ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 21, 1996 TAG: 9612230046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE NEW ``NON-MANAGER'' will advise the company on rebuilding the underlying operating system, which runs the computer's basic functions.
Steve Jobs, the Apple Computer founder who rose to become a brash symbol of American ingenuity before fading from the limelight, is suddenly back.
More than a decade after Jobs was unceremoniously ousted by Apple, a newspaper reported the company is rehiring the original Macintosh developer to help salvage Apple's reputation as a technological innovator.
Whether Jobs will be compelled to make peace with his acrimonious past is more than an item of curiosity for technology historians. Apple is battling to remain competitive in the personal computer industry. Its market share in recent years has been eroded by rival Microsoft's development of Windows software that matches many of the easy-to-use features of the Macintosh.
Jobs, who oversaw development of the original Macintosh, will advise the company on rebuilding the underlying operating system, which runs the computer's basic functions, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
A spokeswoman for Jobs said he was not available for comment.
Software developers and analysts on Friday said Jobs' challenge would be to help restore not only the company's software pre-eminence, but the storied Apple image that instills confidence among customers.
``There's an icon, if you will, that will return to Apple,'' said industry analyst Robert Herwick, president of Herwick Capital Management in San Francisco.
While Jobs reportedly would be more an adviser than manager at Apple, his brash style could be ``difficult to keep up with,'' Herwick said. ``He tends to be singular, passionate in his enthusiasms and not always listening to other people.''
Jobs, 41, is entwined in Apple's roots. With Steve Wozniak, Jobs built the first Apple in a garage. His ability to sell computers turned upstart Apple into a giant, ushering in the era of easy-to-use Macintosh personal computers.
National magazines and a computer industry hungry for heroes hailed him as one of the nation's brilliant young entrepreneurs.
But 11 years ago, Jobs was ousted as chairman of Apple in a power struggle with then-chief executive John Sculley. He founded a new computer company, Next, with a big chunk of his own change, $100 million from Canon Inc. and a large investment from Ross Perot.
Unable to convince a skeptical world that his company was the next Microsoft, Jobs was forced three years ago to overhaul its management, lay off half its staff and give up creating hardware, instead focusing on software. The Redwood, Calif., company officially changed its name to Next Software in January.
In an interview three years ago, Jobs declared his NextStep system as ``the only alternative to Microsoft.''
``NextStep is the best work of my life,'' he added. ``The question is, will people hear about it?''
Now they may.
A deal with Next would merge many of the best features of Apple's own technology with the strength of the Next software program. Macs presumably would run faster while retaining many of the easy-to-use features that have created a generation of loyal users among graphic artists, designers and others.
However, Jobs knows Apple faces an uphill battle. In an interview with Wired magazine published last February, Jobs said that Apple ``lost'' the desktop war and that ``innovation has virtually ceased.''
``The desktop market has entered the dark ages, and it's going to be in the dark ages for the next 10 years or certainly for the rest of this decade,'' he said.
If a reunion occurs, Jobs will have a chance to rewrite his dire forecast.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Jobs.by CNB