I was going to simply list every Apple ][, Apple ///, Macintosh, Powerbook, MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone, and iPad I've ever owned, list every Apple OS and program, and in that list illustrate the effect that Steve and Apple have had on my life over the years, both personally and professionally.
But it's not that easy. Not that simple. It's not just the hardware. Or the software.
Because he gave us more than a set of products.
He gave us dreams. And he gave us passion.
The dream that technology should work for us, and not against us. The passion that went into implementing those dreams, and making them whole.
The passion that drove him and others -- and us -- to strive for excellence. To seek elegance. To reach for perfection.
We all know that perfection is unatainable, of course.
But we can still reach.
And Steve did. While driving everyone else around him to do the same.
And in this age where "good enough" is the status quo, that's rare indeed. And for an entire corporation to embrace those ideals...
Inconceivable.
I love tools. I especially love well-crafted, precision-made tools that are a joy to to use. That do what needs to done with a minimum of fuss and bother. That let me concentrate on the task or work at hand, and not on the tool itself.
That's the essence of the Mac. And the iPod. And the iPhone. And the iPad.
The Apple ][ was the first computer that I could personally own and use and program. The Lisa and Macintosh showed me the future of computing. iPod let me take all of my music and audiobooks with me anyplace, anytime.
I use my iPhone every single day in a multitude of ways, communicating and keeping up with the world and family and friends. iPad freed me from the tyranny of the desktop and laptop, and opened up even more worlds.
Groundbreaking technologies.
And we have them, all of them, because of Apple and Steve Jobs.
Without Steve, would Woz simply have sold a few "Apple" I's, and been done?
Without Steve, would would the Xerox GUI have simply languished in a lab?
Without Steve, would the small portable music player have become as ubiquitous?
Without Steve, would the music industry have opened its doors?
Without Steve, where would the mobile phone industry be today?
Without Steve, would there even be a tablet market today?
Without Steve, and his return, would Apple even exist?
Without Steve.
Despite having been to the Apple campus on numerous occasions, I never met Steve Jobs. But here, typing these words on my Mac, listening to my iPhone and looking at my iPad, I feel that I knew him.
They were his heart and his soul and his passion.
And they inspire mine.
Thanks Steve. And farewell.
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