No More Jobs at Apple

What does Steve’s resignation mean for the corporation?

Via psy2k, flickr

By: Jennifer Jang, Staff Writer

Given the amount of media coverage that this news has received, I’m sure that most of you are not surprised that this article is about Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple. If there weren’t so much headlines and fuss about Steve’s leave, I’m sure that my pun-filled headline would have tricked you into believing that this article would be about a massive layoff at Apple or something like that.

The announcement of Jobs’s resignation on Wednesday shocked many, but others expected this health-related ending to the genius inventor’s active career. There have been many news articles and rumours since 2004 about the numerous threats to the business magnate’s health.

[pullquote]Jobs also served as chief executive at Pixar Animation Studios, and helped create many animated Disney classics, such as Toy Story. [/pullquote]

Wednesday was a sad day – the day that Apple the whole world had to say good-bye to Steve Jobs, co-father of personal computers. Yes, Steve Jobs is the co-father of personal computers, with Steve Wozniak. Contrary to popular belief, IBM did NOT create the personal computer market. Rather, IBM entered the market a few years later after the Steve² duo had already introduced the first line of Apple computers.

Thanks to Apple, we have the mouse and the interface with all the little icons that allow us to simply click to get what we want. I remember how computers were before those little icons and the “moving arrow”, as I called it when I was very little. The computer was literally a blue screen and I had to type in commands and all that jazz just so that I could play a simple game with (now) laughable graphics.

Of course, Jobs did more than just create intuitive, user-friendly computer hardware and software. He served as chief executive at Pixar Animation Studios, and helped create many animated Disney classics, such as Toy Story. And as you all know, under his leadership, Apple presented the world with the iPhone, iPod, iPad, iPiano and iPea (I sensed a sequence and got creative, my bad).

Now that Steve has left, past COO Tim Cook is fully in charge. Tim has been pretty much running Apple in Steve’s stead since the beginning of this year, and has acquired quite a bit of experience; maybe that’s why people aren’t throwing away their Apple stocks just yet (unfortunately). In fact, the stock fell just 0.65% on Thursday, less than the broader NASDAQ index. And it’s not like Steve has passed away just yet- Apple’s symbolic figure of innovation is still alive, and will probably continue to give helpful hints and nudges to the new CEO from the background.

However, people who personally know Tim and Steve say that Tim’s measured way of doing things is very different from Steve’s way, which consists of the rapid and fiery expansion of the Apple brand and the ability to intimidate. It is said that Steve’s ability to “bully” key industry figures has allowed Apple to have a large amount of control in partnership projects thus far, including the deal with AT&T, the iPhone carrier. Now that Apple is without Steve, can Tim become the new bully of the playground?

In other words, can Tim fill Steve’s shoes? I’m sorry to finish the article off with a hackneyed phrase, but here it is: Only time will tell.

ARB Team
Arbitrage Magazine
Business News with BITE.

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