The year 1984 signified for Apple the beginning of a new era, where Big Brother rules were extraordinarily turned upside-down by a computer too small to do computing. Perhaps the computer was small, but the vision was great enough to grow beyond making — to satisfy a growing and developing market within mainstream technology.

Steve Jobs’ resignation from his lifework brings back the story of a most valuable commercial. 1984 won’t be like “1984” was the final statement of the Apple commercial that introduced the Macintosh. The outstanding determination and belief of Steve Jobs introducing the commercial predicted the success of a company and a man.

Like any good story, Apple was brought to life under the humblest of circumstances. Built on passion, youth and a courage to experience, what was thought not worth for a resounding name, Apple became one of today’s leading companies. Selling a Volkswagen and a programmable calculator, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak conceived the first version of Apple.

They first met at a Hewlett Packard internship and continued to collaborate while being members of the Homebrew Computer Club, both highly passionate about electronics. Seeing things differently and always bringing in personal experiences, the two created the fundaments of present technology: Macintosh, iTunes, iPhone, iPad — could you imagine life without them?

What defined their success is not reserved to passion. Steve Jobs quit Oregon’s Reed College, but took classes in calligraphy to improve his sense of aesthetics. Steve Wozniak understood that more lied beyond the screen and keyboard.

Jobs did not rest with simple solutions when he needed to facilitate the interaction between human and computer — we owe him the mouse and the object-oriented interface. “One was more the engineer- technologist, one wanted to do things,” said Wozniak in an interview.

Steve Jobs has aligned his love for Apple equal to his family: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do” and perhaps that constituted the key element for such a professional and precise way to succes.

Meanwhile, even people outside the regular Apple fan base respect the innovator. Steve Jobs mastered the introduction of 1984 because he saw behind simple things: he saw consumerism beyond technology. We might say that the two friends designed the future of technology.

At the time of his resignation, Jobs recognizes that “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of (…) But I don’t have any skeletons in my closet that can’t be allowed out.” Success meant backsteps as well. After a period of withdrawal from Apple, he came back more energetic and weighted in experience — from 1997 he led Apple to new heights.

But these accomplishments were possible through team effort. He has stated that the company persists through the “ideas, not hierarchy.” In the moment of stepping down, he proudly announces his trust in the next generation. Apple’s temporarily CEO Tim Cook received great recommendations from Steve Jobs. Success should be safe when the one leaving is convinced he passed his knowledge and vision on.

Steve Jobs has been called a mentor for Apple’s new generation and for any young entrepreneur, and surely his statement is encouraging: “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

The year 1984 launched the success af a vision which after 27 years is still highly acclaimed. Steve Jobs never settle: even his resignation is viewed through the lens of his debut.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/farber/

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Five Chinese non-governmental organizations have accused Apple of adding to environmental degradation by using suppliers with known histories of environmental violations. The American company also faces strong criticisms for undermining social responsibility as its suppliers have been involved in serious work-related accidents and deaths.

A report released on Wednesday, which calls Apple out for taking “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems,” is threatening to cast a big shadow on Apple’s image.

One of the co-authors of the report Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been outspoken in several media outlets about Apple’s apparent disregard and unresponsiveness. The coalition of environmental groups has requested the help of businesses to map the companies’ impact on local communities;

Apple shied away from contributing to the report. Several electronics brands, including Samsung, Nokia and LG outsource all or part of their manufacturing. These orders are then picked up by suppliers with factories in, among other countries, China.

According to the New York Times, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling responded on Wednesday that the company had been aggressively monitoring its supply chain regularly.

“We require that our supplier provides safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made,” Dowling said.

But at the same time, Apple has, according to GOOD magazine, defended its ranking in the environmental groups report as a result of their suppliers’ actions — not theirs. CNN reported that the Apple company found 80 facilities where storage and handling of hazardous chemicals was not done properly during the 2010 audit.

According to Apple’s own report, the company had requested the non-compliant facilities to correct their mistakes and document these processes but nowhere does it say if the request was granted.

Apple’s market share in China has grown exponentially and the busiest Apple store in the world is located there. Yet their presence in the mainland has caused controversy. Despite keeping their suppliers under wraps, the company has faced multiple production challenges.

The New York Times reports that one of Apple’s biggest suppliers was hit by a suicide wave among workers at several mainland facilities last year while an explosion at fire at another plant in southwest China in May killed two and injured more than a dozen.

Apple is not the only company to face harsh criticism for taking advantage of the Chinese system — several multinational corporations have, according to the New York Times, been accused of employing child labour, violating local labor laws and polluting water resources and land.

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Fake Apple stores have begun popping up in China, fooling not only the customers, but the workers as well. The quickly developing country is renowned for creating and selling remake products, however this is more than a step up from product recreation.

A blogger who goes by BirdAbroad found the store, located in China’s Yunnan province in the city of Kunming. The blogger says that the first giveaway was the glowing apple outside the storefront. Instead of standing alone as it should, the words Apple Store accompanied it, giving away its mirage of reality.

Inside all things would appear fine, exactly identical to any authorized Apple store found across the world. However, the blogger admits that upon closer inspection little things including paints jobs and intricate staircases appear to be unprofessionally done.

In a recent update from BirdAbroad, she explains that many different media outlets have been able to contact workers or managers from the fake store. The Toronto Star said they spoke with a manager who claims that while they now know they are unauthorized, the products they are selling are real.

BirdAbroad has also begun taking heat from the population of Kunming, as well as other cities across China. She has recieved many different complaints about her blog and posts commenting on the fake apple store.

Some are looking for a public apology for mudding their good name, while others are irritated at the ongoing attention to knockoff production in China. They are saying, “shanzai is unstoppable in China;” shanzai, meaning knockoff.

Regardless, while the store is unauthorized, and there remains to be confusion on whether the products are real or not, many citizens in Kunming are saying that they don’t mind the knockoff store.

BirdAbroad quoted someone saying, “Apple deserves to have shanzhai stores, since their products are absurdly expensive, despite being made right here in China.”

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The general image of the Apple Store is to “do what you want so long as you don’t break or steal anything.” To see just how far he could go, comedian Mark Malkoff pulled some interesting pranks on one Apple Store.

“It’s amazing what the Apple Store will allow,” Malkoff said. “There are hundreds of videos online of customers singing and dancing in the middle of the store. Not only do they allow house pets, but I have heard of customers successfully bringing in snakes. I can’t imagine that being tolerated at any other store.”

His first plan was to see if he could get a pizza delivered to him while he was shopping on the second floor of a Manhattan Apple Store. He gained positive reactions from the staff, one of whom remarked that the stunt was awesome when the pie was delivered and was also shocked that the pizza place was willing to deliver to someone inside a large retail store.

Malkoff was later joined by his wife for a romantic in-store dinner, complete with waiter service and dancing under a mirror ball while a solo trumpeter played a song.

The stunts do not stop there. On another day, Malkoff was able to receive help for his broken iPhone dressed as Darth Vader. One employee even urged him to use the force.

Though, the latest stunt may be the best yet. To see just how far he could push his luck, Malkoff brought in a goat. While there were more strange looks than before, he still was not rejected from the store.

“The staff at the Apple stores could not have been any nicer.” Mark said. “The fact they let me bring in a goat still makes me laugh.”

1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

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