With Steve Jobs' passing, there are a lot of pieces making the rounds that discuss the exec's legacy and how he guided Apple to the tech giant it is today. But you don't become one of the most powerful consumer tech companies in the world by being sweet as pie 24-7.
Many who have worked for Jobs have – in the same breath – described him as obnoxious, overbearing, brilliant, and dedicated. He's also not afraid of a fight, especially when defending or championing an Apple product on which he has worked.
From Adobe and Google to Sculley and Gates, Jobs has had his share of public outbursts and zingers. We take a look back at some Jobs tech battles from recent years and way back when. The list is certainly not exhaustive, so let us know in the comments if there are any other favorite Jobs battles you recall.
Jobs vs. Adobe Flash
Adobe and Apple were never the best of friends, but in April 2010, Jobs posted a juicy little note on the Apple Web site that attacked all things Adobe. The company's Flash technology, he said, was closed, unstable, and antiquated. Apple never allowed Adobe's Flash on iOS devices and that, Jobs said, was "based on technology issues." Simply put, Apple did not "want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods, and iPads by adding Flash," Jobs said.
Flash is the "number one reason Macs crash" and despite working with Adobe on the problems, they have continued for several years, Jobs continued. In addition, Adobe had not demonstrated a workable version of Flash on a mobile device. "We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it," Jobs said.
Adobe responded by accusing Apple of creating a walled garden around its apps, and pledging to focus its efforts on Android.
Jobs vs. Android
Jobs didn't usually drop in to Apple earnings call, but he made a special appearance in October 2010 with a personal message for Google's Android.
"Android is very fragmented," he said plainly. "Many Android OEMs, including the two largest, HTC and Motorola, install proprietary user interfaces to differentiate themselves from the commodity Android experience. The user's left to figure it all out. Compare this with iPhone, where every handset works the same."
Jobs predicted that Android was becoming "more fragmented by the day" and said Apple's approach didn't force the user "to be the systems integrator." Users want devices that just work and "we believe that integrated will trump fragmented every time."
Android engineering chief Andy Rubin was not impressed. He responded by tweeting the commands needed to start compiling a copy of Android on a home Linux machine. Basically, he stressed that anyone can develop for, hack, or even create their own version of Android, but the same cannot be said for Apple.
Jobs vs. RIM
In that same conference call, Jobs also took a swipe at Research in Motion. He pointed to the company's declining sales and said he didn't "see them catching up to us in the foreseeable future."
Jobs urged RIM to "look beyond their area of strength and comfort, into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company." Jobs thought it would be a challenge for RIM to "create a competitive platform," however, as well as convince developers to create apps for yet another app store.
"With 300,000 apps on Apple's App Store, RIM has a high mountain ahead of them to climb," Jobs said at the time.
Jobs was also skeptical about the success of 7-inch tablets; RIM was then still prepping its troubled PlayBook tablet. Rival tablets would be "dead on arrival," Jobs predicted.
Unfortunately for RIM, Jobs was probably right, but in response RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie accused Apple of living inside its own "distortion field."
"We also know that while Apple's attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of Web sites that use Flash," Balsillie said. "We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple."
Jobs vs. John Sculley
After the release of the Apple II in 1978 came the Macintosh, but Jobs needed a more typical CEO to help run things at Apple. He poached Pepsi executive John Sculley in 1983 and the Mac launched on January 24, 1984 with a splashy ad campaign and an iconic commercial. But sales were not what Jobs had hoped they would be, and by 1985, Sculley convinced the Apple board to ditch Jobs. "He destroyed everything I spent ten years working for," Jobs told PBS.
In a 2010 interview with Cult of Mac, however, Sculley said that "looking back, it was a big mistake that I was ever hired as CEO. I was not the first choice that Steve wanted to be the CEO. He was the first choice, but the board wasn't prepared to make him CEO when he was 25, 26 years old."
"The one who should really be given credit for all that stuff while I was there is really Steve," Sculley said.
Jobs vs. Microsoft/Bill Gates
Though Jobs left Apple in the 1980s, Apple and Microsoft battled it out in court for years over copyright infringement issues; a fight Apple eventually lost. In a 1996 PBS interview, Jobs said that Microsoft had "absolutely no taste" and didn't "think of original ideas." The drama between Microsoft and Apple was even turned into a TV movie called "Pirates of Silicon Valley." By September 1997, however, Jobs announced that Microsoft would invest $150 million in Apple.
During a 2007 joint-appearance at the "All Things D" conference with Microsoft's Bill Gates, Jobs said the Microsoft deal came about because "there were too many people at Apple and in the Apple ecosystem playing the game of, for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. And it was clear that you didn't have to play that game because Apple wasn't going to beat Microsoft. Apple didn't have to beat Microsoft. Apple had to remember who Apple was because they'd forgotten who Apple was."
Continue Reading: Gawker Reporters ... and Bon Jovi?>
Jobs vs. Gawker Reporter
In 2010, Jobs started responding more often to emails from fans, detractors, and reporters. One such conversation with Gawker's Ryan Tate, however, got a bit heated.
In Jobs' defense, Tate did not identify himself as a reporter, admitted to having had a few drinks before penning his missive, and dropped a few f-bombs. What resulted was a question about what Bob Dylan might think of the iPad and freedom.
"Yep, freedom from programs that steal your private data. Freedom from programs that trash your battery. Freedom from porn. Yep, freedom. The times they are a changin', and some traditional PC folks feel like their world is slipping away," Jobs responded, prompting thousands of journalists to salivate at the prospect of quoting Jobs as uttering the phrase "freedom from porn."
Tate and Jobs went back and forth, with Tate criticizing the closed nature of Apple's apps and Jobs asking the reporter why he was so bitter. Tate concluded by accusing Apple of "imposing your morality," but Jobs got the last word by calling Tate "misinformed" and asking the blogger if he has ever created anything great or if he just criticizes other people and belittles their motivations.
Jobs vs. College Student
Jobs probably gets a lot of emails, as does the Apple staff. They don't respond to everyone, but that was something of which Long Island University senior Chelsea Kate Isaacs was apparently unaware. She emailed Apple's PR team for a quote from Apple regarding iPads in the university setting, but never heard back, so she decided to contact Jobs himself.
"Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade. Sorry," Jobs responded. Isaacs apparently did not take the hint, however, and had a few more back and forths with the CEO before he urged her to "please leave us alone."
"Under no circumstances should a person who runs a company speak to a customer that way," Isaacs told Gawker. "I'm just enraged and I want people to know this was done."
Despite her rage, Jobs' response didn't seem to affect the company too much.
Jobs vs. The Beatles
The Beatles finally landed on iTunes in late 2010, but not without a fight. This one includes all of Apple, not just Jobs, but goes back to the 1978 when Apple Corps - which secured its trademark in 1968 - sued Apple Computer over the use of the "Apple" name. The case was settled in 1981, at which time Apple agreed not to get into the music business and Apple Corps agreed not to get into the computer business.
Apple didn't exactly stick to that deal, culminating in the 2001 launch of iTunes. Apple Corps sued Apple for breach of contract and the two battled it out in court for several years. Jobs said at the time that it was "painful being at odds" with the Beatles.
"We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes," Jobs said when the deal was finally reached. "It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we've had since we launched iTunes ten years ago."
Jobs vs. Bon Jovi
Some people, meanwhile, like to fight with Jobs even when he doesn't respond. One rocker likely not tooling around on GarageBand is Jon Bon Jovi. In March, the musician told a U.K. newspaper that Jobs is to blame for "killing" the music industry.
"Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of pictures and still imagining it," he said.
"In a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business," Bon Jovi continued.
Jobs did take the bait, but iLounge Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Horwitz responded with an open letter to Bon Jovi in which he said that artists should thank Jobs for providing new ways to listen to music.
For more see, Apple Will Be Fine Without Jobs as CEO and the Greatest Victories of Steve Jobs slideshow below.
Editor's Note: This piece originally ran when Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in August.