I first learned the news as I turned on the TV after coming home from work. Steve Jobs passed away. The news brought sadness, even though almost everyone knew this ending was coming. I opened my computer and due in great part to Mr. Jobs, I was able to instantly connect with people all over the world and I found I was not alone in my feelings for the man. I opened Twitter and here's the moment those I follow broke the news:
(Okay, so Colin Mockrie's post didn't deal with the news. He's still funny...)
I never met the man, but what he did affected my life. One of my first post-high school jobs was working on Macs. I worked for a software development company as a computer sound technician. We worked on Hypercard, Hypersound, and other very primitive programs. It was great. I remember seeing a bumper sticker several years after I left that job that said,
"Windows 95 = Macintosh 85"
It was true.
I know many people who hate Macintosh computers and I understand why. They're snobbish (and so are--to a certain extent--the people who use them...). They're trendy. They are (in some people's opinion) overpriced, and they're pretentious. But, oh, how they work. They work really well as do most things that come from the company. Every single smart phone owes its existence to Mr. Jobs--even those phones that scream how much better they are than the one he invented.
I know my words will be lost in a sea of others as they think about what this one man meant and means to them. It's a very personal thing. He literally affected the lives of billions of people. And it makes me think about how much each of us mean to each other. We are all connected and each of have the possibility to do the same, such is the potential of a single person.
A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page. It was something I didn't know about Mr. Jobs. Aside from our love of Macintosh computers, the way both of us entered this life is something we both share.
communities.washingtontimes.co
What would our world look like if Steve Job's biological mother had made a different choice?
So, we remain and the devices he created remind me of the man that was brave enough to share his genius with us all.
Well done, Mr. Jobs.
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