catapult from

[unpakwon]

Would you please paraphrase the following in red more easily?

For Russell Ivanovic, Apple's decision not to allow his app on its store left little option for him, he said, but to catapult from his fifteen minutes of fame afforded by publishing a Steve Jobs letter. Steve wrote in a cut-and-dry message: "We are not allowing apps that create their own desktops. Sorry."

Thank you.

[mayita1usa]

This looks like an excerpt from something. Why does it need to be paraphrased? It would help to know what the objective is.

[unpakwon]

Would you please just find me an alternative word to "catapult"?

[SoothingDave]

It means he increased his public profile, made himself more better known because of the attention he was given due to his making public a letter form Jobs.

"Springboard" is another term for using your present position to help you achieve greater heights.

[unpakwon]

Now I see why I didn't understand it at first.

Thank you.

[magimagicE]

The segment talks about Russell Ivanovic's bittersweet experience of dealing with the boss of Apple, Steve Jobs.

He was ecstatic (and got his 15 minutes of fame) because he had received a letter from a man who was revered in the computer industry (presumably) - only to be brought crashing back down to earth again by its contents.

So, "catapult from" means to move from one extreme to another extreme: from a state of happiness to dejection.

[SoothingDave]

So, "catapult from" means to move from one extreme to another extreme: from a state of happiness to dejection.

I don't agree. I've never seen catapult used like this.

Catapults | Define Catapults at Dictionary.com