Steve Jobs: 14 Most Significant Inventions

The iPhone. The iPod. Take a look at his best creations.

Apple I, 1976 - Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976 and its first computer was created in Jobs’s parents’ garage. It cost $666.66 and was nothing more than a circuit board, handmade by Wozniak, that still needed a monitor, keyboard and power supply. (Photo: Courtesy WikiCommons)

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Apple I, 1976 - Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976 and its first computer was created in Jobs’s parents’ garage. It cost $666.66 and was nothing more than a circuit board, handmade by Wozniak, that still needed a monitor, keyboard and power supply. (Photo: Courtesy WikiCommons)

Apple II  - Although it may look a little funny to us now, the Apple II home computer was the cutting edge of technology when it was released in 1977. The Apple II was wildy successful and began the trend of personal computer ownership that has revolutionized the way we work and play. This photo shows Apple co-founder Steve Jobs cozying up to his new creation back in the day. Jobs died on Wednesday from cancer at the age of 56.(Photo: AP/Apple Computers Inc., File)

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Apple II, 1977 - The company's next commercial product was a fully-assembled desktop computer that featured a display and keyboard and came housed in a more elegant case. (Photo: AP/Apple Computers Inc., File)

Macintosh, 1984 - The Macintosh was the first computer to introduce a mouse and a graphic interface. Now, instead of typing every command, users could click and drag icons on their screen. Their launch was noted by a Super Bowl commercial inspired by George Orwells’s 1984. (Photo: Courtesy MacWorld)

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Macintosh, 1984 - The Macintosh was the first computer to introduce a mouse and a graphic interface. Now, instead of typing every command, users could click and drag icons on their screen. Their launch was noted by a Super Bowl commercial inspired by George Orwells’s 1984. (Photo: Courtesy MacWorld)

Apple IIc, 1984 - Apple then made desktop computers more accessible with the creation of the Apple IIc, a more compact version of the Apple II that allowed families to bring it into their home. A handle in the back allowed for some portability. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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Apple IIc, 1984 - Apple then made desktop computers more accessible with the creation of the Apple IIc, a more compact version of the Apple II that allowed families to bring it into their home. A handle in the back allowed for some portability. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

Pixar, 1986 - Jobs bought fledgling The Graphics Group (renamed Pixar) from George Lucas for $10 million, with half of the money going into the company. Though Jobs’ first intention was to turn the company into a graphics hardware developer, it later evolved into the successful computer animation studio we know today. With a distribution deal with Disney, Toy Story, which was released in 1995, became the first of a string of award-winning films released by Pixar. In 2006, Disney purchased Pixar for $7.4 billion in stocks. After the merger, Jobs became Disney’s biggest shareholder and sat on its board of directors. (Photo: Courtesy Pixar)

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Pixar, 1986 - Jobs bought fledgling The Graphics Group (renamed Pixar) from George Lucas for $10 million, with half of the money going into the company. Though Jobs’ first intention was to turn the company into a graphics hardware developer, it later evolved into the successful computer animation studio we know today. With a distribution deal with Disney, Toy Story, which was released in 1995, became the first of a string of award-winning films released by Pixar. In 2006, Disney purchased Pixar for $7.4 billion in stocks. After the merger, Jobs became Disney’s biggest shareholder and sat on its board of directors. (Photo: Courtesy Pixar)

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NeXT Computer - By 1988, Jobs had already founded his second computer company, which produced this gem: the NeXT Computer.\rThe sleek, black workstation was a high-end computing wonder and cost $6500 to purchase back in the late eighties.\r(Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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NeXT, 1988 - Turmoil within the company led Jobs to leave Apple for several years, during which time he founded NeXT Computer. Its first advanced workstation was released in 1990, but at nearly $10,000 they were much too expensive to be commercially profitable. It ran on a new operating system called NeXTSTEP and appealed to the scientific and academic communities due to its innovative technologies — chiefly its digital signal processor chip and Ethernet port. British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee wrote the first World Wide Web server and browser on a NeXT box. In 1996, NeXT was sold to Apple and soon Jobs was back in the company that suffered in his absence. (Photo: Courtesy MacWorld)

iMac, 1998 - The translucent curvy iMacs were all-in-one desktop computers that have evolved to the minimal thin-screened desktops the company sells today. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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iMac, 1998 - The translucent curvy iMacs were all-in-one desktop computers that have evolved to the minimal thin-screened desktops the company sells today. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

iPod, 2001 - The iPod mp3 player revolutionized the way people consumed music on the go and provided Apple with a much-needed revival. The first version featured a clickable scroll wheel and an easy-to-understand interface that made the iPod incredibly popular. Colorful and sleeker casings, touch screens and larger hard drives made their way into the player in subsequent versions. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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iPod, 2001 - The iPod mp3 player revolutionized the way people consumed music on the go and provided Apple with a much-needed revival. The first version featured a clickable scroll wheel and an easy-to-understand interface that made the iPod incredibly popular. Colorful and sleeker casings, touch screens and larger hard drives made their way into the player in subsequent versions. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

Mac OS X, 2001 - Mac’s operating systems received an upgrade when Jobs was at the company's helm again and he used NeXTSTEP as the basis for what would become Mac OS X. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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Mac OS X, 2001 - Mac’s operating systems received an upgrade when Jobs was at the company's helm again and he used NeXTSTEP as the basis for what would become Mac OS X. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

iTunes Store, 2003 - Two years after opening Apple retail stores (of which there are now 300 worldwide), the company introduced the iTunes Store, a virtual shop that allows users to download songs directly onto their computer. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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iTunes Store, 2003 - Two years after opening Apple retail stores (of which there are now 300 worldwide), the company introduced the iTunes Store, a virtual shop that allows users to download songs directly onto their computer. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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Intel MacBook Pro, 2006 - The MacBook Pro was the first computer to use the Intel’s Core Duo processing units, which improved speed and allowed Apple laptops to compete with Windows-based ones. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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Intel MacBook Pro, 2006 - The MacBook Pro was the first computer to use the Intel’s Core Duo processing units, which improved speed and allowed Apple laptops to compete with Windows-based ones. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

iPhone, 2007 - Apple entered the mobile phone arena with a smartphone that could not only make calls, but also play music and browse the Internet. A year later, the App Store allowed developers to create their own programs for Apple’s products and sell them via iTunes. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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iPhone, 2007 - Apple entered the mobile phone arena with a smartphone that could not only make calls, but also play music and browse the Internet. A year later, the App Store allowed developers to create their own programs for Apple’s products and sell them via iTunes. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

MacBook Air, 2008 - The ultra-thin and light MacBook Air took portable laptops to a whole new level. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

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MacBook Air, 2008 - The ultra-thin and light MacBook Air took portable laptops to a whole new level. (Photo: Courtesy Apple)

iPad - Who wouldn't want to browse the Internet, read their favorite books and listen to music on the world's most successful tablet device?(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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iPad, 2010 - The multitouch tablet computer serves mostly as another way of experiencing music, videos, publications, games and web content. And, like with many of Apple's previous products (super thin laptops, sleek smartphones, and music players), competitors are still trying to catch up to speed. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)