph from the Apple founder."

The autograph is a great example of Jobs' fun side, one that we don't often hear about. Jobs was known for being a hard taskmaster during his time at Apple, although his methods did oversee the company's return to form that saw the arrival of one of the best Macs ever in the original iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and more turn it into the behemoth that it is today.

How much would you think that a $175 check would be worth? Now how much would it be worth if it was signed by Steve Jobs back in 1976?

Whatever number you're thinking of right now, we're willing to bet that it isn't as high as the number that someone just paid for it at auction. Because that number isn't just big, it's massive.

As of now, someone is the proud owner of that check having handed over a cool $106,985 for it.

That's a lot of money

The check itself was made out to Crampton, Remke & Miller, a management consulting firm out of Palo Alto that Apple had been using at the time. It was signed by Jobs and carried Apple's phone number and address — an address that happened to be the company's first official one.

"Jobs's hiring of such a firm during Apple's earliest stages demonstrates his eye toward long-term growth," the RR Auction entry for the check says. "During this period, the company had recently developed the Apple-1, secured its first big order, and set about trying to fulfill it. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had to secure parts and components on credit, build the computers, and deliver them to retailers and individuals."

The check was described as "essentially flawless" which might have helped push the price up somewhat. But it seems unlikely that many had expected it to fetch quite so much.

The check was originally expected to sell for around $20,000.

It isn't unusual for Apple memorabilia to sell for huge sums of course. An original iPhone sold for more than $60,000 recently, for example, and that's just the start. People are willing to pay big money for just about anything if it's related to Apple, especially if it's from the early days of the company.

A signed check from Steve Jobs in 1976, the year Apple was founded, is currently up for auction and is expected to sell for well over $20,000.

The check for $175, dated July 8th, 1976, is in pristine condition and headed with "Apple Computer Company." Below the name, you'll find Apple's original public address, "770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto," which was the location of an answering service and mail drop that Jobs and Wozniak used while still operating out of the famous Jobs family garage.

At the time of writing, the check has a bid of $16,500 via RR Auction and ends on May 11th. 

RR Auction goes into further detail on the item, highlighting the information surrounding the registered consulting firm. "Crampton, Remke & Miller was a management consulting firm in Palo Alto that provided business process consulting to a wide range of high-tech companies in Northern California. In addition to the fledgling Apple Computer, the firm's clients included Atari, Memorex, National Semiconductor, and Xerox. Jobs's hiring of such a firm during Apple's earliest stages demonstrates his eye toward long-term growth."

Not the first Steve Jobs signed check

This auction isn't the first time we've seen a Steve Jobs check fetch thousands of dollars. In 2022, a check for $9.18 sold for a whopping $55,000. That check, however, was professionally authenticated by PSA Collectibles Authentication, leaving the buyer with no doubts over the authenticity of the signature.

Unlike that sale, this new check isn't fully authenticated, even if it has been thoroughly scrutinized and verified before going up for sale.

Apple collectibles are soaring in the current market, with original iPhones selling for over $60,000 and rare Apple-1 computers reaching astronomical values. Will this signed Steve Jobs check come close? We'll need to wait to find out.

Steve Jobs led Apple into some of its best golden ages, culminating in one of the most interesting characters and careers in the tech space. His story, however, remained told in iffy movies and biographies. The Steve Jobs archive is a little different, however. A sensitively collected series of Jobs's emails, interviews, and other more personal insights into his life, the Archive looks at Jobs throughout his life.

Containing eye-opening material that has never been seen by public eyes, the Steve Jobs Archive is one of the most interesting reads you'll find, even if you can flick through it in only a couple of hours. You can read the whole thing online at the Steve Jobs Archive website.

From the man himself

You can also download the entire eBook for free as well, and grab it on Apple Books. It's not very long and is set out like a timeline. It's a great read on the website itself, as the page continuously scrolls as if you were party to a constant stream of thought over the course of Jobs life.

It's a fascinating glimpse not only into how Jobs viewed technology and Apple, but also into how he viewed his experience amongst people. There's a lot about how Jobs saw the human experience, and how he viewed everyone's potential to do great things. He was one of the most interesting men to ever set foot in Silicon Valley, and to see such an intimate look at his life and outlook almost feels like a privilege.

Even for those not interested in Apple, it's a great read. Even better that it's free, letting everyone read the story and learn more about the man at its center. Whether you read it on your iPhone, iPad, or on the website on one of the best MacBooks, the collected thoughts, interviews, and emails are fascinating.

A revelation by Adam Curry, a podcast pioneer, gives an insight into the time Steve Jobs saved pivotal audio recording software in the early 2000s.

In an interview with Podcast Magazine, the "Podfather," Curry, one of the first podcast creators at the start of the 21st Century, told a story about a meeting with Steve Jobs in 2003 that shaped the future of podcasting.

At the turn of the century, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), had already shut down the pirating app Napster and attempted to stop the launch of the first hardware MP3 player made by Diamond Multimedia Systems.

The RIAA was set on preventing the inevitable move of audio into the digital age and set its sights on a new enemy, the Mac app, Audio Hijack.

Audio Hijack allows for recording Mac audio as well as being able to add audio effects to any audio recording. It's an app that past members of the iMore team have used for the iMore Show, but it was a grey area that the RIAA was worried about, as audio piracy was rife with applications like LimeWire having a detrimental impact on record sales.

Steve Jobs to the rescue

Speaking to Podcast Magazine, Curry said, "And in that very meeting, Steve asked: “How do you do your recording?”. We didn’t really have any tools to record, there was not much going on at the time. But the Mac had an application called Audio Hijack Pro, and it was great because we could create audio chains with compressors, and replicate a bit of studio work."

"Eddy Cue said: “The RIAA wants us to disable Audio Hijack Pro, because with it you could record any sound off of your Mac, any song, anything”. Steve then turned to me and said: “Do you need this to create these podcasts?”. I said: “Currently, yes!”. So Steve Jobs told them to get lost, and I thought: “Hey man, thanks, Steve’s on my side. That’s cool.”."

Following the interview, Curry revealed Jobs' actual words.

The developer of Audio Hijack, Rogue Amoeba, has since shared a blog post with gratitude to Jobs and a sigh of relief at how near the company's future was to being entirely different.

Steve Jobs would go on to prevent the RIAA from removing Audio Hijack from Macs and, in turn, directly impacted the future of audio recording and the podcast medium.

It's a lovely story. Even though it's been over 12 years since Jobs' passing, new insights into how he would help developers for the Mac are still coming to light.

A pair of brown suede leather sandals reportedly owned and worn by Steve Jobs has sold at an auction for an eye-watering $218,750. 

As reported by CNN, the pair of Birkenstock Arizona went under the hammer this week with an initial estimate of $60,000 - $80,000. However, 19 bids later the lot sold for more than $200,000. 

According to the listing, the sandals were owned and worn by Jobs in the 70s and 80s and were previously owned by Jobs' house manager Mark Sheff. Sheff says that he acquired the sandals and other items from Jobs because Apple's founding father didn't like to keep things. 

No small feet

According to Sheff, Jobs may have even made his own sandals in the 1970s. The listing says Jobs wore the sandals "during many pivotal moments in Apple’s history" including the beginnings of Apple in his family Los Altos garage with Steve Wozniak. Jobs' ex-partner and mother of his child Lisa said the sandals were "were part of his simple side. They were his uniform. The great thing about a uniform is that you don't have to worry about what to wear in the morning."

The sandals as seen here have been displayed at multiple exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad in Germany and Italy. The Sandals were described as "well used" but intact, and feature their original Birkenstock adjustable buckles and stamping. The footbed still has the imprint of Steve Jobs' feet and the soles show signs of heavy wear. 

Original and unique Apple memorabilia often fetch high prices at auction. Last month an original factory-sealed iPhone sold for over $39,000. A historic Apple-1 prototype board that was damaged sold at an auction in August for a whopping $677,000. 

The sandals lot also comes with a presumably worthless "exclusive NFT", a 1-of-1 360-degree digital representation of the sandals stored on the blockchain. 

You can find plenty of Apple gear this Black Friday for decidedly less than $200,000... 

An original Macintosh used by Steve Jobs is going up for auction next week, with some estimates having it worth as much as $300,000. Even on the low-end, it's expected to fetch $200,000 when it goes under the hammer.

The original Macintosh SE is thought to have been the one that Jobs used during his time at NeXT, before it was bought by Apple.

A piece of history

In text detailing the life of this particular Macintosh SE, auction house Bonhams says that the computer was installed in Steve Jobs' office from 1988 through 1994. While some of the more personal data has been removed, the machine hasn't been wiped — leaving some interesting information available for the buyer to peruse.

The buyer's new Macintosh SE will include "weekly tasks, travel and even a missed meeting with King Charles III (then Charles, Prince of Wales)" on its hard drive, for example. Later, Bonhams says that "there is also evidence that Jobs' daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs used it during her visits to the office as the mail system and Microsoft Word are registered under her name."

The machine was last used for a marketing project in 1994, Bonhams says, with the computer then handed to its present owner later that year. Remarkably, Jobs reportedly told that person that it "might have value someday."

If the expected $300,000 value is met, it's fair to say Jobs was on the money with that one.

That isn't all the winning bidder will pick up, either. Bonhams points to "documents relating to Jobs including business cards from his time at Pixar" as well as a signed performance review. Beyond that, "a rare ventless revision 0 Apple II" is also included with a value of up to $30,000 all on its own.

Those wishing to try their hand at winning the auction, or just keeping tabs on the best Mac few of us can afford, can check it out on the Bonhams website.

Game changer, maverick, creative genius. Steve Jobs was a technological pioneer that led a fascinating, and ultimately too short life, that fundamentally changed how we communicate and, even more broadly, live our lives. 

While many of his achievements are both well known and well documented, the Apple founder had a hand in so many different businesses and technological advances that it can be easy to overlook biographical facts that would otherwise define lesser characters.

Here below, we list 10 little-known details about Jobs’ extraordinary life. How many did you know?

1. His first commercial venture was a hacking device

“It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”

This oft-quoted Jobs maxim was used as a motivating rallying cry to Apple employees while developing the first Mac in 1982. However, its anti-establishment outlook can easily be traced back to Job’s very first business endeavor over a decade earlier.

Inspired by an Esquire magazine article about hackers who had created a "blue box" — a device that could replicate tones used by telephone companies and allow users to make long-distance calls for free — Job’s pal and future Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak set about creating his own digital version of the device. At the time, Wozniak was attending UC Berkeley, and Jobs was still in high school nearby in Los Altos.

After using the gadget to prank call cardinals at the Vatican by impersonating Henry Kissinger, Jobs realized there was money to be made and hatched a plan to sell them and split the profits with Wozniak. 

The $170 device was peddled by the pair around college dorms and proved popular with students eager to make free phone calls. After selling dozens of the devices, the illicit money-spinning venture eventually came to an abrupt end when the inexperienced entrepreneurs were robbed at gunpoint while making a sale outside a pizza parlor.

2. He played a key role in early gaming history 

For someone who once stated that his hatred for video games was only topped by that of comic books, Jobs somehow managed to exert a huge influence on this industry during his lifetime.

Upon dropping out of Reed College, Jobs became employee number 40 at the then rising Atari as a technician in 1974, hired by the company’s legendary co-founder Nolan Bushnell. That first stint with the pioneering company lasted just a few months, with Jobs quitting to travel to India, but he would later return to the company the following year to work on a special project: an updated, one-player version of Atari’s massively successful table tennis simulator Pong.

Tasked with designing a prototype, with a bonus for every chip he managed to eliminate from the initial arcade machine concept, Jobs sub-contracted much of the design work to his gifted pal Wozniak, infamously cutting his friend out of a cash windfall after successfully delivering a working breadboard to Bushnell.

The eventual finished product was the hugely influential block-smasher Breakout, which would go on to serve as the main inspiration for Taito’s Space Invaders, a game that would usher in the golden era of the arcade.

3. He nearly allowed the Apple II to be a Commodore product

It was the machine that put Apple on the map. Aimed at a consumer market rather than hobbyists, the Apple II became one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputers following its release in 1977. The first device to feature the now familiar multi-colored fruit logo, the pioneering computer could have arrived under different branding.

With a provisional design for the Apple II almost complete that included revolutionary color graphics and a kitchen appliance-style plastic case, Jobs knew for the machine to become a reality, his and Wozniak’s nascent company would need a substantial cash injection as well as some added expertise in public relations and advertising. And so the word was put out to potential investors.  

Then one of the world’s leading calculator manufacturers, Commodore was at one point a potential suitor and came close to striking a deal but would back out, instead building its own computer after balking at Jobs and Wozniak's valuation of Apple at $100,000. Commodore would go on to release its own range of hugely successful home computers such as the PET, the C64, and the Amiga.

4. Jobs’ coding skills were minimal

Despite being arguably one of the most pivotal figures in the world of computing, Jobs appears to have had little in the way of programming skills.

There’s evidence he had a grasp of BASIC, but little to suggest that rudimental ability was ever called upon at Apple.

Responding to a question from a fan on the subject on his personal website, Wozniak once revealed: “Steve didn't ever code. He wasn't an engineer and he didn't do any original design, but he was technical enough to alter and change and add to other designs”.

5. For Jobs, three was the magic number

From the French revolution motto of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" to the 'Snap, Crackle, Pop' zinger from Kellogg's copywriters in the 1930s, the power of breaking things down into three points has long been established in communications.

The principle works on the well-established idea that we are limited to holding only a small amount of information in the short term. Jobs was a strict adherent to that rule throughout his career, with some of his most impactful slogans and persuasive phrases deployed during his keynotes serving as great examples.

The iconic iPhone launch in 2007 saw Jobs prime the audience by repeatedly saying how he was about to unveil a trio of revolutionary products — a new iPod, a phone, and an internet communications device — before finally revealing a revolutionary single device able to handle all three tasks.

Three years later for the iPad launch keynote, Jobs would use a slide to emphasize how the new product should be perceived as a "third device" between a smartphone and a laptop.

The iPad 2 launch in 2011 would prove to be one of his final keynotes, and would once again provide another example of his adherence to the rule of threes. Highlighting the key improvements over its predecessor, Jobs introduced the iPad 2 as being "thinner, lighter and faster" than the original. The use of three adjectives would be used verbatim in almost all blog and newspaper coverage of the launch.

6. What was on Steve Jobs’ iPod? 

From GarageBand, to the iPod and the iTunes Store, Steve Jobs and Apple totally reinvented how artists make, market, sell, and promote their music.

It’s hard to imagine how a tech company CEO could have had such a wide-reaching impact on the industry had it not been because he was such a big music fan himself.

During his keynote address on Sept. 1, 2010, Jobs inadvertently offered a glimpse at his favorite albums while demonstrating Apple's now defunct, music-oriented social network iTunes Ping.

Appearing on the screen were thumbnail covers of classic rock standards such as Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, The Rolling Stones’ Some Girls, The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, Jackson Browne’s Late For the Sky, The Who’s Who’s Next, and John Lennon’s solo opus Imagine.

There was also a strong showing for folk music, with Cat Stevens’ Tea For the Tillerman and Peter, Paul and Mary’s Around the Campfire appearing alongside Glenn Gould’s Bach: The Goldberg Variations and jazz legend Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue.

7. It was Pixar that made Jobs a billionaire, not Apple

Alongside helping to shape the music industry into what we recognize today, Jobs also revolutionized Hollywood and the world of animation.

After leaving Apple for the first time in 1985, Jobs bought then-struggling digital animation hardware Graphics Group from Star Wars director George Lucas. He invested $5 million of his own money into the company and renamed it Pixar.  Jobs then switched the emphasis away from computer manufacturing to producing computer-animated feature films.

The big breakthrough for the company would come in 1995 with Toy Story, which went on to gross more than $350 million worldwide, and would later be followed by other box office smashes like A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. Chances are you've seen a Pixar movie in your lifetime.

Jobs would become a billionaire for the first time when the company went public in 1995. He would receive an even bigger windfall after selling Pixar to the Walt Disney Company in 2006 for over $7 billion, a deal that saw him become Disney's largest individual shareholder with a 7% stake.

8.The demo iPhone he used during its launch keynote was a dud

The iconic launch event for the first iPhone back in January 2007 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco is widely held up as one of the best demos in tech history.

While Jobs drew gasps and laughter during the entertaining unveiling, the smooth keynote address becomes even more impressive when factoring in that the demo unit Jobs used on stage barely worked. As well as being incredibly fragile, rehearsals in the lead-up to the event saw the demo device crash multiple times.

The prototype used by Jobs onstage had a “golden path” he could follow to show off the device’s revolutionary apps, but had he taken one wrong step, it could have led to the keynote being one of the most notoriously disastrous launches in tech history rather than being arguably the industry’s most memorable.

9. He was an early critic of Facebook and Google’s attitude to privacy

While Mark Zuckerberg referred to Jobs as both a friend and mentor in a tribute Facebook post following his death in 2011, it was clear that the Apple CEO that had inspired him so much was no fan of the way the social media company was using user data.

During a roundtable discussion with tech writers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the D8 Conference in June 2010,  Jobs admonished both Facebook and Google for not making it clear how users’ personal information was being harvested when using their services.

“Privacy means that people know what they’re signing up for. In plain English, and repeatedly," Jobs told the panel.

“That’s what it means. I’m an optimist, I believe that people are smart. Some people want to share more than others. Ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking them if they get tired of your asking them. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data."

10. 'The Mothership' was Jobs’ final 'big vision'

Rumors abound that Jobs had been working on a self-driving Apple car and a smart television with Apple TV-style functionality built-in before his death. 

What is certain is that the final big project that he worked on for Apple that would see the light of day and leave a lasting legacy would be the company’s sprawling Apple Park.

Able to house over 14,000 employees in a site spanning 2.8 million square feet, Jobs was instrumental in designing the dream campus alongside his great collaborator Jony Ive and British architect Norman Foster. 

In his last public appearance, just weeks before his death, Jobs proudly showed off plans for the space-age complex to the Cupertino City Council. On Sept. 12, 2017, six years after his death, Apple opened its new home, realizing the company founder's final attempt to build something great and keeping Apple within Cupertino — a short 10-minute drive from the garage in Mountain View where he had cofounded the company decades earlier with Wozniak. 

Too many facts to include

We're obviously big fans of Steve Jobs here at iMore, but there are too many facts about the man's life to even include here. He lived a full life despite his early death, and it was filled with fascinating anecdotes about business, relationships, and technology. If there are any you think we missed, share them with us on Twitter @iMore.

What you need to know

• Today, Steve Jobs was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to honor Jobs for the award and his legacy.
• Sixteen other recipients received the award today.

Today, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

United States President Joe Biden awarded Jobs and sixteen other recipients the honor in a ceremony at the White House earlier today. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who worked under jobs as the company's Chief Operating Officer until taking over the CEO role from Jobs, took to Twitter to honor Jobs for the award and his legacy.

"Today, Steve was awarded the Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor," Cook wrote. "He was a visionary who challenged us to see the world not for what it is, but for what it could be. We cherish his memory and we’ll continue building on his legacy."

The White House originally announced on July 2nd that Jobs, along with sixteen other recipients, would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The announcement says that Jobs is receiving the award because "his vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries."

What you need to know

• Steve Jobs has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Jobs is among seventeen recipients of the award.
• The White House will hold a ceremony on Thursday, July 7.

President Joe Biden will award Steve Jobs a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom more than a decade after his passing.

Today, the White House announced the seventeen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Biden said that the recipients of the award "demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith."

One of the recipients this year is Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and CEO who passed away in 2011. The announcement says that Jobs is receiving the award because "his vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries."

The full list of the seventeen recipients are below:

• Simone Biles
• Sister Simone Campbell
• Julieta García
• Gabrielle Giffords
• Fred Gray
• Steve Jobs (posthumous)
• Father Alexander Karloutsos
• Khizr Khan
• Sandra Lindsay
• John McCain (posthumous)
• Diane Nash
• Megan Rapinoe
• Alan Simpson
• Richard Trumka (posthumous)
• Wilma Vaught
• Denzel Washington
• Raúl Yzaguirre

The White House says that the awards will be presented in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, July 7.

What you need to know

• Apple has released "Celebrating Steve" on its YouTube channel.
• The short film was originally released on the company's website.
• The film commemorates the memory of Steve Jobs on the tenth year of his passing.

Apple's short film "Celebrating Steve" has been released on the company's official YouTube channel.

The film, which celebrates the life and passion of Steve Jobs, originally debuted on Apple's website earlier this week. If you haven't seen the film yet, you can check it out below:

Apple has also noted the song from the film. "Juliet's Dream" by Abel Korzeniowski is available on Apple Music below:

In addition to the short film, Apple CEO Tim Cook also sent a memo to employees to remember the late co-founder. You can read the entire memo below:

What you need to know

• Steve Jobs reportedly tried to get Dell to put both NeXTSTEP and Mac OS onto its PCs.
• The PC manufacturer went with Windows and the rest is history.
• Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell has been talking about Jobs as he promotes his new book.

With yesterday marking the 10th anniversary of Steve Jobs' death and Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell doing the rounds to promote a new book, new tidbits about the pair's relationship have been shared. According to Dell, Jobs tried to get him to install not only NeXTSTEP onto the company's PCs instead of Windows but he also wanted Mac OS to be offered up, too.

Promoting his new Play Nice But Win: A CEO's Journey from Founder to Leader book, Dell mentioned that Jobs wanted to have the NeXT operating system installed on PCs because it was "better than Microsoft's Windows." Dell was speaking with CNET at the time.

NeXTSTEP was ultimately rolled into Mac OS with the operating system eventually being renamed to the macOS that we know today.

Not one to take 'no' for an answer, Jobs returned to Dell in 1997 when he was back in charge at Apple. This time he wanted Dell to install Mac OS alongside Windows in a dual-boot scenario. But this being Jobs, there was a catch — no guarantee of future updates was offered up, potentially leaving Dell PC users in the lurch.

Whether that would have been the best move for the Mac, we'll never know. But it's fair to say that things could have ended up very differently if Dell had given in and allowed Mac OS to become part of the PC world.

Fast-forward to 2021 and one of the best Mac features is its ability to run macOS — something PCs can't do.

What you need to know

• Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a memo to Apple employees today.
• The memo commemorated the life and legacy of Steve Jobs.
• Apple also released a tribute in the form of a short film about Jobs earlier today.

Earlier today, Apple remembered the tenth anniversary of Steve Job's passing on its website and with a touching film. In addition, Tim Cook sent a memo to the company's employees to celebrate the late co-founder of the company.

In an internal memo to Apple staff obtained by Bloomberg, Tim Cook talked about Steve Jobs, the impact he had at the company, and the legacy he left to all of them.

You can read the memo from Tim Cook below:

What you need to know

• Today is the ten-year anniversary of Steve Jobs' passing.
• Apple has marked the occasion with a touching tribute to its late CEO on its website.
• It features a short film and a statement from Jobs' family.

Apple has today marked the ten year anniversary of the passing of Steve Jobs with a touching tribute on its website.

Apple.com today features on its homepage a short film titled 'Celebrating Steve' and a moving statement from Jobs' family.

It reads:

Apple's current CEO Tim Cook paid tribute to Jobs last year stating "You're always with us Steve, your memory connects and inspires us every day." Jobs founded Apple in 1976 alongside Steve Wozniak. He left the company in 1985 before returning in 1997, and helped Apple bring revolutionary products like the Mac and iPhone to market, before passing the reigns to Tim Cook in August, 2011. Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011.

What you need to know

• Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty sat down for an interview on the Apollo Effect podcast series.
• The analyst talked about why and when Apple will release an electric car.
• Huberty also reflected on what Steve Jobs would think about Tim Cook's leadership of Apple.

In a recent episode of the Apollo Effect podcast series, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty talked about Apple Car, Tim Cook's leadership, and what Steve Jobs would think of where Apple is now.

As reported by MacRumors, Huberty speculated that the successful car of the future would integrate hardware, software, and services - a combination that Apple is known for.

The analyst also talked about Tim Cook's leadership, saying that Steve Jobs would be proud of the way that Cook forged his own path while still protecting the culture of innovation that Jobs infused into the company.

Cook recently celebrated his 10th year as CEO of Apple. According to a recent report, the executive wants to launch one more product category before his retirement.

That product category will most likely have to do with augmented or virtual reality rather than an Apple Car, as the latter is not expected to launch until closer to 2030.

What you need to know

• An email from Steve Jobs appears to have confirmed Apple was working on an iPhone nano in 2010.
• Jobs also mentioned a "Holy War with Google" in a meeting agenda.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs appears to have confirmed that the company was working on an iPhone nano thanks to a 2010 email about a meeting that was about to take place.

In an email made public as part of the legal battle with Epic Games, Apple's then-CEO Jobs was outlining the plans for a future meeting in his 2010 email, with an entry for iPhone nano clearly visible. There are unfortunately no more details, as noted by The Verge, although it does appear Apple was keen to meet a specific cost goal. Apple's Jony Ive was apparently set to show the iPhone nano off during the meeting, too.

One other line of note mentions a "Holy War with Google." Jobs goes on to note that the meeting will cover "all the ways we will compete with them" which is something Apple was very much all about back in the day.

Apple ultimately never shipped an iPhone nano, although the closest thing we have to such a device today is the excellent iPhone SE — undoubtedly the best cheap iPhone you can buy.

This isn't the first time an email like this has outed a product that never shipped. A similar email shows Apple considered a 15-inch MacBook Air a few years ago, too.

What you need to know

• A number of Apple-related items are going up for auction.
• A bomber jacket worn by Steve Jobs as well as signed Apple products are some of the items featured.

More items that Steve Jobs had interaction with are making their way to auction.

RR Auction is hosting a ton of auction items that feature the late founder of Apple as well as items signed by Steve Wozniak, Jeff Raskin, and Ronald Wayne. One of the big items that will be up for auction is an Apple II Manual signed by Steve Jobs with a personal note.

Other items up for auction include an Apple I, an Apple Lisa, a bomber jacket worn by Jobs, as well as a handful of other business cards, components, schematics, and more.

The bidding for most of the items will begin on August 12. Anyone who is interested in bidding on the items (or checking them out in general) can do so at RR Auction.

These are just the latest items related to the Apple founder to go up for auction in recent history. Last month, an auction for an application letter from Steve Jobs netting a hefty price. The physical letter sold for $343,000 and a specially-created NFT version of the letter sold for 12 ETH (the current equivalent of $27,643.80.

What you need to know

• THAT infamous Steve Jobs job application letter is back up for auction.
• Having already sold three times for crazy sums, it's now up for auction again.
• The physical letter and an NFT version will be auctioned side-by-side.

Update, July 28 (6:15 pm ET): The auction has closed on both the physical and digital version of the Steve Jobs application letter.

A year before Steve Jobs joined Atari and a long time before Apple was founded, a now-famous job application was penned by the man himself. That application most recently sold for more than $200,000 — and it's up for auction again. Oh, and there's an NFT version as well!

I'm told that both the NFT and physical versions of the application will be auctioned side-by-side and there's even a special website for the occasion — stevejobsapplication.com. The only question? Which will sell for the most money?

Will the NFT sell at all?!

The auctions are being handled by Rarible on the NFT side and Snoofa over in the physical world. The whole thing will run for six days from today, while the auction kicks off at what I like to call "iPhone time" — 09:41.

So what happens now? Well, we wait to see how much money someone will part with to get hold of a piece of paper. Or in the NFT's case, not even that!

You know what would be a much better use of your money? The hot new M1 iMac — and you can even bag yourself an M1 iMac deal, too!

Update, June 16 (9:40 pm ET): T-Mobile issues apology for outage, claims it came from a circuit failure that cascaded.

Update, July 28 (6:15 pm ET) — The auction has closed on both the physical and digital version of the Steve Jobs application letter.

The auction for Steve Job's application letter has ended. The physical letter has sold for $343,000 and the NFT version of the letter has sold for 12 ETH (the current equivalent of $27,643.80.

The purpose of the auction was to see if a physical letter or NFT would be more valuable. Now that the auction is over, it is easy to see that physical has dominated the digital in terms of value.

What you need to know

• Steve Jobs took a close-up photo of grass that appeared as a wallpaper in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
• Now Matt Birchler has created his own wallpapers, inspired by Jobs'. And they're much higher resolution!

Steve Jobs took a close-up photo of grass that appeared as a wallpaper in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, but it wasn't the highest resolution in the world. Now, you can take a trip down memory lane after new wallpapers were created — in much higher resolution for modern Macs.

These new wallpapers were created by Matt Birchler and look absolutely stunning. They're all available in glorious 6K resolution after being taken on a Canon EOS RP with a 35mm f/1.8 lens one wet morning. The results are pretty great and there are six images to choose from.

All six wallpapers are available on Gumroad for a minimum of a dollar. Pay more than that, though — they're pretty sweet!

You'll need a nice, high-resolution Mac to make the most of these things of course. The new M1 iMac would be a good start! Don't have one yet? Bag yourself one after checking out our list of the best iMac deals we could find online!

News broke yesterday that Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly told his Facebook counterpart, Mark Zuckerberg, that the social network should delete all of the data it has collected on users from third-party apps. The suggestion was about as well-received as you might expect it to be.

From the New York Times:

And the outcome:

All of this really does sound like something an Apple CEO would do, doesn't it? Except, not this one. Not Tim Cook. This all feels like something co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs would come up with.

Lest we forget the infamous Steve Jobs Thoughts on Flash letter that was posted to Apple.com more than ten years ago.

Jobs also had a reputation for upsetting people on a whim. He went after people in interviews, in elevators, and undoubtedly in meetings with other company heads. None of that sounds like something Tim Cook might do, at least not with the regularity Jobs was famous for. Although plenty know Cook better than I, this story feels like something from ten years ago – not 2019!

If anything, it's perhaps an indication that Apple and Cook's stance on privacy is more than a cynical marketing ploy, as some have suggested. Both CEO and company seem to feel very strongly that privacy is a human right and neither will dance around that subject.

Even when it means putting Mark Zuckerberg on blast. Good on them!

What you need to know

• A handwritten Steve Jobs job application has sold for $222,400.
• The application was penned in 1973 after Jobs dropped out of Reed College.

A handwritten job application from 1973 has sold for a mind-boggling $222,400 or £162,000. The reason? It was penned by none other than Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs.

Jobs reportedly completed the application in 1973 after dropping out of Reed College. It was also around a year before Jobs took a role at Atari – a move that saw him meet up with Steve Wozniak. Neither would have imagined that they'd then go on to create the company that gave us the iPhone 12 and so much more.

The auction ran from February 24 and came to a close minutes ago. Someone somewhere now has a very costly piece of paper and, hopefully, some insurance to go with it!

Miss out on this little piece of history? Can I suggest consoling yourself by spending a lot less on one of the best Macs Apple has ever made?

You're welcome.

What you need to know

• A handwritten job application by Steve Jobs is going up for auction.
• The application will go up for auction later this month.

A handwritten employment questionnaire filled in by Steve Jobs will go up for auction later this month. The Apple co-founder was applying for a role after dropping out of Reed College in 1973.

While we obviously don't yet know what the single sheet of paper will sell for, it's notable that it did sell previously for more than $175,000.

First spotted by MacRumors, the application came just a year before Jobs took a role at Atari – a big and important part of the Apple origin story.

The auction itself will kick off on February 24 and will run for a month until March 24.

What you need to know

• Caviar's new iPhone 12 Pro models have a fragment of Steve Jobs' iconic turtleneck inside and that's just weird.

Caviar is a company that has long made a name for itself by taking Apple's iPhones and turning them into abominations. They always have stones where they have no place being and weird images and text slapped on the back. But the Russian company has outdone itself with the iPhone 12 Pro Jobs 4. Because oh my.

As the name suggests, this thing is supposed to pay homage to Steve Jobs and the iPhone 4 – the last iPhone he personally announced. That's fine, I guess. We can all probably get behind that, right?

But then things get weird. Things get very weird indeed.

Wait, what?

Caviar makes it sound like it got its hands on one of Jobs' own turtlenecks here and I can't decide if that's what actually happened or not. If it did, that's really weird. And if this is just a normal black sweatshirt that's being passed off as the real thing, that's just icky. Neither option is a great one.

Pricing starts at around $6500 which is obviously insane and it goes up from there. Because sure, why not?

Oh, I know why. Because it's an affront to anyone with an ounce of taste.

What you need to know

• Following Sean Connery's death we've seen an old joke rear its head once more.
• 2011 saw a fake letter doing the rounds, claiming to be from Connery to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
• Jobs supposedly wanted Connery to be in an ad but the actor was having none of it.

Despite what everyone on Twitter might think, the late Sean Connery never sent a letter ripping Steve Jobs a new one following another failed attempt to get the actor into an Apple ad. As much as it does sound like something the former Bond actor might have done!

The fake letter is once again doing the rounds following the recent death of Connery. But it was first seen back in 2011 when CNET first debunked it and originated from satirical site Scoopertino.

As The Verge notes, the fact this keeps coming back up nine years after its debut is pretty insane.

What you need to know

• Epic and Apple continue their legal spat that will likely run for around a year.
• Epic accuses Apple of providing a "facially deficient" custodian list.
• The maker of Fortnite says it wants the emails of Steve Jobs and Tim Cook to add to the 3.6 million documents it already has.

Apple and Epic continue their legal spat over Fortnite and App Store policy and the pettiness has now managed to extend to discovery. Specifically, Epic wants to see the emails of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and current CEO, Tim Cook.

The latest farce comes following yesterday's joint case management statement, as noted by Foss Patents. Perhaps predictably, the pair are blaming each other for being uncooperative.

Epic has already made 16,000 pages of CEO Tim Sweeney's files available to Apple, with the App Store owner saying that those pages were cherry-picked for obvious reasons. Epic says they weren't.

But this goes both ways. Epic says that Apple's list of custodians – the people who may hold information that is important to the case – is "facially deficient". Basically, it's accusing Apple of holding back documents of its own.

Epic wants the emails of former CEO Steve Jobs and current CEO, Tim Cook, to add to the 3.6 million documents that are already in play.

It goes on. Apple in turn says that everything Epic needs is already freely available – on the internet, no less – should it bother to look.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers will hold a case management conference next Monday – that should be an interesting one to say the least!

What you need to know

• Steve Jobs signed a magazine in 1989.
• He was on the cover of Fortune.
• That magazine has now sold for almost $17,000.

Having something with Steve Jobs' signature on is a license to print money, it seems. We told you not too long ago about a magazine that had been signed by the Apple co-founder and was up for auction alongside a certificate of authenticity. Now that magazine has sold, raking in a cool $16,638.

Here's the story as described in the auction itself.

Interestingly, there were only three bids on this piece with the minimum bid being $11,000. It doesn't seem like there was a huge amount of interest in a copy of an October 2019 issue of Fortune, but that didn't stop it hitting the big numbers.

How much would you have paid for something like this? It would be a great conversation starter, but I'm not sure I could get even close to this kind of money. I wonder if they'd have swapped it for an old iPhone and some water-damaged AirPods.

What you need to know

• Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was on the cover of Fortune in October 1989.
• His chauffeur had a copy of the magazine signed by Jobs, although he wasn't happy about it.
• That magazine is now up for auction with a starting bid of $11,000.

You, too, could own an interesting bit of Steve Jobs memorabilia so long as you're willing to hand over more than $11,000. That's the current bid on a copy of the October 9, 1989 issue of Fortune that bears not only a photo of the Apple co-founder, but also his signature.

The magazine was signed after one of his chauffeurs asked him to do it – a move that upset Jobs. But not until after he'd done it.

The magazine came at an important point in Jobs' life, shortly after NeXT launched. Nobody knew at the time how things would ultimately pan out, but the events of the next 20 years probably made this magazine worth more than it otherwise would be!

What you need to know

• Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs is a thing.
• Coronavirus has put paid to live performances.
• So it's going to air on the radio in June instead.

Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, all about the life of Apple's infamous co-founder and enigmatic former CEO, will air on the radio on June 13 as spotted by Cult of Mac.

Specifically, you'll want to tune in to Classical KING FM 98.1 at 10 a.m. Pacific on June 13 to listen. You can listen online, too.

So that's a thing that's happening.

Snark aside we're told that this is a pretty decent listen if you're into such things. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but be sure to listen in if it's yours!

Here's a snippet to whet the appetite – based on that famous iPhone unveiling all those years ago.

What you need to know

• Tony Fadell is thought of as the father of iPod.
• He told Stripe CEO Patrick Collison of the speedy release.
• It went from nothing to the hands of customers in a year.

Apple is so secretive that it isn't until years later that we start to find out how things really went down. That's been the case with iPod for a while and now we're hearing more about how the music player came about. According to Tony Fadell, it went from nothing to being in stores in less than a year.

Tony Fadell is often called the father of iPod, and he was certainly the key driving force behind making it happen. But it turns out that when he was brought on-board Apple didn't have any plans at all. It just knew that it wanted to make something that played music from Toshiba's 1.8-inch hard disk.

Fadell told Stripe CEO Patrick Collison (via 9to5Mac) that there was no iPod to speak of when he joined. And the timeline after that is scary.

The fact that there was no team in place until May makes things all the more amazing, but just a few months later Steve Jobs was on a stage announcing iPod. And Apple hasn't been the same since.

What you need to know

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff met with Steve Jobs in 2003 and the pair discussed cloud services.
• After that conversation, Benioff came up with an app store for Salesforce and registered the URL.
• When Apple announced App Store, Benioff gave the URL to Jobs.

You probably already know that appstore.com redirects to App Store or iTunes depending on the device you're using, but that wasn't always the case. After a meeting with Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2003, it was Salesforce and CEO Marc Benioff who owned it.

But after his initial plans changed Benioff was left with a URL he didn't need. Until 2008 when Apple announced App Store.

The whole story of how that came about is in Benioff's new book, Trailblazer, with TechCrunch sharing the story.

But it took a few years for Benioff to put all of the pieces together. And once he did, what he came up with was the kind of app store we are all so familiar with today.

The idea was so good Benioff had his team register the URL so Salesforce could use it when it was ready to. But ultimately Salesforce ended up shipping with a different name after customers said they didn't like the AppStore name. AppExchange was born, leaving appstore.com unused. At least, until Benioff was invited to Apple's big 2008 announcement – App Store.

After the event, Benioff gave the URL to Jobs so it could be used with the new App Store product.

The rest, as they say, is history.

What you need to know

• The "Steve Jobs" movie came out in 2015.
• Michael Fassbender played the former Apple CEO.
• It's based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs.

Movies and books about Steve Jobs aren't rare. But Aaron Sorkin's "Steve Jobs" was one of the better ones despite being based on the Walter Isaacson book that received some pushback. The movie ultimately received good reviews from critics but didn't perform well at the box office. And now it's coming to Netflix.

With the excellent Michael Fassbender playing Jobs, the movie is one of my favorites despite its flaws. Sure, it's no "Pirates of Silicon Valley," but nothing is. And more importantly it's way, way better than the "Jobs" movie starring Ashton Kutcher. "Steve Jobs" also starred Kate Winslet and Seth Rogan, among other big names.

And now the whole thing is coming to Netflix on January 16 as spotted by Cult of Mac. If you haven't seen it yet, or just want to settle in for another evening of nostalgia, this is well worth watching.

More: Everything new coming to Netflix in January 2020

What you need to know

• A Mac floppy disk signed by Steve Jobs sold for more than $80,000.
• It was expected to fetch around $7,500.
• It's cool, but who spends $80,000 on a floppy disk?

A floppy disk signed by Steve Jobs has sold at auction for an amazing $84,115. The biddding started at just $1,000 and the item was expected to sell for around $7,500. As it turns out, that was a bit on the pessimistic side.

The disk was confirmed as authentic and was clearly highly sought after. The item description notes that Jobs didn't often put his signature to memorabilia, making this a particularly rare find.

The thought of spending this kind of money on a floppy disk is mind boggling to me, but then again if I had that kind of disposable income I'd probably have wanted to pick this thing up, too.

What you need to know

• A floppy disk signed by Steve Jobs is up for auction.
• It's expected to sell for at least $7,500.
• If we all check our sofa cussions we might be able to buy it together.

It isn't every day that something signed by Steve Jobs pops up for auction, but today is one of them. Right now you can bid on a Macintosh floppy disk signed by the Apple co-founder himself.

RR Auction currently has the disk up for auction (via 9to5Mac) and it's expected to bring in at least $7,500. That's a lot for a floppy disk, especially one you probably can't use. But boy oh boy do I want it.

Maybe if we all check our pockets and sofa cussions we can buy it together. Sound good?

A temperamental, triumphant, fallible, transcendent technologist and artist, his taste, sensibility, and the sheer force and audacity of his will more than dented our universe — it shaped our culture and our lives, and helped empower us to dent universes all our own.

You shook the world, Steve, and it was shaken at your passing. But technology goes on. Art goes on. Apple goes on. We're lessened without you, but what you left behind enables us to achieve so much more.

Thank you.



PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM MUNNECKE—GETTY IMAGES

What you need to know

• Steve Jobs' fruitarian diet hospitalised Ashton Kutcher.
• Kutcher tried Jobs' experimental diet to get into his mind
• An overdose of carrot juice landed Kutcher in hospital.

Ashton Kutcher, talking on First We Feast's hot sauce fuelled talk show 'Hot Ones' hosted by Sean Evans, has revealed how he was hospitalised by Steve Job's experimental fruitarian diet prior to filming biopic 'Jobs'.

Kutcher, recalls how when studying Steve Jobs' character in order to play the role, he discovered that Jobs' had read a book the healing properties of a fruit-based diet. In studying Jobs' eating habits and behaviour, Kutcher learned that Jobs' used to drink a lot of carrot juice. Naturally he decided to give it a go, in order to get himself into the mindset of perhaps the tech world's most iconic figure. Kutcher also hoped it would give his skin the orange tint that Jobs' skin had.

Kutcher says he drank carrot juice "non-stop, all day long". 2 weeks prior to filming however, he began to experience severe back pain and eventually wound up in hospital on the highest dose of Dilaudid available. Doctors told him that he was suffering from pancreas issues induced by the collosal amounts of carrot juice he had been ingesting.

Kutcher recalls freaking out about "the ghost of Steve Jobs" taking over his pancreas. Jobs' himself of course died of pancreatice cancer. Thankfully, it was just the carrot juice which had brought on some severe pancreatitis.

You can check out the whole interview below, and the 'Jobs' talk begins at 12 minutes 30 seconds.

What you need to know

• Disney CEO Bob Iger feels that if Steve Jobs were alive, Disney could have merged with Apple…
• Iger said he grew close to Jobs and the two could "say anything to each other."
• Iger also revealed that Jobs was integral to getting Disney's acquisition of Marvel done.

Vanity Fair on Wednesday posted an excerpt from Disney CEO Bob Iger's new book, "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company," and in it is a fascinating look at Iger's connection with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and how the two could "say anything to each other." Incredibly, Iger reveals that if Jobs were still alive, it's very possible Disney and Apple would have merged.

Apparently, Jobs had a pretty poor relationship with Disney when Michael Eisner was CEO, even publicly announcing he'd never work with Disney again after previously collaborating on Pixar films, including Toy Story. But things turned around when Iger took over in late 2005.

Iger said he and Jobs initially bonded over an idea about a video iPod, and from there their relationship blossomed, capped off by an appearance together at a One More Thing event announcing the video iPod.

Their relationship grew stronger until, ultimately, the two were able to tell each other anything.

Iger goes on to say that many of Disney's recent successes are thanks to Jobs, including Disney's acquisition of Marvel. Iger then says that there was a very real possibility of Disney and Apple merging before the Apple's co-founder's death.

The excerpt posted on Vanity Fair is a fascinating look at how two business titans forged an unlikely relationship. It's well worth a read.

John Carmack, famously of ID Software and creator of Doom, among other industry-shaping games, and Andy Raskin, a consultant who once interned at Apple, both recently shared anecdotes about Steve Jobs.

Carmack's was first hand and as much of a rollercoaster ride as you might expect.

From Facebook (yeah, sorry, he's intertwined with Oculus, which is owned by Facebook):

OpenGL made the original iOS (née iPhone OS) interface incredibly smooth. It also backed into being a hell of a casual gaming platform.

Raskin's anecdote is third hand, if that, and may well be broken telephone at that point. But it's interesting.

From Medium (yeah, also sorry, but it's still trendy to write there...):

If you don't know what's going on, you can't fix things, and if you can't fix things, you can't make things.

First reported by la Repubblica Napoli, bothers and business partners Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato have officially won a years-long legal battle against Apple that will allow them to continue to call their clothing company "Steve Jobs" after Apple's beloved founder.

According to Chaim Gartenberg over at the Verge, the fight between Apple and the Barbatos began all the way back in 2012 after they noticed that Apple did not have any sort of trademark on Jobs' name:

Since then, Steve Jobs the company has been duking it out in court with Apple over use of both the name and the clothing company's logo — a letter J with a semicircular bite taken out of it and a very Apple-y leaf serving as the dot on top. However, while all of the brothers' branding is clearly inspired by Apple iconography, it was deemed perfectly legal to use by European courts. Gartenberg notes that la Repubblica Napoli speculated it may be because of the logo that Apple lost the case:

To add to the absurdity, the brothers Barbato claimed in an interview with Business Insider Italia that their ultimate goal is to begin developing tech products sometime in the future (though they neglected to disclose any specific plans). Gartenberg mentions that if the Barbatos are successful in this, "there could very well be a Steve Jobs phone competing in stores right next to Jobs' own iPhone." Until that day comes, however, the brothers will be sticking to crafting their line of bags, shirts, and other clothing and accessories.

Now, who needs some Steve Jobs jeans to perfect their New Year's Eve ensemble?

Thoughts?

How do you feel knowing that there's a non-Apple entity called Steve Jobs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Apple is a singular company. None other have achieved their success. They make even more money than those who have oligopoly control over rare fossil fuel resources. They also know how to keep secrets. That makes them mysterious, surprising, and frustrating. Add to that the persona of Steve Jobs — and of Jony Ive, and it's compelling. Everyone wants to know more about it. And books are one of the best ways to learn.

I've read all of them over the years. Some in hardcover. Some in paperback. Some in the Kindle or iBooks apps. Many as audio books. A few I've read several times over. These are the books about Apple, Steve Jobs, and Jony Ive that have stood the test of time.

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson's official biography of Steve Jobs… isn't great. But it is official. The problem with the book is that for all his access Isaacson seemed unable to focus on what moments made Jobs interesting, and so there's much ado here about nothing. That said, if you have the time and you're capable of filtering through all the noise, there's some information between these covers you just can't find anyone else.

In other words, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson isn't good but it's important.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Becoming Steve Jobs

While it lacks the official access of Isaacson's biography, Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli's biography paints a far better picture of the man. It does that by focusing on the moments that transformed him from the first coming of Steve Jobs, who was fired by Apple, to the second coming of Steve Jobs, who saved Apple. Whether you ultimately agree with them about the transformation matters less than the more balance, dynamic story they manage to tell.

If only these authors were given the access Isaacson squandered.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Revolution in the Valley

Andy Hertzfeld was on the team that created the original Mac, and that put him right in the middle the transition from command line to graphical user interface, the controversy that led to the firing of Steve Jobs, and the competition that eventually led Microsoft and Intel to own the PC industry. Based on the accounts originally shared on folklore.org, it might be told from Hertzfeld and the Mac's point of view, but that's precisely what makes it so great.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Insanely Great

Rather than focus on Steve Jobs specifically, Insanely Great focus on the computer that changed everything for Apple: the Mac. Steven Levy, a legend of tech reporting, the use of a product as a lens for such a product-focused company works, as the title suggests, insanely great. And while we might be headed into the post-PC era, it's the PC — in this case the Mac — that laid all that foundation. For iPhone and for Apple.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Insanely Simple

Ken Segall was Apple's longtime ad-man. He worked with Steve Jobs on countless campaigns over the years, including the legendary "Think Different". Filled with anecdotes from those formative years, Segall gives a lot of insight into the Apple that was, even if the Apple that is has evolved a lot since then.

If you're interested in the marketing that made iMac and iPod great, Insanely Simple covers it.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Inside Apple

For as much attention as Apple gets, much of its inner workings remain shrouded in mystery. It's a safe assumption that those who talk don't typically know, and those that know don't typically talk. All that said, Adam Lashinsky's Inside Apple sheds at least a little light on what makes Apple Apple.

Apple's organizational structure and practices are a moving target, but this gives you a glance at how they worked. At least as of a few years ago.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Designed by Apple in California

This tome isn't for everyone. It's big — and bigger! — and it's incredibly expensive. It also contains few words and nothing in the way of story. What it does include, though, are photos of Apple's most important products collaborated on by Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, including behind-the-scenes looks at prototypes and tools.

Many people won't like this book. Some won't like that it exists. Others, especially those obsessed with design and product, will find it invaluable.

See at Apple

Jony Ive

Jony Ive leads the team responsible for the now-iconic designs of iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. He's won more awards than most other companies combined. He's got a singular vision for simplicity and inevitability. And he's incredibly private. That makes it impossible to tell just how accurate Leander Kahaney's book on Ive really is but it also makes its existence incredibly valuable.

If you're interested in Jony Ive, this book is the closest you'll get to him.

• See on Amazon
• Son in iBooks

Design Crazy

While short, Design Crazy by Fast Company writer Max Chafkin and his team of reporters contains a plethora of interviews with former Apple employees and people "familiar with matters". It borders on the sensational at times but also contains a lot of stories that help highlight the thinking and effort that went into Apple's design-centric culture.

• See on Amazon
• See on iBooks

Your favorite books about Apple?

These are my favorite books about Apple, the ones I've gotten the most from over the years. If you've read them, or have others that I missed, let me know!

The company that brought us the Macintosh, Newton, iMac, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and Apple Watch is celebrating a milestone this April 1: Apple turns 40 today. That's 40 years of insanely great — and not so great — products. 40 years filled with brilliant executives and engineers. And 40 years of thinking different.

The company is not one to readily reminisce or celebrate its history. Former CEO Steve Jobs once said "If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much," and by all reports heavily encouraged others at Apple to follow this philosophy.

But a little introspection — on rare occasions — can be a great thing, and there are a few hints both on campus and off that Apple values the legacy it has built.

And so we, too, have decided to take a moment to reflect on how Apple has influenced and changed us over the last few decades.

Rene Ritchie: Editor-in-chief, iMore

When I was a tiny child, my father took me to the computer shop and I saw the Apple II Plus. Beige box. Green screen. And we brought it home. Throughout my childhood it was a constant companion. I watched my father use VisiCalc daily. I played games, learned BASIC, and wrote stories.

I missed the early Macs for a variety of reasons, but eventually got a Performa in college. I used it to design, code, and produce graphics for my first website. After a brand new Dell laptop arrived for me at work, absent drivers for its own graphics card, I switched to a MacBook Pro there as well. There was no turning back. In quick succession I got the first iPod touch, then the first iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and each subsequent generation. I began working at iMore and slowly but surely, Apple became part of my everyday life.

Since Apple was with me from such a young age, I don't really remember a time without that rainbow logo. Since I watched the keynotes from when they first started being broadcast, I don't really remember a time before the second coming of Steve Jobs. Since I write and talk about Apple every day, I don't really remember a time when the company's vision and products weren't shaping the world and my life.

In technology forty years seems like both an eternity and no time at all. But it's enough to dent several universes — to drive the mainstreaming of computers; to bring powerful tools to education, to health, and to the arts; and to create a culture where technology is never bereft of humanity.

From Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in a garage to the most successful company in history, from a little boy staring at a neon green screen to a person who now gets to make a living helping others get the most out of technology: Happy birthday Apple. Thank you for your products and your vision. Thank you for fighting for us and for giving us the tools to fight for ourselves. Thank you for forty years.

Here's to forty more, and forty beyond that. Here's not to the past, but to all the great things coming next!

Serenity Caldwell: Managing editor, iMore

In the six years since I began writing about Apple and technology, my biography has had one, joking constant: "Serenity has been writing and talking about and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click."

It's a good line, but for me, it's true. My father, a Caltech employee and professor, had been an Apple fan since the beginning, and he brought us up on the Mac Plus. One of my earliest memories is sitting at that computer, trying to draw little creatures in Mac Paint — with a one-button mouse, at that.

That beautiful beige lump may have started as the family computer, but by my schooling years it lived solely in my bedroom, used only by myself and my sister. We think about the modern computer as being fundamentally broken without an Internet connection, but I didn't need the budding Internet for the Mac to win over my time. Instead, applications like Mario Teaches Typing and Number Munchers taught me everything I wanted to know, while exploratory games like Myst and Spelunx let me play in worlds beyond my imagination, and a 12-floppy-disk set of Shakespeare's classics gave me my first love for the theater. My very first foray into journalism — a newsletter for my neighborhood called "The Pasadena Press," created when I was, oh, 7 or 8? — was written in MacWrite and formatted with Print Shop.

As the Internet became something worth paying attention to, the Mac Plus went to our local elementary school and our household got a huge upgrade. Whereas previously I'd had to sneak into my father's office at school to look at message boards on his old Performa, I got a pretty special present on my 11th birthday: an Internet-capable Bondi Blue iMac of my very own.

That Mac, and its descendents, were my constant companions through my childhood years. They helped me explore universes I'd never even thought of entering — like art, and photography — and let me craft worlds I'd already built with my words.

You could argue that anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s was going to be fundamentally changed by the introduction of the personal computer, and I could have been just as profoundly affected had I had a Windows machine in my house. That could have been true — but for me, it was Apple and the Mac. There was something meaningful about having the technology of the underdog; technology that, when compared to my friends' constantly-crashing Windows 95 PCs, was clearly superior.

But Apple's computers weren't just about the technology, to me — they were about the promise of future technology. Of thinking different.

It's why my father and I lined up, one cold Saturday morning, to be some of the first ones into a new Apple experiment: the very first Apple Store. ("Second," if you count Virginia. But Glendale will always be R001.) It's why I found myself drawn to working at an Apple Store on the east coast seven years later. And it's why, one random Summer afternoon, I found myself applying to a writing job at Macworld I saw on Twitter from editor-in-chief Jason Snell.

Apple has evolved many times in the 28 years since I first sat down at that Mac Plus, and indeed, the 40 years of its existence. My Apple products no longer come in beige boxes. Many of them don't even need wires, or keyboards. Some fit into my palm. And that's just how it should be. 40 years, triumphing on creating quality work, the promise of the future, and constant improvement. It's a lesson we should all take into our own lives.

Congratulations, Apple, and happy birthday. I hope to see you triumph and evolve for many years to come.

Daniel Bader: Senior editor, iMore

My relationship with Apple begins long after sturdy boxes of the Apple II and Macintosh were supplanted by the progressively sleeker approximations of the Platonic ideal of desktop computing emerged in the form of the iMac.

My relationship with Apple began with the iPod.

In 2002, shortly before beginning university, I spent $500 of my hard-earned money on a second-generation iPod, the one with the first touch-sensitive scroll wheel and the most satisfying clicky buttons I can remember. Ten gigabytes of storage was both a privilege and a responsibility, and I filled that machine with what I still consider to be the best music of all time: the entire Beatles collection; The Rolling Stones; The Who; Led Zeppelin; Pink Floyd; early Genesis; Jethro Tull; Yes. I experienced the most technologically advanced piece of personal technology available at the time through the dusty early stereo filters of the classic rock giants of the late '60s and early '70s. I took the iPod with me on my first solo trip to Europe, strolling through the wide, symmetrical Parisian streets in the early summer sun. I created breakup playlists and love playlists; I never left home without it.

That iPod died at some point in mid-2004, its battery worn down to a few short hours, its screen scratched to within an inch of visibility.

I can't remember a product line that grew up with me as much as the iPod. When, at 22, I bought the first-generation iPod touch, I knew that Apple had figured out something about touch-based user interfaces that no one else had. My love for the iPod touch was less passionate, less frustrating, than the mechanical purrings of its forebears, but with that maturity came the realization that I wanted to talk about this stuff every day, to whomever would listen. I think like many people, the iPod changed their lives. For me, it nudged me in a particular direction, which, through a long and winding road, led me here.

Happy birthday!

Lory Gil: Staff writer, iMore

My life with Apple began in college. The journalism department at my school worked exclusively with Mac computers. I had an old, barely working PC at the time and decided that, if I was going to get a new computer, it might as well be in line with what I was doing in college. So, I bought an iBook G3.

Prior to purchasing my first Apple product, I didn't give a crap about computers. They were confusing monstrosities to me. I basically used my old PC as a glorified word processor. I would check email and visit forums for fan pages I liked, but that was pretty much it. I could never really understand how they worked.

Enter Apple's user-friendly operating system. The computing world opened up to me. Things made more sense. I could find software that I had downloaded easier. My photos were stored all in one place when I connected my digital camera. I didn't have to "defrag" my computer ever month. When I dropped a file in the trash, it actually went away, instead of some part if it secretly hiding deep in the bowels of my OS. It just worked.

I finally felt like I understood computers more. I started digging into how the system works, finding out cool things I could do. When I went mobile with Apple in 2004 with my first iPod mini, it fueled my fire to learn even more about technology. I became a gadget collector and tried ever mobile device I could get my hands on, which let me to the iPad.

In 2010, the iPad changed my life. I had been wondering around, aimlessly working at various magazines and local weekly papers, covering human interest stories and the like. When I got my first generation iPad (which all of my friends scoffed at), I knew I wanted to write about it, to tell others about how amazing the technology was, and how easy it was to use. So, I did.

Now, six years later, I work at my favorite Apple news site with the best writers on the Internet and I pinch myself every morning at how lucky I am to be a part of it.

So, thanks Apple, for opening up the world of computers and technology to me. Because of you, I get to do what I love with people I respect. And bonus; I can help my mom every time she can't figure something out on her iPhone.

Rich Stevens: Frequent contributor, iMore

As long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted was as many computers as I can get my hands on. The first one we had in our family was a Commodore VIC-20, which got me into BASIC. A couple years later, my mom bought us an Apple IIgs with her teacher's discount and I haven't done more than dabble with a non-Apple computer since.

I still remember drawing a scorpion on an Apple II in Dazzle Draw at school. It was the first creative work I ever did on a computer. Ten years later, I decided to go into graphic design over illustration because in my college, design had all the Macs. Almost every good friend I made in college, I made while solving their technical problems in that computer lab. That experience led me to making websites and eventually spending 16+ years putting comics on the internet.

I honestly wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Apple. Thanks Steves, and unsung hero Ronald Wayne.

Chris Parsons (Bla1ze): Editor-in-chief, CrackBerry

While I don't have a very long history with Apple, it's one that I remember very clearly. When I first got interested in computers, it was because I could build my own Windows machines fairly cheap and never had to worry about affordability.

But it wasn't long before I began to look towards Apple; their computers were different and seemed more refined in functionality. Eventually, I saved up enough money to buy a MacBook: Nothing fancy, just a used plain-white MacBook, with an Intel Core Duo and 2GB of RAM. I snagged it for $500 — at the time, a really good deal. Since that day, I haven't looked at Windows computers at al In an odd way, I think that little white used MacBook helped me reach the point in my life I'm at today: It was a machine I cared about and loved using and owning; it inspired me to work hard on the things I loved and enjoyed, and it was insanely reliable. I beat the heck out of that thing, but it kept on ticking.

I've owned many Apple products since, but my little white used MacBook kicked it all off. Thanks for that, Apple.

Stephane Koenig: Opportunities manager, Mobile Nations

When I was young, sometime in the late-eighties, I was visiting my parents' friend. To keep me quiet, he let me play with his computers, one of which was an Apple Mac... the original with a floppy drive.

It was the first time a computer smiled at me.

Happy Birthday, Apple.

Tell us your stories

iMore readers: How did you stumble into the wide, wonderful world of Apple? We'd love to hear your tales below.

In the beginning — 1994, to be exact — there was eWorld. It was weird, expensive, and poorly marketed. To no one's surprise, it went away.

Six years later, there was iTools. iTools begat .Mac; .Mac begat MobileMe — and a lot of yelling; MobileMe begat iCloud.

The genealogy is a little sparse on worldly details, I'll admit: eWorld was released at a time when the Mac was sagging, and it used AOL's technology to get off the ground. In contrast, by the time iTools was announced — (at the same keynote as the debut of the Aqua interface at Macworld 2000 —  Apple had some major Internet technologies of its own in play:

• QuickTime 4 with Internet streaming
• Mac OS 9 with Sherlock 2 and Internet-ready features like keychains and multiple users
• Apple.com was seeing 9.5 million visitors a week
• Apple's online store was doing $1 billion worth of business a year — with the storefront using the company's WebObjects technology.

Macworld 2000 also marked the introduction of a new tabbed design to Apple's website, making the site easier to use and navigate.

The redesign highlighted three new pillars in Apple's Internet strategy: iReview, iCards, and iTools.

iReview

iReview housed reviews and rankings of other websites. Initial reviews were written by Apple employees, and the site launched with 250 published reviews. That number grew slowly, as personal Mac users could append to existing reviews, but not create new ones.

"We're going to do to website reviews," Steve Jobs said, "as Amazon has done for CDs and books."

iReview was pitched as a trusted advisor for people exploring the Internet, but it was short-lived. Apple shuttered the site in February 2001 due to low interest.

iCards

Apple also introduced iCards, a section of the company's website where users could go to create and send virtual greeting cards.

Arguably, Apple's cards were better-looking and classier than those offered by other greeting card sites at the time. That likely contributed to iCards's eight-year run — the page was shuttered in 2008 with the release of MobileMe.

Digital cards were nice, but the ability to create fully-custom digital and physical cards (and other stationary) within iPhoto and Aperture — and later, Photos and the now-discontinued Cards for iOS) app — ultimately doomed the website.

iTools

While in hindsight, iReview and iCards may not have been long-term winners, the final piece of Apple's 2000-era puzzle built the foundation for Apple's modern Internet applications suite.

During iTools's introduction, Jobs discussed that owning both the client OS and the server-side components allowed Apple to create an "entirely new class of Internet services" exclusively for Mac users, free of charge.

iTools was made up of four "revolutionary" products, as shown on this page from OS X's welcome guide:

Touted as a "breakthrough approach" to protect kids on the Internet, KidSafe wasn't an Internet filter; instead, it was a directory of family-friendly websites.

The former, Jobs said, just couldn't keep up with the rapid growth of the Internet. KidSafe was a whitelist of approved sites, rather than an incomplete filter of material that shouldn't be seen by children. It launched with 50,000 websites its directory, all approved by teachers and librarians.

In August 2001, Apple shuttered KidSafe, pointing parents to other sources help keep their kids safe online. However, OS X's Parental Controls system still allows for a whitelist of sites to be used in order to limit kids' browsing:

With iTools, users could sign up for email addresses at @mac.com. The Apple-run email service provided users with features like auto-reply and auto-forward.

The original mac.com email system didn't have any webmail; users had to configure their email clients to talk to the system over POP.

Mac.com email addresses later became me.com in the MobileMe age, before being replaced with icloud.com. Though you can no longer acquire a new mac.com or me.com address, you can spot early iTools users by their mac.com aliases, which are still active and useable.

iDisk offered users 20MB (yes, MB!) of Internet storage, hosted on Apple's servers. Instead of fiddling with FTP settings, iDisk was baked into Mac OS 9 — there was an icon for it right on the Desktop.

iDisk worked like a regular folder on the system; dragging files in to or out of iDisk would copy them to or from the server. And files in the Public directory were easily shared with other iTools users.

Starting in July 2000, Apple allowed users to purchase up to 400 extra megabytes at a yearly rate of a $1 per megabyte.

While features like the local syncing of files were a few years away, out of all the Internet technologies introduced during Macworld 2000, iDisk perhaps is the most important historically.

Here's part of Kyle D'Addario's reaction after some hands-on time 16 years ago:

If that sounds familiar, it's because Internet-based file sharing is now ubiquitous — thanks not only to Apple, but to companies like Dropbox and Box as well.

The final piece of the iTools package was HomePage, an online program that let users build custom websites without needing to code. HomePage used iDisk as a shuttle for local content like photo albums, movies and more.

Building out a site was as simple as picking a theme, selecting content from iDisk and hitting the publish button. Even in 2016, creating a website isn't that simple for most people.

iTools' legacy

In addition to all of the tech that iTools presented, it brought to life a new partnership. Apple invested in EarthLink, to bring the ISP's service to Mac users in a concise way. However, the technology is the big story here. While iTools was launched at the end of the iOS 9 era, it also made the transition to OS X.

While its easy to focus on the OS X transition when thinking about this timeframe in Apple's history, I believe that the company's Internet strategy was vitally important, as well. Mac OS 9 brought a lot of Internet-based tools to the Mac in a new way, while the hardware made it easier than ever to connect.

Of course, like all things, this strategy changed quickly. In July 2002, the much more modern .Mac replaced iTools, offering IMAP and webmail, additional iDisk space and a much improved HomePage, but those upgrades didn't come without cost: .Mac was $99/year, as was MobileMe in 2008.

While many things from Apple's 2000-era Internet strategy haven't made the journey to the present, much of the core ideals persist. With iCloud, Apple has once again reverted to the free-with-paid-storage-upgrades model. And iCloud offers webmail, cloud storage and deep integration with Apple's operating systems, just like its predecessor introduced 16 years ago.

As for reliability, well... that's another story for another day.

Universal's Steve Jobs, a biopic about the late Apple co-founder, will be released on digital formats, Blu-ray, and DVD in February 2016. The film, the majority of which takes place ahead of three of Steve Jobs' iconic product announcements, will be available for download from outlets like the iTunes Store on February 2, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on February 16.

In addition to the film itself, the home release will have a few special features. It will include a making-of featurette, along with a commentary track by director Danny Boyle, as well as one by writer Aaron Sorkin and editor Elliot Graham.

Steve Jobs originally debuted in theaters in October, earning praise from critics but failing to impress at the box office. The film was pulled from U.S. theaters just two weeks after its wide release following this poor performance.

Source: Universal