Steve Jobs Resigns As Apple's CEO

Mike Kayatta

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Aug 2, 2011
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Steve Jobs Resigns As Apple's CEO



Steve Jobs says iQuit after years of helping you "look cool" at Starbucks.

Visionary, business mogul, inventor, alleged cult leader; how does one truly sum up the man that is Steve Jobs? After co-founding Apple in 1976, Jobs went on to start a second computer company, buy The Graphics Group (now known as Pixar--good call on the name change, Steve), produce Toy Story, come back to Apple, and start what in retrospect can only be considered a complete overhaul of the way people store and listen to music, surf the internet, and define the term "cell phone." Love him or hate him, Steve Jobs has almost single-handedly changed the gadgetry landscape, forcing tech giants ranging from Microsoft to Sony to abandon innovation for reactionary development. Now, thirty-five years after starting the company that would grow to have more money than the United States government [http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/07/29/apple.cash.government/index.html?hpt=hp_t2], Steve Jobs has resigned his post as Apple's Chief Executive Officer.

The following is his resignation letter in full, addressed both to his Board of Directors and the Apple community:

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.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Following the sudden resignation, Apple's board immediately named Tim Cook as CEO and Steve Jobs as Chairman of the Board per the letter's recommendation. Cook has also been allowed to join the company's Board of Directors.

For those of you wondering who this Tim Cook character is (and why he gets to see the new iPhone before you do), he is the company's now former chief operating officer. Apple's official statement describes Cook as "previously responsible for all of the company's worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple's supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple's Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace." Well, that clears that up.

There's no official word yet on why Jobs left, whether or not Cook will wear a black turtleneck, or what your shares of Apple stock are going to be worth next year.

--
Sent from my iPhone


Source: CNN


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TheRightToArmBears

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Dec 13, 2008
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As much as I hate Apple... My iPhone is damn good. So uh, good for him? I really don't know what to say. Mixed emotions.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

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Sep 10, 2008
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The smartphone war (Android, Blackberry, Apple) is going to get real interesting. Will Apple be able to continue forward without him?
 

SonOfVoorhees

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Aug 3, 2011
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Only thing they are good at is releasing the same equipment the following year, raise the digit by one and con people into buying it. Eventhough its not that much better than the previous model.

But, he has had cancer and been through alot with that so maybe its good he spends time with himself and family and enjoy himself now. Also he needs to go shopping and buy different coloured top....his always wearing them black ones and i wonder if he just bulk buys them.
 

intheweeds

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Apr 6, 2011
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I read about this last night on cbc. It was going to happen sooner or later. Steve Jobs is not a well man.

When I first read this, I couldn't help but immediately wonder how long you've been sitting on that iQuit joke. :D
 

Shamanic Rhythm

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Dec 6, 2009
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Given that anytime Jobs sneezes, Apple shares plummet, I suspect they'll be worth nothing tomorrow.

Still, the fact that they are holding more cash than the US means they'll survive this hurdle.
 

DannyJBeckett

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Jun 29, 2011
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I'm more of a Microsoft guy when it comes to computing, but I can't deny the impact Steve Jobs has had on the industry. I must admit I fall into the category of guys who dislike Apple for their bad customer support and releasing the same thing each year only with a slightly bigger storage capacity (oh yeah, and why do they keep making the iPod classic MORE expensive? Don't they realise that some people JUST want to listen to music?), but there will no doubt be a negative impact for Apple from this, and that'll be sad because Apple can definitely produce fantastic things, they just get drunk on their own profitability.
 

James Crook

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Jul 15, 2011
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So, now that he's gone, does that mean Apple will stop releasing the same damn product every damn year? and stop suing people trying to make better products (it's not that hard) than their half-assed yearly releases?
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
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Oct 29, 2010
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I was wondering when this will be posted onto here (I saw the news this morning) so I guess it's a good thing I didn't make a thread on it.
OT- From what I saw in the news they say he's ill or something but again TV News are too reliable. Either way the company will probably be fine without him.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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To me it seems like a press stunt since "Steve Jobs resigns" gets attention and people focusing on Apple, when in reality he's merely moving from like the top seat, to the second highest seat, and might even have the option to take back the top seat anytime he wants in the contract or something.

Ultimatly the job he's taking seems like it's actually more work than what he's leaving behind as well, so I wonder about the whole bit about "health risks".

To make a wild guess, I'd suspect that Steve Jobs might think someone is robbing him, maybe even the guy he put in charge. Taking the job he has right now, especially if he can't be gotten rid of, and has the power to take back the big seat one or another, puts him in a position where he can more directly look at all aspects of the business and it's finances since everything will be going through him directly, as opposed to him simply getting a report from the higher chair.

The guy seems to be pretty much jumping right into the money, finance, and distribution aspect of things to play super-accountant.
 

Vakz

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Nov 22, 2010
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Ed130 said:
The smartphone war (Android, Blackberry, Apple)
Does Blackberry even count? I live in Sweden. I'm the techy kind of person, and I have never even seen a blackberry irl. Outside of US, it seems to be mostly Android, Apple and the occasional Windows Phone.
 

octafish

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Apr 23, 2010
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I wish him health. Jobs, Gates, and Woz are giants in personal computing no matter what your alliances maybe.
Therumancer said:
To me it seems like a press stunt since "Steve Jobs resigns" gets attention and people focusing on Apple, when in reality he's merely moving from like the top seat, to the second highest seat, and might even have the option to take back the top seat anytime he wants in the contract or something.

Ultimatly the job he's taking seems like it's actually more work than what he's leaving behind as well, so I wonder about the whole bit about "health risks".

To make a wild guess, I'd suspect that Steve Jobs might think someone is robbing him, maybe even the guy he put in charge. Taking the job he has right now, especially if he can't be gotten rid of, and has the power to take back the big seat one or another, puts him in a position where he can more directly look at all aspects of the business and it's finances since everything will be going through him directly, as opposed to him simply getting a report from the higher chair.

The guy seems to be pretty much jumping right into the money, finance, and distribution aspect of things to play super-accountant.
A press stunt that will guarantee wiping off at least 10% off your stock price is a foolish endeavour. Well he has gone from running the business as a whole and working very hard driving its future to turning up at board meetings and throwing muffins at anyone not paying attention. It is a big step down. Health reasons would be the pancreatic cancer he has been fighting for five years, being CEO has obviously had a impact on his recovery as he has had have time off from work for exhaustion quite frequently. I'm guessing he doesn't have the energy to drive the company any more and doesn't feel he is doing Apple or himself any favours by staying in the role.
 

Dogstile

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Jan 17, 2009
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Shamanic Rhythm said:
Still, the fact that they are holding more cash than the US means they'll survive this hurdle.
Technically, aren't we all? I mean, none of us are in that much of a negative.

OP:

I heard about it this morning and I fucking cheered. No, not because he stepped down.

Because now i'm going to be able to watch another market shift around a little bit.
 

octafish

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Apr 23, 2010
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Vakz said:
Ed130 said:
The smartphone war (Android, Blackberry, Apple)
Does Blackberry even count? I live in Sweden. I'm the techy kind of person, and I have never even seen a blackberry irl. Outside of US, it seems to be mostly Android, Apple and the occasional Windows Phone.
Blackberry is massive with people who value privacy. They are all about data encryption.
 

Baldr

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Jan 6, 2010
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octafish said:
I wish him health. Jobs, Gates, and Woz are giants in personal computing no matter what your alliances maybe.
I never liked Jobs, like Gates or Woz. He suffers from megalomania and takes credit for other people's accomplishments. He has billions of dollars and does not have one philanthropic cause. In fact in 1997 he ordered that Apple to stop all philanthropy programs until the company was making money again, but when it did, never reinstated them.
 

cerebus23

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May 16, 2010
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I think also part of the apple "mystique" is the price point, they price their stuff 20% plus over others, so your ipod is 40 or more doallrs more than a similar name brand mp3 player with similar features.

Beyond that the only thing they do is make things "cute" and they make some nice user interfaces, but there is nothing exclusive about an ipod because it is seen as exclusive everyone has one despite the higher price point.

I doubt this will have a long term effect on the company, short term there will be the hand wringing and etc, but smart move by jobs part to stay involved and not bail utterly, in these economic times that might have sent the investors jumping out of buildings, not matter how good this other guy is.