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American Morning
Steve Jobs Has Died; Interview with Steve Wozniak, Apple Co- Founder; Sugar Ray Leonard Gives Boxing Consultation to Hugh Jackman
Aired October 06, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
It is Thursday, October 6th.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: And we begin with the passing of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Tributes to a great innovator are lighting up our iPhones and flooding Facebook and Twitter this morning. The company announced his death yesterday. He was just -- he was just 56 years old. They didn't mention a cause of death, but we know he had battled cancer for years.
The company is planning a celebration of his life for his employees. His handpicked successor, Tim Cook, praising his brilliance, passion and energy.
Jobs took something that was just a geeky hobby at the time and turned it into a necessity for everyone in the modern world.
And joining us now is the man who was with Steve Jobs from those very first days in that garage when they got together and they created something wonderful. His friend and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Steve, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
STEVE WOZNIAK, APPLE CO-FOUNDER: I'm glad to be here. I'm very sorry to be here alone.
COSTELLO: Oh, absolutely.
I know you've been overwhelmed with requests for comments about Steve Jobs. Has it sunk in yet that he's gone?
WOZNIAK: No. It's a little bit like you're stunned the day really big tragedies happen in your life and you remember right where you were sitting and I'll remember that forever. And, no, it's hard to recover.
COSTELLO: This is a man that you have known since high school. You know, everybody talks about how you got together in that garage and came up with something absolutely amazing. You had a dream, both of you, and both of you accomplished that dream.
I think many Americans these days don't think that's possible any more, is it?
WOZNIAK: Oh, no, no. Oh, no. That's -- no. Young people actually still believe and are searching to even have those kind of dreams achieved and Steve Jobs would talk about connecting the dots. He's thinking back to the early days of what you were like then and I try to convey a lot of those.
You know, I travel around a lot and I really like speaking to young people in high school and college, or just out of college, and they're trying to come up with ideas to start their own technical companies and do things that make a difference. And I try to tell them what we were like and how we interacted and what our roles were and give them a lot of inspiration.
Yes, you can do it. But you've got to really believe in it, no matter what other people say.
COSTELLO: So, tell me more about that. Tell me what Steve Jobs and yourself say to young people, say to them to -- that they can do whatever they want to in this life. Because, right now in this economy, there's a sense that -- that we can't achieve the American Dream any more, that the economy is getting us down. That, you know f we don't have any money, we're beaten down by the forces that be.
WOZNIAK: You know, we're sort of taught that though from early age. When we go through school, we're taught that the only right answer comes from someone else and it's in the books and it's the same as everybody else has -- and that's teaching you not to think for yourself and I'm sure Steve would oppose that very much.
And, you know, it's just basically -- you've got to think that even when it seems you're not on the beaten track, Steve's words are effective and well-publicized in the last day and a half. So, you know, I don't have to get into that but it's just --
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, tell us what he was like as a young man -- like as a teenager and how he managed to accomplish all that he did in life.
WOZNIAK: Yes. I mean, he was -- he was fun. He was interested in music. He was interested in words and what they meant, like poetry as guides for life, kind of like searching eastern religions and searching for religion in popular songs of the day.
He was knowledgeable about technology and really believed in that as his big future. That that was the thing he was meant to do and he was just always trying to think ahead of somebody else and look at the newest little building parts and what could you make with those and thinking in terms of how they'd affect society. A great, great, great visionary and leader -- and it was hard to recognize when he's young.
He's like a lot of young people. And a lot of them are great visionaries and really don't go that far.
But companies have ways of hiring that they wouldn't even higher somebody without a college degree in a lot of cases. And here was Steve Jobs without a college degree and look what he accomplished.
So, you know --
COSTELLO: Absolutely. He had -- he had --
WOZNIAK: So, you really have to start looking at people and not just at numbers.
COSTELLO: He had a unique personality, though. I mean, he was into technology. He was kind of geeky, yet he was artistic at the same time, and he seemed to realize what people loved about a product.
He was like a marketing genius. But that he was a marketing genius meant he understood people. Usually when you think of people who are really intrigued by technology or talented in that area, they don't have that other thing. They don't have those people skills.
WOZNIAK: Right. And it's a lot of geeks are not socially adept. They're not in the normal society. And -- but it is that understanding. What would somebody like and what wouldn't they? I was lucky with my early designs that made Apple very successful. I was just building what I wanted for myself. So, I didn't have to worry about being a marketing expert. The market was me.
And it turned out what would work for me and work for me did help the world -- and Steve -- yes?
COSTELLO: I just wanted to bring in Christine and Ali. They're dying to talk to you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Steve, I wanted to ask you -- it's Christine here -- I wanted to ask you, you know, there was a day not really to long ago in our lifetimes when the idea of having a computer in your house, maybe two computers in your house would have been unthinkable. But you and Steve Jobs, you knew that there would be a day when our lives would be changed like this forever by computers.
Can you imagine just the trajectory of change for how we live our life thanks to you and your friend, Steve? I mean, bring me back to those days when the rest of the world couldn't have imagined a computer in your house. A computer was for work, if you were lucky.
WOZNIAK: Yes. And in those early days, there were a few mostly geeky people who knew how to operate computers when they were not understandable by a normal person. Steve and I were in that crowd and we did believe that, oh, yes, computers are going to be in every house and they're going to do a lot of good things for people, but we had no real vision as to what things are like today. We had no idea how much it was going to change everything, everyone does in life is going to be kind of done through computer.
So, it went a lot further and it was, you know -- and I'm really glad that Steve stayed there and he stayed in the game that he was meant to be in. And he kept working to find the newer, better ways and the next product, the next product, the next big achievement.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Steve, let me ask you this.
WOZNIAK: It means so much. How do you judge yourself nowadays? You judge people usually by how they're using their mobile products and how they're using their computers and what they're getting done with it. So, you know, that's a big part of our life. That's how you see yourself.
I think Apple products are so exceptional because that's how Steve saw himself. He was being judged by each one and he was strong enough to tell people -- I'm not going to put out something that isn't just unbelievably perfect and insanely great, at least in his own opinion.
VELSHI: Let me ask you this because I heard it in speeches, I've used it in speeches, I've used it in TV about how you can start a great business from a garage. What was the garage like? Tell me what that garage was like with the two of you -- Steve Jobs' garage in 1976.
WOZNIAK: Well, think about it -- when you are young, you have no money, you have no relatives that have money to loan you, you have no savings account. Where can you work? You got to work on almost very limited budgets which caused us to do some very good things and you do your work at home.
And so, our company was actually -- actually our products were designed outside of the garage. But the garage was our meeting place. And we had a little assembly. We would test the computers, put them in a box, drive them down to a store where they would pay us cash for a computer.
But Steve ran most of the business from his bedroom. He would get on the phone and he'd be calling stores that would sell our products and parts suppliers that would supply the parts. And he'd be calling advertisers, magazines to get little stories about our products and what we were doing.
So, he was really doing the businessman stuff and the marketing and all that.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: So the landline or rotary dial. I love that.
COSTELLO: So, when did you guys know you had something that was going to sell big?
WOZNIAK: Well, we knew that our Apple I product, even though I had been giving it away before, Apple didn't even really own it, we knew that that was a step ahead of what anyone else was doing. We had found the formula for how to make an affordable computer that was useful and the Apple II, which I designed, was our big, big success.
It was clear that this machine, I jumped ahead, I built in color -- when color should have cost $1,000 and I did it for $1. And we wound up with a machine that had graphics and there could be games.
And you know what? Steve saw it as a marketing -- from the marketing angle. We had to convince people that a computer, which was only in factories and in stale, you know, company environments, that a computer could be something in your house.
COSTELLO: Wow.
WOZNIAK: The name Apple was a beautiful name for that, but being playful, colorful, and doing games and graphics, and these nice things that is something that Steve was keen to communicating to people to get the market started. He was a marketing genius, like you say.
ROMANS: Steve, you know, I know we have to let you go and you've been talking to everyone this morning. We appreciate your time and your remembrances of your friend, Steve Jobs.
I want to ask you one last question about -- Steve Jobs was very private. Even in his illness, he was very private. What can you tell us about Steve Jobs outside of Apple, the private guy?
WOZNIAK: He had a very good control. I am simply naive and all over the place and nice to everybody and I don't think hide things.
Steve had a very good control of himself, his life, what was needed to make him -- and he loved his family. He loved -- he was a very good father. And he -- and when he spoke to me about his kids and his interactions with them and he knew what it took, same thing with Apple. It took a lot of privacy, really, to allow Apple to develop good things the right way.
So, he was more than anything else, he had really good control of himself. Really good discipline.
COSTELLO: Steve Wozniak, thank you so much for being with us this morning and sharing your stories about Steve Jobs, we sure appreciate it.
WOZNIAK: I'm sorry to be here and I'm glad I didn't get into tears yet.
ROMANS: Thank you so much. And, again, our thoughts are with you and his family and all the people working at Apple this morning who are working with a heavy heart today. Thank you, sir.
VELSHI: A heavy heart, but with some great memories. I mean, Steve Wozniak gave us some good laughs in there about the things that they did and how they started, and that's the kind of a mixed emotion I'm running this morning with. I'm sad about Steve Jobs, but it's kind of really heartening to remember that there are people and Steve Wozniak says there are kids still doing this.
COSTELLO: Right.
ROMANS: And with no money.
COSTELLO: Steve Jobs leaves behind a legacy that young people can latch on to and think, I can do this, too. I can make it even though I may have nothing, I can make it. And that's the -- I think that's the best legacy --
VELSHI: It's a great legacy.
All right. Expressions of grief and love and respect for Steve Jobs have been pouring in online. Look at this -- people were taking to Twitter. This is a live feed. On the left, we have been monitoring the #thankyousteve. Everything with "thank you Steve" is what you're seeing on the left. It is moving. At one point, it actually crashed Twitter, but it's moving faster than anything I've ever seen move on Twitter.
ROMANS: You know, very few corporate CEOs ever captured so many hearts and minds as Steve Jobs. His grieving admirers finding themselves drawn to the 24-hour Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and that's where our Jason Carroll is standing by live this morning.
Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you.
We've seen a number of people coming out here this morning. You can see behind me, some folks taking pictures. They're also leaving apples. They're leaving flowers. They're leaving candles -- a number of things out here for Steve Jobs.
It's been remarkable to see all the folks that have been coming out to pay their respects. Some folks coming down, waiting for the latest new product that's about to come out, the iPhone 4S.
And you have been out here for -- this is your tenth day.
Let me just start out by introducing some of these folks.
We've got Jessica Mellow (ph). We've got Hans Mye (ph) standing next to her. And then here, we've got Daitoro Taihiro (ph) and Hirikoso Kodo (ph), they are both from Japan.
But I'm going to start with the New Yorkers first.
Let me start with you, Jessica. Ten days you've been out here and we hear so much about the dedication to these products. You are a perfect example of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My friend Keenan, he is a complete Apple fan boy to the max. That's all he'll buy. He camped out for three days last year. So, when he asked me this year, he's like, I want to camp out for at least a week. And I'm like, sure, I'm down for it. And we've been out here, we decided to go for longer, though.
CARROLL: Well, clearly, you decided to go for longer, being out here for 10 days.
When you heard about the passing of Steve Jobs, what were some of the things that went through your mind? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was kind of a shock. We were sitting over there and I got a text that said Steve Jobs were dead. I didn't think it was true because there were rumors several weeks ago that he was dead and it wasn't true. So, I mean, he did have pancreatic cancer, though. And so, we knew it was going to come at some point. But, yes, it was very sudden and it came like right after the announcement of the 4S.
CARROLL: Well, I also want to get to some of these other folks, just to share some of their thoughts about Steve Jobs.
Hans, just give me some of your quick thoughts. Steve Jobs, when it comes to the mind, the innovator -- what are some of your thoughts?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, for me, mostly more than the products, it's really his inspiring attitude towards life, which I think you can take whether you like Apple or even technology at all. If you watch something like his speech at Stanford -- I mean, it's just so inspiring how he didn't let that get him down when he was forced out of Apple.
CARROLL: Carol Costello, one of our anchors, was reading part of that speech, that commencement speech at Stanford, back in 2005, on the air, very inspirational.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's when I realized how much he cared about his work.
CARROLL: And, Hans, very quickly, I just want to move on to our friends here from Japan. Very quickly, because I promised to get them on. Daitoro, I know that you speak English. Hirikoso, I know your English isn't so good.
But very quickly, your thoughts about Steve Jobs on this day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a really big shock for me and the he made the world much better. All the Japanese people use iPhone and we can do much more things than before. So, we really thank him and iPhone products -- the Apple products.
CARROLL: All of you for an example of the dedication to their products. All of them out here waiting for the new product that's about to come out, the iPhone 4S.
This is why this man was so popular and affected so many people, the lives of so many people. An example of the dedication of the products here at the Apple Store in Fifth Avenue.
Back to you, guys.
COSTELLO: Yes. And for the millennial generation, my favorite quote of the morning came from somebody overseas who said Steve Jobs was our Walt Disney, because, of course, Steve Jobs also bought Pixar and "Toy Story" was born. So, he left behind so many, so many different things that we can grab on to and remember.
Jason Carroll, many thanks -- live from the Apple Store here in New York City -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right. When we promised that we would give you some of the ways in which Steve Jobs has left a lasting mark on society and so many industries, as if you didn't know. This is just 10 ways that this innovator has changed the world.
First: design. Let's look at this. Steve Jobs -- he believed that way a product looked and felt was as important as its raw technical specifications. So, take a look at the iPhone, iPad or even its packaging. Jobs linked clever minimalist design to his products and that was -- that was a big deal.
Then there was music, obviously. iTunes, it was launched in 2003, and because it was so easy to use with the iPod, it was sort of an elegant way to get music. It became the world's largest online music retailer with 15 billion songs downloaded, so far, to date.
And, finally, not finally, this is just number three. Computerization. The PC. You'll remember the Apple II. We just talked to Steve Wozniak about that. It became the first computer that gained a wide following, a wide personal computing following, not a business one, and it really revolutionized the way that people worked.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And then, there's the post-PC era, and that is where we are right now. We're talking about the iPad, right? It perfected the all-touch tablet computer. We didn't even know we needed this thing until they invented it and came out, and they got it right. A touch screen with an easy to use operating system, and it was reasonably priced.
So, there you go there. OK. What about this one? Ads. Innovative TV and print ads. Apple came up with these very compelling campaigns from the 1984 big brother like Super Bowl commercial to the I'm a Mac, I'm a PC commercial. So, it really changed how they sold technology in these devices, as well.
VELSHI: We want to show, we wouldn't last a day at Apple. We've already messed
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: But let me show you another one. The iPhone. This, of course, was legendary. It redefined the smartphone. It changed the way that smartphones look and operate. It was minimalist. It had a large touch screen, and it had a solid operating system right from the beginning, something that had plagued inventors of these things for some time. And then, there's the -- God, I'm definitely not getting a job at Apple.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Then, there's the eco system. There. I know. I'd find (ph) it eventually. The integration -- put that back. The integration between software and hardware. This was a big deal, but the idea was simple, and it really, really paid off for Apple. Create a system where the products all work together. Think about iTunes and how easy it is to buy music and then upload it to an iPod or an iPhone or your Mac or any computer that you need. That integration, I got to tell you, that's a thing that was the curse for most people.
ROMANS: Right. And now, let's go over to the operating system, which, I think, is supposed to be right here. Easy to use and stable operating system. That's big part of its reputation. A reliable platform something that couldn't always be said of windows through the years. And there's also, don't forget this whole idea of the Apple store.
The store layout. 345 stores across the globe. The key to these locations, a clean layout. Employees were approachable and well trained. You can get the devices fixed there. You can take a class on how to use your Mac, and lastly, there is the actual Apple Inc.
I mean, come on, the world's most valuable tech company briefly this year surpassed ExxonMobil as the world's most valuable company overall. Jobs returned there, remember, in 1997. He rebuilt Apple into this (INAUDIBLE). And you know what, if you bought $10,000 of Apple stock on the day that he came back, it would be worth $640,000 today.
VELSHI: I got to tell you, we're talking about how Steve Jobs is so unique. You and I, after this demonstration, couldn't even get a job at an Apple store.
ROMANS: No, we couldn't. That's part of the charm of Apple and not of us -- Carol.
(LAUGHTER)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I was laughing through that whole segment.
VELSHI: We weren't really laughing as much as the executive producer yelling in our ear. What are you doing?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: You, idiot. I was just kidding.
COSTELLO: It was just fine. I understood every word, and that's what's important.
Steve Jobs was the heart and soul of Apple. His legacy is the stuff of legend. We're taking a look now at Apple's remarkable history through the words of its ingenious leader, Steve Jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER OF APPLE: Today, for the first time ever, I'd like to let Macintosh speak for itself.
Hello. I'm Macintosh -- (APPLAUSE)
JOBS: We think a lot of them will get into the home, but we like to say, they're going to get there through the garage door. People are going to bring them home over the weekend to work on something. Sunday morning, they're not going to be able to get their kids away from them and maybe some day they'll even buy a second one to leave at home.
The strangest thing about Apple, it hasn't had a good consumer product. Here's one of the best consumer brands in the world, and they haven't had a compelling product under $2,000. And the one we introduce today, the iMac is incredibly sweet.
So, I think it's going to make a big difference. This $1,299 product is faster than the fastest Pentium 2 you can buy. You can go out and buy 400 megahertz Pentium 2, and this thing smokes it. And so, it's amazing. And the market's never had a consumer product this powerful and this cool looking.
What is iPod? IPod is an mp3 music player, has CD quality music, and it plays all of the popular open formats of digital music, but the biggest thing about iPod is it holds 1,000 songs. Now, this is a quantum leap because for most people, it's their entire music library. This is huge. The coolest thing on the iPod is that hold your entire music library fits in your pocket.
I've got a pocket. Right here. Now, this pocket's been the one that your iPod's gone in, traditionally. The iPod and the iPod mini fit great in there. Ever wonder what this pocket is for?
(LAUGHTER)
JOBS: I've always wondered that. Well, now, we know, because this is the new iPod now.
(APPLAUSE)
JOBS: Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone --
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: And we are calling it iPhone.
And the question has arisen lately, is there room for a third category of device in the middle? Something that's between a laptop and a smartphone. And, of course, we've pondered this question for years, as well. The bar's pretty high. In order to really create a new category of devices, those devices are going to have to be far better at doing some key tasks. And we call it the iPad. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: And what this device does is extraordinary. You can browse the web with it. It is the best browsing experience you've ever had. It's phenomenal to see a whole webpage right in front of you and you can manipulate with your fingers. It's unbelievably great. Way better than a laptop. Way better than a Smartphone.
For 2010, we're going to take the biggest leap since the original iPhone.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: And so, today, today, we're introducing iPhone 4.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: The fourth generation iPhone. Stop me if you've already seen this.
(LAUGHTER)
JOBS: Believe me, you ain't seen it.
(LAUGHTER)
JOBS: You've got to see this thing in person. It is one of the most beautiful designs you've ever seen.
(APPLAUSE)
JOBS: Hey, Johnny.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: I grew up here in the U.S. with the Jetsons and with Star Trek and communicators and just dreaming about this. You know, dreaming about video calling, and it's real now.
Good morning.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: Thanks for coming.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: Thank you. Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: We're going to introduce today iPad 2. The second generation iPad.
(APPLAUSE) JOBS: It is an all-new design. It is not a tweak design. It's not got marginal improvements. It's completely new design. And the first thing is, it's dramatically faster. One of the most startling things about the iPad 2 is it is dramatically thinner. Not a little bit thinner, a third thinner. And that is iPad 2.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JOBS: As always, I'd also like to thank everyone's families, because they support us and let us do what we love to do. So, thank you very much to our extended families out there who make it possible for us to work our tails off making these great products for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Steve Jobs gone at the age of 56. Also this morning, we want your thoughts on Mr. Jobs. A man who made must-haves for millions of people worldwide. You can comment on our Facebook page. That's facebook.com/americanmorning, and you'll be able to see your comments at the bottom of the screen. We'll be showing them to you all morning long.
VELSHI: All right. It's 26 minutes after the hour. We are going to be right back with more on Steve Jobs and more on the news that's going on today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It is Thursday, October 6th.
He pioneered the personal computer industry and changed the way people think about technology. Much more on the life and legacy of the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dead at the age of 56.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. This morning at 11:00 eastern President Obama is going to hold a news conference and it is being reported that the president will be talking about his jobs plan, a plan that appears to be stuck in the mud. The House will not vote on the bill and there does not appear it be enough Democratic support for the bill in the Senate. Again, it's the news conference will be held this morning at 11:00 eastern and we will have full coverage here on CNN prior to and immediately following the speech.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Today marks the 20th day of the Wall Street protests, and last night the movement saw its biggest crowds yet. Thousands marched against corporate greed, corruption, and inequality. Police say 28 people were arrested, including one for assaulting an officer.
Sarah Palin says she will not run in 2012, ending months of speculation by both fans and foes, but she's not going away. The former Alaska governor said she can have much more of an impact on the 2012 race as an unshackled outsider.
VELSHI: More now on the death now of Steve Jobs. Coming on the day after his company unveiled the latest iPhone, there's a live look at Apple headquarters right now from Cupertino.
And then to Apple stores across the country, people are paying tribute to the man with the vision. Jobs' former business partner, rival and, once again friend, Bill Gates released a statement. In it he said, "Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago and have been colleagues, competitors, and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."
ROMANS: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also releasing a statement overnight. It reads "Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing what you can build can change the world. I will miss you."
COSTELLO: Jobs death was not completely unexpected, of course. His health problems began eight year ago when doctors discovered an abnormality with his pancreas. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with us this morning. The amazing thing about Steve Jobs, he never stopped fighting. Pancreatic cancer is serious stuff, yet he somehow kept working on and creating new things through this illness.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And keep in mind, the first news he probably heard when he was told he had pancreatic cancer were the abysmal statistics that have gotten slightly better over the nearly last decade, but 20 percent one-year survival is probably what he was first told. So imagine just that news eight years ago.
For years he did not pursue traditional or convention therapies. He had learned about that, but he had an operation in 2004. At that time, he was actually told it was not the most serious form of pancreatic cancer but a less serious although still 50 percent five- year mortality, so, significant risk. But he did. All the therapies, he had a liver transplant and travelled to Switzerland to try things. So he never gave up until maybe August of this year where he said I'm officially stepping down. And at that point you got the sense that, you know, nothing was working for him.
ROMANS: It's just kind of sad that all of the smarts, al the technology, all the science, things that he harnessed in his career were things that in the end, you know, couldn't overcome this foe that's cancer.
GUPTA: A man with unlimited resources, and it does go to show that there are some things you cannot buy.
Also it's interesting because you heard of Stanford speech, Christine. We talked about death and the ultimate change agent for life. I couldn't help but wonder when I heard that speech even if that was just driving him. He knew his days were numbered. He was just trying to get so much in.
VELSHI: So a guy that was creative to start with went into creative overdrive almost.
GUPTA: Yes. He said my 30-year plan now has to be my ten-year or, in this case, eight-year plan.
VELSHI: That's a good take away for the rest of us.
COSTELLO: I can't wait for the day when we look back and say, wow, remember when there used to be cancer and we lost people like Steve Jobs.
GUPTA: I want that day as well.
ROMANS: The c-word affects every family and you want that to be gone, and it's too bad that Steve Jobs' life had to end at 56 years old. The things he could have accomplished were limitless.
GUPTA: He said live every day like your last. One day it will be true. It will be the day before your last day. But, you know, he did a lot in that time.
ROMANS: Thanks, Sanjay.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Our next guest wrote a book about Apple's visionary leader. It's call "Inside Steve's Brain." The author is Leander Kahney. He joins us now live from San Francisco. Welcome.
LEANDER KAHNEY, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, CULTOFMAC.COM: Good morning.
COSTELLO: I would like to stalk about Steve Jobs' star power. This is a man who was head of a company. He's not the type of guy who you would think would be embraced as this huge star and beloved figure in America and around the world. What was it about him?
KAHNEY: Well, he had huge charisma. It was really magnetic. You could see him pacing the stage when he made his product announcements. You know, people -- you had to hang on his every word because he was so, you know, powerful about what he was talking about and very passionate. And he was Apple's, you know, fan boy and chief, so enthusiastic about the products that he was introducing that it really came through, it was really infectious.
And, you know, he brought a different sense of royalty to it. He's not a technologist. He's not a nerd, not obsessed with the details. He was much more interested in what his products could do for you, what the, you know, the impact on their lives.
COSTELLO: In talking about products and how he developed new products or came up with these new ideas, famously, he wasn't really into focus groups. He said that he kind of knew instinctively what people wanted and what they needed, and that's unusual in the business world.
KAHNEY: Unusual -- it's exceptional. I mean, there's no one else like this. It gives way to this myth, though, that he imagined these products. Like he woke up one morning and he had a vision for the iPhone. That's not true. He discovered the iPhone through this process at Apple they prototyping things over and over until they come up with a solution. And it was that that really gave him his magic.
And it was his unwillingness to accept compromise. He was really obsessed with the pursuit of perfection. Things had to work, be almost perfect before he would give them his stamp of approval.
COSTELLO: Your blog posted this photo from Tuesday's iPhone event when, you know, they unveiled the iPhone-4s. There was an empty seat reserved at the end of the row where all the Apple executives sat. So they were clearly thinking of Steve Jobs at this event.
KAHNEY: Yes, it's a very poignant picture. You know, it was actually looking back on it, we didn't know this at the time, but Tim Cook didn't get very high marks for his performance. People thought it was a little subdued.
But it was a pretty good performance when you think about what was going through his mind. He must have known, he may have known about yesterday's passing. And having an empty seat there must have been a big, the forefront of his mind.
COSTELLO: And a lot of people, they still wonder about Tim Cook. I know he was groomed by Steve Jobs and he's been called a creative genius, but there are many people wondering if he can really carry on in the way that Steve Jobs did with Apple.
KAHNEY: Yes. In a way, he shouldn't carry on the way that Steve Jobs did because there's a great danger in that, saying what would Steve do and second guess his own decisions. He should lead the company as he sees fit. He is considered an operations genius and no one knows about his design shops. Will he have that sort of same intuition for what consumers wanted that Steve had? He has a design background and studied design and also been really by Steve over the last 14 years. So you have to be optimistic that he will lead Apple as Steve did.
COSTELLO: Leander Condi, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
KAHNEY: Sure.
ROMANS: The labor department announcing just moments that 401,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last week. That's up 6,000 from the prior week, slightly better than economists had expected. But we tell you this every week, a number above 400,000 not a good sign for the labor market. We watch it every week, still seeing those concerns that 401,000 people got laid off slips last week. That's still too many.
VELSHI: We are talking about Steve Jobs this morning the way he transformed the way we work and play. Sugar Ray Leonard knows about a way of transforming a sport. The boxing icon helped revolutionize the sport and business of boxing. And he coached the robots in this great movie that's coming out tomorrow that I love, "Real Steel." He joins us next on how you teach robots on how to box. It's 40 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Welcome back. We have all seen films, especially if you're a sports fan, where bad boxing just takes you out of the movie. But for the new film "Real Steel," which comes out tomorrow, they hired a professional to train robots how to fight. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got something for you. Don't you run from me. You can't run from me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Sugar Ray Leonard worked with actor Hugh Jackman on his moves, which was a very important part of this movie. Joining us now is one of the most beloved boxers ever, Sugar Ray Leonard. Good to see you.
SUGAR RAY LEONARD, FORMER BOXER: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: We were talking about this. I expected to like the movie going into it, but to see these boxers, these robots who you expect to be mechanical box like boxers with the fluidity of boxers was I thought fascinating. And you were involved in making that happen.
LEONARD: First I work would Hugh and put himself in the right frame of mind to divorce him from being Hugh Jackman and feel like a trainer, an ex-fighter.
VELSHI: It's a world where human boxing is banned and it's all done by robots.
LEONARD: It's all done by robots because boxing becomes extinct because it's not as exciting as it used to be. These robots, Ali, these robots are amazing because they're so human-like. And there's a human element that really draws you in because you see each one that I gave each robot their own style. And they come to life, and they're so fluid. There's so much agility to these guys.
VELSHI: So a lot of people told me, it is a fight movie. Clearly a guy who likes fight movies is going to like it. But first of all, there are a lot of reasons why more than guys would like it and one is that Hugh Jackman looks pretty buff and his shirt comes in within ten minutes of the start of the movie. He looked in great shape for this.
LEONARD: He had some boxing experience. His father was a boxer, and that made it easier. Also, the fact that being a great actor kind of helps out, also. But he had to divorce himself from being Hugh Jackman and really be the ex-fighter, be the trainer, and show it in the face, also the reaction that he had with the robot.
VELSHI: Right and this is a very interesting part of the movie. You see it here, you see Hugh Jackman and the robot that he's training mimicking his moves. And ultimately at one point in the movie the -- the success of that robot in the ring depends on Hugh Jackman doing the boxing from the side and this robot mimicking him.
Now clearly, these are not robots, these are actors who played robots.
LEONARD: It is. But the technology that has been put in here is amazing because they had on these motion capture suits and these stilts or what have you. But when you look on the monitor, you see robots.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEONARD: And they were fast and they were quick and I added a little George Foreman here and a little Marvin Hagler or Tommy Hearns, a little Sugar Ray, at some point.
VELSHI: And so you -- you -- and you had to make them different because these robots, in this futuristic world, are just like boxers. They -- they have certain styles. So, you made the robots, you designed these ideas that they'd fight differently and -- and ultimately --
(CROSSTALK)
LEONARD: Yes.
VELSHI: -- Hugh Jackman would have this passion.
LEONARD: Based on their design. How they -- like -- like Zeus, a big guy.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEONARD: He reminded me of George Foreman and boom, boom, and Adam, you may see a little bit of me in him. I don't know.
VELSHI: Tell me about -- about the rest of the film. You saw it. It's not just a fight movie. This is actually a movie that you said your kids loved.
LEONARD: My kids loved it and we took -- I took them to a private screening and the kids, at some point in the movie were screaming because of the excitement and because of all the excite -- you know all the entertainment. And then I looked at my wife and my mother-in- law at some point and they were in tears because, again, there's that human element.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEONARD: This movie is so amazingly suited for a family.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEONARD: Because it brings in the emotional drama that boxing is all about. You know, boxing is a poor man's sport.
VELSHI: Right. And everybody has a lot of failures for every success that you see. LEONARD: Exactly.
VELSHI: This starts off almost as a story of failure and then -- and then redemption. There's a bit of a love story in there, too.
LEONARD: Well, there's always love baby, there's always love in boxing.
VELSHI: Did you -- did you -- when you first got into this, did you think a boxing film with robots?
LEONARD: Well, I was a little taken aback when I was first asked to be a part of this incredible journey or project. And then I read the script and I understood the premise but I kept saying robots, robots, robots. But when I'm on the set with Hugh, when I'm on the set with all these incredible cast members and crew, it all comes together. It comes together so beautifully.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEONARD: I mean people will love this.
VELSHI: So you know, it's a team effort. And so this is a team effort, too, this show, which means that some questions I have for you are my own and some are helped, producers helped me along with this.
So there's one here that I -- I'm -- I'm going to read to you because a producer asked me to read it. Some of the ladies on the staff want to know what Hugh Jackman is like as a person.
LEONARD: He's the nicest guy. He's humble and he was like a student because he digested whatever I told him and he put it to use.
VELSHI: And just talk about boxing for a second. Who's boxing today who you really like?
LEONARD: I like Manny Pacquiao, I like Floyd Mayweather, those two should fight each other now and because it's about their legacy and bragging rights.
VELSHI: It's still -- it's still a fun -- a fun sport for you to watch?
LEONARD: Oh, for sure. For sure.
You know, my condolences goes to Steve Jobs' family and to say that if he was a fighter, he would be undisputed. Unquestionably.
VELSHI: That's exactly the way to say it. Sugar Ray Leonard, thanks very much for coming in.
LEONARD: Yes.
VELSHI: The movie starts tomorrow. It's "Real Steel".
Your "Morning Headlines" are up next. Its 48 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Its 51 minutes after the hour. Here are your "Morning Headlines".
The Labor Department announcing that 401,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last week; that's up 6,000 from last week. Slightly better, though, than economists had expected. Still any time this number comes in above 400,000, as it did this week, it's not really a very good sign for the labor market.
This morning at 11:00 Eastern, President Obama will hold a news conference. It's being reported that the President will be talking about jobs and his jobs plan. A plan that appears to be faltering. The House will not vote on the bill and there does not appear to be enough Democratic support for the bill and the Senate. Again, that news conference will be held this morning at 11:00 Eastern.
U.S. stock futures are trading higher this morning. Markets overseas are up as investors grow more confident at least today that European leaders are working to strengthen their banking system.
Tributes pouring in for Apple founder Steve Jobs, faster than Twitter can handle them this morning. At one point, Twitter froze on this. The company announced his death last night after a long battle with cancer. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says the impact of Jobs' work will be felt for many generations to come. Steve Jobs was just 56 years old.
You may not agree but Bank of America is defending its new $5 fee for using your debit card. The bank's CEO Brian Moynihan said last night that the bank has a right to make a profit. And that it's being honest and transparent about the new charge. The bank under incredible pressure to increase its profits and stop its stock slide.
Count her out. Sarah Palin says that she will not be in the 2012 presidential Republican nomination. Palin says her family comes first, but she can still be on the right path without being a candidate.
Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning Christine.
It's a chilly start to the day across the northeast. Look at some of these numbers. These don't include some of the outer lying areas that are likely in their 20s and maybe with some frosting in some of the hills. It's 48 degrees right now in Boston and 42 degrees in Syracuse; frost and freeze advisories out for that stretch of the -- of the woods.
And also rain and snow across parts of the Inter Mountain West maybe two feet of it above 7,000 feet in Utah, and maybe a foot or more above 9,000 feet in the inner Mountain Rockies of Colorado. You've already seen about a foot or more in parts of the Sierra and we've got another storm coming. This is very November, December like pattern with the exception of a pretty big warm up across the midsection of the country. Some of that air will eventually spill off to the East, but until it does though, temperatures in Kansas City will be 85 back to 90 in Dallas, 81 is expected in Minneapolis and after a chilly start in New York, you'll rebound nicely up to about 68 degrees.
That's a quick check on weather -- Christine. Back up to you.
ROMANS: All right, thanks, Rob.
That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Three minutes to the top of the hour and welcome back.
This morning we're paying tribute to Apple's Steve Jobs who died yesterday. He was a true visionary who became an American icon and the tributes just keep on coming. People across the globe are taking Twitter, many on Apple devices to honor and remember Steve Jobs.
We've been monitoring the hash tag thankyousteve. And the messages are pouring in faster that Twitter can handle them. Those are the Twitter messages on the left side of the screen of course. This is in real-time; people around the world updating the feed with their thoughts.
VELSHI: Wow. That's incredible, look at that --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Yes. A nice tribute to him, too.
VELSHI: -- that is just instantly. Yes.
ROMANS: All right, there's now a new group on Facebook inviting everyone to a black turtleneck Friday. It's asking everyone no matter where they live to dress in Steve Jobs' traditional uniform at work tomorrow which says, "In honor of one of the greatest technology visionaries of our generation".
And earlier this morning we spoke to Steve Jobs' former right-hand man at Apple, Jay Elliot and he compared Jobs to another man who was all about innovation and imagination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY ELLIOT, FORMER STEVE JOBS RIGHT MAN: His vision will be alive there for years and sort of re-created the Walt Disney when Walt Disney died, you know Disney kept on going. And I think Apple is on that same path. They're following the vision, they have a whole road map they're going to follow and it's going to go on for quite a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Also this morning we talked to John Sculley who partnered with Jobs at Apple 30 years ago before the two had a falling out. We asked him about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: You were brought in to be the adult. You had experience at Pepsi, you know, you know Sade was doing ads for Pepsi. The board then asked Steve to step down in 1985, something you call the darkest hour of your professional life. Did you think you were making a mistake and what led to that?
JOHN SCULLEY, FORMER APPLE CEO: The issue was Steve wanted to keep promoting the Apple, wanted to promote the McIntosh and lower the price. I felt we had to keep selling the Apple II because that's where the cash flow came from and leave the price alone at the $2,495 that Mac had.
We went to the board; the board, you know, went and talked to all the different executives and came back in two weeks and said we think John's right. And that's what led to the breakup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And that's what led to the guy who Steve Jobs brought into the company having to fire him from the company.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, Steve Jobs' personality he was a man who is always looking forward, not back.
VELSHI: Yes, that's right.
COSTELLO: Moving on. And it was the difference between the conservative view of business and a much more progressive one.
VELSHI: Yes, the -- the Apple II was making money, the IIe was making money. This -- but the McIntosh came out at $2,495.
ROMANS: That's amazing. All right, that's going to do it for us for today.
COSTELLO: Yes, let's -- we'll throw to Atlanta now and Kyra Phillips. Take it away -- Kyra.
