Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011
Ok I am finding it a bit odd that there hasn't been much of the mention of the mans passing even thought the "twittersphere" and news media have been very much noisy about it. Yeah I will admit that I've never been the biggest of lovers of Apple products even though this year has been something of a turnaround on that front. Yes I was given a iPod touch for Xmas that I will admit that I at first I handled with tongs and safety gear normally reserved for radioactive waste after accepting it extremely grudgingly, but in the 10 months since then I have grown to like (though not utterly love) the companies gear to the point where I now own a iPad and a custom MacBook Pro 13" (which I am using to type this blog entry).
Yes I will admit that Apple products are good and they have changed the way that I work with computers. I do like the mobile lines that the company produces, and the way that the iPad works and has helped me at home and work has been amazing. Honestly it has changed my life slightly.
It's not to say that it has replaced Windows or Android in my mind, and yes there are things about Apple and it's gear that gag balls but I won't go into that here.
But even if I was still a passionate hater of Apple (and I will admit that was caused by dealings with some of their more "hardcore" fans), it's hard still not to look at Steve Jobs and marvel at what he accomplished in what sadly was too short a life.
Yes the media will go on about the "innovations" that they claim Steve came up with like the iPod (creative made the first MP3 player in 1997), iPad (tablet PC's had been around since 2002 and PDA's from a bit earlier), and the smart phone with the iPhone (3G enabled PDA's had been around since the early 2000's) that in reality as you can tell by the brackets someone else came up with first, though it can be argued that Steve did make them more practical and visually appealing.
It however is sad that because of the "Apple renaissance" and the recent product line that we (and mostly the media) have forgotten that Steve's biggest, best, and most important innovation was the use of the GUI (Graphic User Interface), and the use of font's, and making it mainstream. Think about a world were that never happened, where the only way computers could operate was via a command prompt? They never would have been as widespread or as used as they are now, and certainly way not as useful.
Hell even if you DON'T like OSX, Mac, and utterly ignore things like the iPad, iPod and iPhone, it's hard to ignore the power of the GUI. Even windows and Linux distro users owe Steve that much.
But even if you aren't into technology and still utterly hate Apple considering their line of products little more than expensive toys for Starbucks swilling Nathan Barley city trend setter types, then it's still hard to ignore the man's life story and message. Coming from noware, failing collage, Building a successful computer company, failing then only to rise again. It's powerful and actually inspirational stuff, and some of it actually maps some of my own highs and lows of my life.
It's all best summed up with a speech that he gave to students at Stanford university in 2005. You can read and/or watch the whole thing here at....
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/05/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/
But for those that want a quick version then I will leave you with the last two paragraphs from the speech..
"When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." - Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford.
Rest in peace Steve.
Yes I will admit that Apple products are good and they have changed the way that I work with computers. I do like the mobile lines that the company produces, and the way that the iPad works and has helped me at home and work has been amazing. Honestly it has changed my life slightly.
It's not to say that it has replaced Windows or Android in my mind, and yes there are things about Apple and it's gear that gag balls but I won't go into that here.
But even if I was still a passionate hater of Apple (and I will admit that was caused by dealings with some of their more "hardcore" fans), it's hard still not to look at Steve Jobs and marvel at what he accomplished in what sadly was too short a life.
Yes the media will go on about the "innovations" that they claim Steve came up with like the iPod (creative made the first MP3 player in 1997), iPad (tablet PC's had been around since 2002 and PDA's from a bit earlier), and the smart phone with the iPhone (3G enabled PDA's had been around since the early 2000's) that in reality as you can tell by the brackets someone else came up with first, though it can be argued that Steve did make them more practical and visually appealing.
It however is sad that because of the "Apple renaissance" and the recent product line that we (and mostly the media) have forgotten that Steve's biggest, best, and most important innovation was the use of the GUI (Graphic User Interface), and the use of font's, and making it mainstream. Think about a world were that never happened, where the only way computers could operate was via a command prompt? They never would have been as widespread or as used as they are now, and certainly way not as useful.
Hell even if you DON'T like OSX, Mac, and utterly ignore things like the iPad, iPod and iPhone, it's hard to ignore the power of the GUI. Even windows and Linux distro users owe Steve that much.
But even if you aren't into technology and still utterly hate Apple considering their line of products little more than expensive toys for Starbucks swilling Nathan Barley city trend setter types, then it's still hard to ignore the man's life story and message. Coming from noware, failing collage, Building a successful computer company, failing then only to rise again. It's powerful and actually inspirational stuff, and some of it actually maps some of my own highs and lows of my life.
It's all best summed up with a speech that he gave to students at Stanford university in 2005. You can read and/or watch the whole thing here at....
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/05/stay-hungry-stay-foolish/
But for those that want a quick version then I will leave you with the last two paragraphs from the speech..
"When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." - Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford.
Rest in peace Steve.