We here at InterWorks love our tech – just in case you couldn’t tell. Just about anything we can learn, tinker with, or take apart and put back together (most of the time anyway) are all fair game. So with a couple of recent milestones, we here at InterWorks are feeling a bit nostalgic.

Our first story is about Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO of Apple after a 14-year second stint as the company’s leader. Jobs resumed his post as CEO in 1997, with Apple in dire straits, desperate for traction in a losing battle with the PC-compatible world. His tenure produced a remarkable run of hit innovations, including the Apple retail store, Mac OS X, and hardware releases such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs’ meticulous attention to detail, even the color of company t-shirts, has been his trademark as CEO.

Chris Kaukis, software developer, writes: 

“On the day the Steve announced the Aluminum 17” PowerBook  (the very, very first one), my mom drove me to Dallas to get one at the Apple Store in Plano. I loved it! Even though after my student discount, it cost over $3,000 (the discount is 10% and then there was tax), it was the best laptop that I ever owned.”

One of our Business Intelligence consultants, Tim Rhymer, writes: 

“As much as I disagree with Apple’s business decisions, I can’t deny that Jobs has had a huge impact on our world. It’s sad to see another pioneer step away from his CEO position. I’m still not a big fan of Apple and honestly more of my respect for Jobs comes from his work in helping get Pixar started.”

Another milestone in the tech world is the popular open-source operating system Linux celebrated its 20th anniversary. Linux developed by Linus Torvalds powers many of today’s gadgets, computers and servers. Being open-source, Linux is freely available to modify, making it ideal for startups (even one’s that are no longer startups such as Google and Facebook, who both run Linux servers). Because it’s open, Linux has also become popular with the hacking and tinkering crowd – being able to modify any part of the OS code has appeal to many – including our own web developer, Josh Varner:

“It’s hard to overstate the impact Linux has had on my professional life. I got into Linux on a whim, which is easy to do, given that it is (and was) free and downloadable over the web. Back in the mid-90’s, I wanted to experiment with IRC bots, and the best ran on UNIX-compatible systems such as Linux. The only commitment I had to make was tying up my parents’ second phone line for a couple of days to download the Slackware Linux distribution over our 28.8kbps modem.

What set Linux apart, aside from its open-source nature, was that it ran on x86 PCs, like my family’s 486 Packard Bell. This is the spark, I believe, that ignited the movement. Geeks everywhere could try out a UNIX variant on their home PCs, which in turn opened up a whole new world of software to them. For many, including me, it was their first taste of a UNIX environment.

Looking back, I can’t help but also celebrate the efforts of the countless developers who provided the software that turned Linux into a full operating system, and not just a kernel. Even though their projects’ anniversaries may go unnoticed, their impact on Linux can’t be overlooked.We here at InterWorks tip our hats to you, Steve and Linus, Apple and Linux, and to all of you whose lives have been impacted by these men and technologies.”