Thoughts on Steve Jobs
I remember getting my first Apple computer as an eager Freshman Information Systems major. This was around the time that Apple was really starting to get popular on college campuses and OS X was starting to hit its stride as an OS. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever used.
It can’t be understated how much of an effect Steve Jobs has had on not only on me and the field that I work in, but on our society in general. It seems odd to talk about the CEO of a tech company like we talk about Steve, but there was no one with a vision for how technology could make our lives better like Steve. Whether you use (or like) Apple products, his work has had a profound affect on the technology that you use.
I have no doubt that my children and my children’s children and my children’s children’s children will be learning about Steve Jobs in the way that I learned about Edison, Einstein and Franklin as a kid. At a time when people were doubting that anybody would ever need a computer, Steve was putting one in every home. While we were all still buying CDs from Best Buy, Steve was revolutionizing the digital music industry. While we were all addicted to our primitive Blackberries, Steve saw the possibility of the world in our pockets. While everyone was stuck thinking of computers as boxes on our desks or laptops in our bags, Steve was dreaming up a revolutionary tablet that would change the way we think about computing. His contributions to the world of technology are unprecedented.
I could go on and on about the way that Steve changed our lives. But it’s simple enough to say that because of Steve and his vision for design and functionality, your grandmother can use an iPad. And not only can she use it, but she understands and enjoys it more than any other computer you could possibly give her. Steve brought technology to a level that is usable and enjoyable by everyone. That alone is reason to celebrate this man.
Steve will be greatly missed by a world that looked for his vision and passion for technology and the way it could change the world. Rest in peace, Steve. The world is a less magical place without you in it.
Well said, Nick.
I was out all evening, oblivious to the announcement. Now, coming home to a facebook and twitter blowing up and a huge obit in the NYT, I feel at a loss and strangely bereft for exactly the reasons you stated. I don’t think I’d have my career, if it weren’t for Steve.
Pour one out for the chief of the crazy ones.