This evening Apple confirmed that the visionary man behind the company has passed away. I don’t normally do sentiment, I’m normally too wrapped up in my own concerns and worries to really spend time on others, but something hit me when I heard the news.
I’ve used a Mac since leaving school, introduced to one at my first design agency, but remember an old colleague running a Mac emulator through an Amiga years before that, in black and white. That’s how important they were back then, and that notion hasn’t changed a bit – I still use one for my job today.
Now, of course, the legacy that Steve Jobs leaves behind stretches much further than anyone but him ever imagined. He made computing accessible, friendly, intuitive, and he brought the world the iPod, quite probably one of man’s greatest ever feats of engineering and design.
And – as the figures clearly show – he changed the shape of mobile gaming forever with the iPhone.
There’s a strange, empty feeling inside me. I didn’t know the man personally, but I’ve used his ideas, projections and – yes – products for most of my adult life. Some scoff at Apple, the brand, the devices, but they’ve only ever had a positive impact on my life.
If that was Jobs’ only desire, as with everything else he did, he succeeded.
MadBoJangles
RIP Steve.
scavenga
I miss mr. Jobs already. Thanks for all the excellent things that has improved my daily life on so many levels.
jimmy-google
He will be instantly remembered for apple but his impact on the film industry may end up being greater. With his input pixar wouldn’t have ever got its first film out.
BrendanCalls
Good point, his influence extends far beyond what we all see on the surface
Peter Rushton
I can’t believe he’s gone.
OllyBobs
R.I.P Steve, you have changed the face of tech for ever
Tuffcub
Some good ideas but overshadowed by the ridiculous cult of Apple.
moshi
A voice of reason .
jikomanzoku
Indeed.
My sympathies go out to the family and friends of Mr Jobs.
It’s preposterous to see so many people get carried away and attach the word “hero” to a white collar worker though – it’s not like he ran into a burning building and rescued 2 kids or ‘owt – He just innovated with tech and made himself and Apple a bucket of money – nothing heroic about that.
moshi
Prepare for the backlash dear friend.
Kevatron400
An oddly affecting celebrity death. Geniunely saddened by the news. I wonder what this means for the future of the company and it’s products. Can they continue to be revolutionary without their driver?
justboy
Steve Jobs was a true visionary. RIP
TSBonyman
I’ve used mac computers for years, even owning a few of the classic macs along the way. It is sad that someone who worked so hard to innovate and bring us the future will not have the chance to stay and enjoy his own. As someone who has lost a family member in similar circumstances my thoughts are with his family.
RIP Steve, and thanks.
BrendanCalls
Well said Alex, couldn’t agree more
He, and the team he built around him, are responsible for bringing some things that were before only available in Science Fiction to the real world, to real people.