Kal Korff

Review: Steve Jobs - The Authorized Biography Book

by Kal K. Korff
Internationally Syndicated Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Walter Isaacsons official biography of Apples legendary co-founder, Steve Jobs, not surprisingly simply called Steve Jobs, (Little Brown, 656 pages) is the hottest selling book at the moment and understandably so. Whether youre an Apple fan or not, it doesnt matter. Isaacson has put together a masterpiece. As a writer, Walter Isaacson has a considerable professional pedigree. He was Chairman at CNN, Managing Editor for Time magazine, and his stellar epic biographies on Albert Einstein, Henry Kissinger and Benjamin Franklin are widely considered to be in a class of their own. Now, with his new book on Jobs, Isaacson has outdone himself. Unprecedented Access, Insights When Steve Jobs knew he was dying, he suddenly agreed to cooperate with Isaacsons proposal to write an official biography of him. Jobs was candid, Im doing this so that my kids can understand what I did, why I wasnt always there for them, Jobs would repeatedly lament. Steve Jobs, although a very public and world famous iconic figure, zealously guarded his private life. When he agreed to cooperate on the biography, Jobs imposed no conditions on it. He even waived the right to review or correct anything which appeared in the final manuscript, an amazing concession from a personality who was very controlling and always insisted on approving every detail. Jobs legendary attention to detail and fine nuances are evident in every Apple product. Isaacsons met with Jobs for some 40 in depth interviews during the last several years of his life. He also talked with scores of people who knew and worked with Jobs, friends, acquaintances, colleagues and even lovers spanning from his childhood to his final years.

There are no skeletons in my closet that cant be allowed out, Jobs told Isaacson. The result is a surprisingly complete and arguably unbiased, splendid work which neither glorifies nor demonizes its subject. Instead, this definitive biography contains some real gems and noteworthy quotes from everyone, from Jobs himself to his rival and also a friend, Microsofts Bill Gates. School years: Joker and Rebel Despite his legendary temper and intensity, Steve Jobs was also known for being very human, emotional and loaded with a great sense of humour. These attributes ooze out of the book early on and have been recounted elsewhere in the media when we hear tales of how he used to pull pranks on teachers as well as his fellow students. While there are scores of them, a few stand out: after securing the combinations to several locks students used to secure their bicycles, Jobs and his pals secretly switched them so that no one was able to unlock them and ride home. Jobs and his buddies plastered their school with posters telling students they could bring their pets to school for Pet Day, only to see scores of students bring their favorite animals, much to the consternation of officials. His pal, Steve Wozniak, once made a fake bomb, complete with ticker, which landed him in jail. Woz, as he was affectionately known, would later partner with Jobs to cofound Apple together. Wozniak was the brilliant engineer and top math student in their high school, Jobs was his counterpart. The two of them made Apple what it was in its founding days before it became the Steve Jobs Show after the Macintosh was released, a computer Wozniak did not work on which became Jobs baby. Jobs and Wozniak also continued their prankish behavior into their college years. Ever the hackers, the two created blueboxes which would allow phone calls to be made for free. They sold them on the streets of Berkeley and made a small fortune. Wozniak even called the Vatican one time and pretended to be Henry Kissinger, fooling them. As Apple became the fastest growing company in American history, Jobs was worth some $300 million by the time he was in his early twenties. He was confident, arrogant, smug, and for the rest of his life (despite considerably mellowing in his later years) always had a binary personality. To Jobs, people were either heroes or bozos, with emphasis on the latter where most individuals were concerned.

Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form nor by any means without the express, written consent of Kal Korff. Fair use, does NOT apply. By reading this document, you willingly agree to be legally bound by its terms and conditions. Violators of this policy will have a felony DMCA Copyright infringement notice filed against them with law enforcement. First time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. This is a DMCA protected document, illegal copying and/or reproduction of its contents are tracked on the Internet and reported to law enforcement for felony prosecution.

A typical recruiting method Jobs would use was to simply call a person that he wanted to work at Apple and say, Everything youve done up til now has been shi*, why dont you come work for me where you can make a difference? Jobs would often be successful, Apple has consistently hired some of the best employees in the world, and undeniably some of the smartest engineers. This is proven by their consistent line of industry changing products such as the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs himself holds the world record for patents by a CEO, he has over 300 of them. Isaacsons book also captures Jobs brusque side. Steve Jobs often swore, laced his emphatic comments with profanities, not necessarily out of anger, but often for emphasis as many Americans do. A great example was when Apple launched their MobileMe cloud storage service, which was replete with bugs. When it was widely panned by the public for failing to deliver the services which were promised, Jobs held a meeting with the entire MobileMe team and asked them What is MobileMe supposed to do for the customer? After hearing several people describe its functionality correctly, Jobs terse reply was Then why the fuc* doesnt it do it? He then fired the management responsible for the debacle and brought in personnel who fixed it. Steve Jobs expressed admiration for Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Although initially against porting iTunes to the Windows platform, he eventually relented, saying Im tired of listening to you guys, just go and do the fuc* what you want. On design, attention to detail Apples products are legendary for their great design, ease of use, and attention to the smallest detail. Jobs is quoted in Isaacsons book as saying what motivated him to be a perfectionist. I want it to be as beautiful as possible, even if its inside the box. A great carpenter isnt going to use lousy wood for the back of a cabinet, even though nobodys going to see it. When youre a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, youre not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. Youll know its there, so youre going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.

Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form nor by any means without the express, written consent of Kal Korff. Fair use, does NOT apply. By reading this document, you willingly agree to be legally bound by its terms and conditions. Violators of this policy will have a felony DMCA Copyright infringement notice filed against them with law enforcement. First time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. This is a DMCA protected document, illegal copying and/or reproduction of its contents are tracked on the Internet and reported to law enforcement for felony prosecution.

This writer worked at Apple and its software subsidiary Claris for 7.5 years. When I met Steve Jobs he changed my life. I stopped a planned career in law enforcement and forensics and instead switched to IT. I worked for Jobs and other great men there. I can safely say that Isaacson has summed up Steve perfectly when we writes: Was he smart? No, not exceptionally. Instead, he was a genius. 1.0v1 Nov 6, 2011 Kal K. Korff is an officially accredited internationally known author, columnist and investigative journalist.

Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form nor by any means without the express, written consent of Kal Korff. Fair use, does NOT apply. By reading this document, you willingly agree to be legally bound by its terms and conditions. Violators of this policy will have a felony DMCA Copyright infringement notice filed against them with law enforcement. First time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. This is a DMCA protected document, illegal copying and/or reproduction of its contents are tracked on the Internet and reported to law enforcement for felony prosecution.