Thanks, Steve Jobs
Without Steve Jobs, I doubt I’d be in the profession that I’m in today. I grew up with Apple computers. My dad would bring home his classroom’s Apple computer (I believe it was an IIe or IIc) during the summers, giving me the chance to play games (and learn a few things) at a time when computers were still far from being “personal”. In 1994, my parents purchased a Macintosh Performa 575 for the family. An optional feature at the time, they even upgraded to the model with a CD drive. I spent hours on that computer, not just playing games, but also dabbling in HyperCard, Photoshop, and basic HTML. My parents went on to invest in a number of iMacs since then (with an eMac in there as well). When the first iPod was released (5 gigabytes for $500), my mom won one in a raffle, and suddenly we were iPod early adapters. A few iPods later, I now sit at a MacBook Pro, with my iPhone and iPad beside me.
I’ve never been a big hardware guy. I’m not the one to help you upgrade your RAM or swap out a harddrive. I’d probably end up somehow losing all of your data. But with Apple computers, I’ve never had to worry about that. I appreciate their ease-of-use, and they’ve allowed me to focus on what I do care about — the software (and what the software allows you to create). From my first attempts at photo manipulation in Clarisworks (and later Photoshop), to my first websites on Geocities, Steve Jobs’ creations helped me create on my own.
From his unwavering focus on simplicity and ease-of-use, to his knack for opening up technology markets that never before existed, to his ability to shrug off the critics, Steve Jobs had an interesting combination of qualities that led him to be one of the most innovative leaders that my generation will probably ever see. He’s been compared to Thomas Edison, but Jobs didn’t invent things. He envisioned things, and then inspired and led teams to make those visions a reality. In a world where CEOs and their companies focus on making a quick buck, Steve Jobs seemed different. He focused on quality, not only of his products, but I think of his life as well.
I remember a few years ago, during the usual speculation in the weeks (or months) leading up to an Apple product launch, that Steve Jobs was supposedly spotted out in public with the newest, unreleased version of the iPhone. I’ve always thought that the speculation around new products was dumb. But I distinctly remember the details of that article. When he was spotted, Jobs was at a kids’ soccer game. Presumably his own kid’s soccer game. Only seeing him wearing his black turtleneck and jeans while showing off the latest and greatest, I hadn’t really thought of him being a family-man as well. While hardly ever speaking of it, the creator of the personal computer also had a personal life. So during this next week, while everyone’s discussing his most innovative products, the potential drop in Apple’s stock price, and how big of a loss this is to the technology world, I think we should also remember that his family is feeling the biggest loss of all.
October 6, 2011