Michal Marek Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, recently received a computer with a very interesting history as a gift. This is a model Apple II, which was donated by Steve Jobs himself to a non-profit organization around 1980 Seva Foundation. Since its foundation in 1978, this charitable group has been dedicated to ophthalmology in third world countries...
The donated Apple II was very important to the organization and was used to process and analyze data related to its activities. For the past 33 years or so, the computer has been housed in a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, most of the time being stored in the basement of the clinic. Now, years later, this rare piece is being returned to Jobs' wife and children. Ms. Powell gave Jobs the computer to mark the organization's 35th anniversary Seva Foundation.
Dr. Larry Brilliant in Kathmandu, Nepal with a donated Apple II computer.
In this case, the Apple II is not only a rare piece of computer history and a technological marvel of its time. This computer is valuable for many other reasons as well. This is one of the few proofs of Jobs' charity and desire to help someone. Steve Jobs has always been recognized as a great visionary and pioneer in the field of technology. But he was certainly no philanthropist. For example, Jobs's biggest rival, co-founder of Microsoft and billionaire Bill Gates is famous for the astronomical sums he regularly donates to charity.
However, Steve Jobs - unlike his wife - never did anything like that and was described by many as a heartless and selfish manager focused on one thing only, Apple. This is also how Steve Jobs is described in his official biography by Walter Isaacson. However, a long-time friend of the Jobs family, a physicist and co-founder of the mentioned organization, does not agree with these claims Seva Dr. Larry Brilliant.
Dr. Brilliant knows a lot about the connection between technology business and non-profit activities. He founded the philanthropic arm of the advertising and search giant called google.org and is also the president of the organization Skoll Global Threats, which was founded by the co-founder of the largest auction server eBay But let's go back to Seva foundation and his connection with Steve Jobs. The meeting between Jobs and Larry Brilliant was very interesting and special in itself. It took place in the early 70s when Steve Jobs sought inspiration and enlightenment by trekking in the Indian Himalayas. Bos and with a shaved head then ran into Brilliant, who was living there at the time and overseeing the fight against smallpox as part of the program World Health Organization.
Later, Steve Jobs returned to the United States and successfully launched Apple. In the late 70s, Jobs learned about Brilliant's achievements in India from a newspaper article, and since he was already slowly becoming a millionaire, he sent Brilliant a check for $5 to help finance a new project Seva, whose goal was to fight cataracts in the poorest countries. The amount was not overwhelming, but it started a wave of monetary donations from various companies and individuals, and 20 thousand dollars landed in Brilliant's account in a few weeks, which safely enabled the creation of the project.
In addition to the money, Jobs also donated the aforementioned Apple II to Brilliant and the entire organization Seva he greatly helped with the whole agenda. At that time, Jobs also added an early spreadsheet to the computer VisiCalc and an external disk of a then unprecedented capacity. According to Brilliant, Jobs said at the time that such memory is basically impossible to occupy. After all, it was 5 megabytes!
It is interesting that the donated Apple II played a very significant role in the development of online communication. A helicopter transporting several ophthalmologists once had to make an emergency landing near Nepal due to an engine failure. Doctor Brilliant used an Apple II back then, to enable electronic chat with the manufacturer of the crashed helicopter, his colleagues in Michigan, and officials using a primitive modem World Health Organization. With the help of everyone involved, he solved the repair of the helicopter and the entire communication took place over the Internet and via keyboards, which was unheard of at the time. Brilliant considers this event as the main inspiration that later led him to start the communication service Well
Dr. Brilliant is said to be convinced to this day that if Steve Jobs had not died so prematurely, he would certainly have turned his attention to charitable activities in time. Judging by the many conversations he had with Jobs earlier. During his lifetime, however, Jobs focused exclusively on Apple, declaring:
There's only one thing I can do well. I think that I can help the world with this very thing.
RIP Stevie, miss you too.
Steve was no.1
steve was a nice cock when it came to charity, he raked in money and didn't think twice... this is the exception...
it can be seen that your name is judged for you, for your thoughts are odd!
I won't insult you and I won't stand up for Jobs, but I'm afraid that no one knows what was going on in his head and although he looks like a monster, he might not have been exactly the way we all see him... And no one knows what would have happened if he hadn't died. He might prove that he is what you call him, or he might prove that he isn't, but right now it's pure speculation…