Steve Jobs - A modern genius

A WORLD reacted to the sad news of the death of one of the greatest geniuses to operate in our modern history two weeks ago.  Steve Jobs, the figurehead behind such innovations as the iPod, iPad and iPhone died a fortnight ago, aged 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

     Jobs vision was to change the lives of us all and he managed to do that, turning Apple into one of the most profitable companies of recent times.  He understood the needs of people and has changed the way we communicate forever.  Along with Microsoft’s Bill Gates and founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Jobs has to be one of the most influential worldwide figures of the past two decades.

     It wasn’t just recent times that Jobs has pioneered the way we used technology.  He founded Apple in 1976 along with Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak.  Eight years later, Apple launched the Macintosh computer, the first system to use a mouse.  Not only was it used in one of the greatest ever commercials to be seen, it paved the way for future successes in the computer industry, such as the iMac – a massive product in how Apple and Jobs managed to build its success.  In 2001, the music industry was revolutionised with the launch of the iPod.  Walkman’s and CD players became practically useless, by the ability to listen to our favourite music on the go with such lightweight equipment.  Six years later, the iPhone did exactly the same for the mobile phone market, launching the Smartphone craze, with rivals such as BlackBerry and Android still struggling to attract consumers in a similar field.  Last year, the iPad was launched and introduced the tablet market.  Once again, many have copied but failed to match Apple’s success in this department and this is because, Steve Jobs understood the needs of the consumer more than his rivals.

       Tributes came in from competitors and worldwide figures on hearing of his death.  UK Prime Minister David Cameron reminisced about his first uses of Apple technology; “I certainly can remember the first time I used an Apple computer, the first time I used an iPad.  He has certainly been inspirational for all of us.”  Barack Obama said “the world had lost a visionary.”  Tim Cook, who took over as chief executive of Apple at the beginning of September paid his tribute to Apple employees in a company e-mail; “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.  Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

      It hasn’t always been plain-sailing for the Jobs/Apple partnership.  He resigned from the company in 1985 after clashes with the board over the direction the company were heading, only to spearhead them again a decade later.  His visionary ambition also has played its part in the movie industry, buying Pixar in 1986 and helping to create box office animation smashes such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc and A Bug’s Life before selling up twenty years later. 

Steve Jobs - February 24 1955 - October 6 2011

      Apple is now one of the leading figures in the world and certainly has not only ended Microsoft’s domination of the technology market; it has overwhelmed them in recent years.  Steve Jobs has transformed the company and changed the way we communicate and use technology in our lives.  His death leaves a real gap in the technology industry and although Apple will go on and probably still be full of success for many years to come, there will only ever be one Steve Jobs. 

RIP Steve Jobs - 24 February 1955 - 6 October 2011

BlackBerry issues - The funny jokes

TROUBLE: The BlackBerry has had a number of issues in the last three days

ONE of the most popular smartphones has suffered three days of constant signalling problems, which has led to a major crash around the world.  Parts of Europe, the US, Asia, Canada and South America have suffered from the crash of the BlackBerry servers.  BBM, e-mails and internet on all phones stopped working, with a crash on the servers seems to be the problem.  Although all systems seem to be back to normal today, many customers want compensation for the trouble and some took to Twitter to raise their frustrations and come up with enough jokes, it could become a no.1 joke selling book for Christmas.  Here is a selection of my favourites;  

what did one #blackberry user say to the other #blackberryuser.....nothing.....so not funny!!!

Dear #blackberry: Thanks for the help! Love, Apple and Android

I have a #BlackBerry, but it doesn't work. The equipment's there, but it's useless. This must be what it feels like to have a vasectomy.

I love you #Blackberry - but if you continue to stop me BBM communicating with my sons, we're so, like, OVER.

"In honor of Steve Jobs, #Blackberry has decided to have a few hours of silence."

Tribute to Steve Jobs, #Blackberry celebrates him with a week of silence. Respect.

#Blackberry's are like elephants : nice to look at, but you wouldn't really want to own one.

#Blackberry down again, Looks like Steve Jobs has reached heaven and turned off the Blackberry server!

what did the iPhone say to the blackberry? iWork. (;

TIP: Turn your iPhone into a Blackberry by selecting Airplane Mode.

Dear Blackberry, what is a keypad? LOL! Sincerely, Apple.

I have a Blackberry and the fault is annoying but reading Twitter you'd think it was equal to the Ethiopian famine #getagripeveryone

How many blackberry users does it take to change a lightbulb? None. If they wanted to see the light, they'd change their phones first.

Today, iPhone owners are luaghing at Blackberry owners and Blackberry owners are laughing at iPhone owners.  I'm laughing at all of you. #HTC

What happened to the days when a blackberry was just a little tasty fruit. Sigh.

Welcome back!

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

DEEP: I feel like under one of these already!

IT HAS been a long summer, probably a bit too long – but the first week back at University was what I thought, a relaxing week back into the swing of things.  Ha!  Dream on.  Instead, I now have a pile of work that leaves me feeling like the celebrities in 71 Degrees North; buried underneath an avalanche!

     First day back and it was my 23^rd birthday.  The timing could have been a bit better, but at least I got to spend the day with my closest friends from my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  I got many happy returns from colleagues and some lovely cards from the really close friends that I have.  You know who you are, so I’m not going to mention you in person.  First day back began with a 9am lecture on radio.  I’m no fan of radio journalism and think it is quite out-of-date.  If I listen to radio, it’s for sports commentary on Five Live and sometimes will have it on before I go to sleep.  However, I don’t listen to it, their evening programmes are so bad it just helps me get to sleep quicker.  Radio journalism went out-of-date in around 1994 and I can’t help think that, especially when we live in the technological, social networking age of today.  However, it still might be interesting to find out a deeper background into the subject at least.  For the first hour, I sat on my own, just feeling slightly nervous.  I don’t know why; guess I just didn’t want to be the centre of attention.

     In the afternoon, we had our first group session for a very interesting project on motor racing.  People who know me will understand my strong passion for motor racing (see F1 and MotoGP reports), but I’m only into the racing side of things.  All the technical malarkey does not appeal to me and it is only F1 and MotoGP that I follow very closely.  I used to watch rallying, but got bored when the same guy kept winning every rally, have never been a big fan of sportscars or racing in America (Indy 500, CART etc) and as for national motorsport, what championships are they?  Our project is based on the final round of next weekend’s title decider at Silverstone for the British Touring Car Championship.  Five drivers can still mathematically claim the title and the BTCC is an okay racing series.  I watch a few rounds on TV, especially when nothing is on the box on a Sunday afternoon, but it isn’t something that has passion to me; just another racing championship.  The project involves a trip to the home of British motorsport on Friday and that does excite me, no matter what.  It will be an interesting day and an interesting project.  I already reckon that this year is going to be tough, no doubts.

     Thursday morning bought the sad news of Steve Jobs death.  The Apple figurehead (I will do a tribute on here in the next few days) has had a massive influence in the way we talk, communicate and appreciate the technological gadgets we have.  I’m not an Apple person; I don’t eat the fruit and have had regular problems with their software, especially on the iMac’s.  Nevertheless, I use iTunes on a regular basis to listen to my music and no-one can doubt the vision that Jobs had for Apple and the world.  His death is very sad and although I reckon the company will survive without too many issues, they will miss his leadership.  The world is a poorer place without him.

     As for my dissertation, (yep I have to do one of them this year), the early beginnings are looking good and I just wish I had more books I could buy.  I now have an official question title in place and I am probably less than a fortnight away from beginning to type out my first chapter.  Although I won’t reveal the topic on here, the clue is that it is to do with broadcast journalism.  Broadcast journalism is an area where I don’t like doing it, but I seem to end up with better results than the traditional strength I have; print journalism.  If that’s the case, it made my topic fairly easy and sensible to choose.  I have already had a positive meeting with the tutor I will be working closely with, so early signs suggest that although it will probably take me to the brink on more than one occasion, it is something I’m going to enjoy researching, without wanting to do something else.

     One of the presents I got for my birthday was F1 2011; the new racing game on the Xbox 360.  Actually, I’m finding it a real challenge to play, which is great for any racing simulation, as I normally find them too easy to play.  I have achieved a second place finish with Williams in the Barcelona event and have a habit of making great starts from solid grid positions, but it is very realistic.  The days of winning the championship in your first year with Virgin Racing are a distant thing of the past.

HAPPY: Posing with fellow blogger and close Uni friend, Farida

     My lengthy birthday celebrations came to a conclusion with another trip to the Balestra nightclub on Thursday in town.  More people came than I had been expecting and it was a great night, even if the music was a bit naff.  It was a lovely night and a great way to finish the week off with the majority of my closest buddies.  As much as I was hoping to make it a regular feature this year, the workload will determine that and if week one is anything to go by, it is more likely to be a monthly rather than a fortnightly basis.

     So, week one of my final year at University has finished and there is bound to be plenty of emotional rollercoaster’s along the way.  It is great to be back around people who mean a lot to me, but the gauntlet has already been thrown down, so I’d better start trying to dig myself out of this avalanche!

      Welcome back everyone!

Steve Jobs steps aside

THE face behind Apple has stepped aside, deciding that he can’t continue to fulfil his duties for medical reasons.  Steve Jobs announced his decision to step down as chief executive of Apple just under two weeks ago.  Mr. Jobs will stay on in a newly appointed role as chairman within the company, but in a backseat role.  The news saw Apple’s shares on the stock market fall by five per cent and means that an uncertain future awaits the company that has revolutionised technology in recent years with innovations such as the iPhone and iPod.

       In a resignation letter to the company, Jobs wrote;

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know.

"Unfortunately, that day has come.  I hereby resign as CEO of Apple.  I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

    

Steve Jobs founded Apple in 1976 alongside college friends Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak.  Eight years later, they launched the Apple Macintosh, which featured a famous TV commercial that was directed by Ridley Scott.  The Macintosh became the world’s first successful commercial computer, but tough times awaited Apple and its figurehead.   

     His relationship with management deteriorated and he was fired in 1985.  Apple nearly went bust, as they fell behind Microsoft in the computer market by quite a distance.  It was Apple’s purchase of Jobs next company, NeXT computer that saw him back as the main man.  In 1998, he launched the Apple iMac and since then, the enormous consumer appeal has driven Apple onto bigger and better things, with the iPod in 2003, iPhone in 2007 and the I-Pad last year, plus the success of the iTunes music store driving the company forward.   

RESIGNS: Apple must move on without Jobs

    Steve Jobs is also the largest shareholder in Disney and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios.  Under his guidance, many animation successes have been created such as A Bug’s Life, Cars, Finding Nemo and Toy Story.  In 2004, he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer and in recent years, his health has taken its toll.  Jobs began his third medical leave stint at the beginning of 2011.  Having held the chief executive post since 1997, his successor will be the man who has filled in while the latest medical leave has been taken.  Tim Cook has been with Apple himself for 13 years and one of Jobs disciples.  He faces a huge challenge to keep Apple ahead of the game, especially with increased competition from the likes of Google, Samsung and BlackBerry in the technology market.      

    Steve Jobs has transformed Apple’s fortunes in the last two decades and although the company will continue, it will be interesting to see how well they do now with the absence of their figurehead.

Pixar Animation Studios - 25 years of magic moments

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

THE sound and image of a hopping lamp is certainly the best way to describe Pixar in a nutshell.  The release of Cars 2 this year marks the 25th anniversary of the studio’s production in film.

     Pixar’s traits go back to 1979 when Ed Catmull, a New York university graduate, teamed up with George Lucas, known for masterminding the Star Wars saga.  Together, they set up a Computer Graphics division within Lucasfilm to trial and test out early CGI animation functions.  The release of Disney’s Tron in 1982, which relied mainly on CGI effects, convinced Catmull that it was time to move into the foray of animated film.

     Four years later, Pixar was born.  Spearheaded by Catmull, John Lasseter and Apple guru Steve Jobs, the first few years saw a production of animated shorts.  The first being Luxo Jr which featured the lamp mascots whilst backstage, it was case of solving the necessary issues and problems required before beginning to consider producing a feature animated production.

     In 1991, the company piloted their early creations in a feature film to several investors.  Walt Disney Pictures liked this idea a lot, believing that it would revive their animation crown which had begun to wane in the late eighties.  A $26million investment was made to distribute three animated films and in 1995, Toy Story was the first film to be produced in complete CGI, opening to huge box offices figures worldwide.

     Many box office successes continued with A Bug’s Life (1999), Toy Story 2 (2000), Monsters. Inc (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004) and Cars (2006) whilst at the same time, the studio continued to churn out quirky and witty short cartoons to accompany the theatrical releases.  The partnership brought a new lease of life to Disney’s animation features.

     However, behind the scenes, events were of a more crumbling nature.  A disagreement over the release of Toy Story 2 and contractual arguments soon broke out between the two parties which eventually led to the announcement of a split Pixar and Disney in 2004.

     Less than two years later however, when Pixar was preparing to sign a lucrative distribution contract with 20^th Century Fox, Disney vetoed the deal when it came up with a final offer that Pixar just couldn’t refuse…company takeover.  It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney for an estimated $7.4 billion.  Steve Jobs became a non-executive producer, as he went to return to his first love of Apple whilst still continuing to work for Pixar and John Lasseter was appointed as president of Disney’s Animation Studios.

     This new deal brought more box office hits in Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009) and ten years after the first sequel, the Toy Story trilogy was completed with Toy Story 3 last year which subsequently grossed nearly $200 million worldwide.

     The success of the movies in the box office have also earned critical acclaim in the form of award, for example a Pixar film has won the award for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars six times in the last eight years, better than a standard 1:3 ratio.

     Love it or hate it, you just can’t ignore Pixar’s films and they will be around for a very long time to come.  Congratulations on Pixar’s deserving 25 years of success and here’s to the next 25 years!

Apple Admits Faults With The New I-Phone - Is It A Costly Error?

Yesterday, software giant Apple – home to such hi-tech computer programmes such as Final Cut Pro and Garage Band admitted that there was a problem with the latest version of its iPhone.    

The iPhone, which is the 4^th version of its product, has a major technical bug, which means it incorrectly display how much signal strength it receives.  On its website, Apple apologised to customers with this following statement:

“We were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of single strength to display is totally wrong.”  “Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays two more bars than it should for a given signal strength.”

Although this may explain the problem, it isn’t the most convincing apology I have ever heard, and it could well be a costly error for Apple, especially with competition rivals such as Nokia and Google already taking the opportunity to rub salt into their wounds, by giving demonstrations in shops how to hold a phone!  Apple has confirmed that they are working on a software fix, and it will be available in “a few weeks.”  However, despite the update, which will use a new formula for calculating signal strength, many customers are angered by this flaw, and will be frustrated by the amount of time this may take for the problem to be fixed.  Earlier iPhones apparently have similar problems, and those owners will also have access to a software update.

Complaints have been widespread as expected, and Apple is now under increasing pressure.  By the time the error may have been fixed, many may have ditched Apple for a phone, that they might be able to trust more.  It isn’t the first time Apple has had issues with software, with I-Tunes 8 having suffered several problems when updating this software back in the summer of 2008.  Many laptops and computers went down with viruses and technical bugs following this issue.  Despite having sold 1.7million iPhone IV in the first three days it has been in stores, they could be facing more problems that they initially expected.  This could well turn out to be a very costly error.