40 years ago, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple – but it made Macs better than ever

“It turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

You wouldn’t expect to hear that from Steve Jobs, a man famous for his short temper and strong opinions. Yet as it turns out, being removed from his own company transformed Jobs, helping him grow into the creative force that, years later, would spawn world-changing products like the iPhone, the iPod, and the best Macs and MacBooks.

His ouster went down 40 years ago in 1985, and it’s worth looking back on what happened at that time and how it changed Jobs – and Apple, and perhaps even the wider computing world – for the better.