A young Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple.
I’ve used Macs before and I have an iPod Touch. I use iTunes on my PC running Windows 7. I get what Macs are all about and have Jobs to thank for why Windows is now a halfway decent operating system. Microsoft has always been a systematic copier/usurper. Despite their huge research budget and facilities, Microsoft receives virtually zero accolades for leadership or innovation that I can think of (that may not be fair or even true, but it is common perception). Apple constantly drives design and mind-blowing features forward in every product, so much so that any other company’s efforts look like amateur plagiarism. Apple’s products had identity, the products of other companies did not: they were merely trying to catch up to Apple.
Having said all that, you might wonder why I don’t use a Mac. I’m far too invested in the PC/Windows platform and I like to tinker & build. PCs are hot rods, Macs are the beautiful cars you buy as-is off the showroom floor. I’d rather be a hot-rodder. Also? Games.
At Apple stores all over the world and at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, people are leaving memorial gifts in acknowledging and paying homage to a man who affected their lives for the better.
This may seem macabre, but I wonder if, despite all the great he’s also done in the world, if Bill Gates will be treated the same. Or pick any “giant” out there such as Richard Branson or Larry Page or Mark Zuckerberg. Will they get sacrifices and spontaneous memorial gatherings around the world at their passing? No one can say for sure but something tells me no.
What is the difference? Love.
People love their Macs and their iPhones and iPads. They love Apple software & hardware. And… they loved Steve Jobs. I do not love Windows, I do not love Bill Gates. I use Windows and I appreciate it more now than in the past, but I don’t love it. I admire Gates for his business acumen and his philanthropy, but I don’t love him the way people love Steve Jobs.
By now, you’ve probably seen Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech and the old Apple “Think Different” commercial all over your social streams. I’m sure traffic to those videos is practically melting YouTube servers right about now. But if you watch them you get an important glimpse into what drove Jobs.
You might notice something different about this version, though. It’s not narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. It’s narrated by Steve Jobs. It never aired.
Steve Jobs died at the age of 56. Right now I’m 42. If I were to die at the same age Jobs did, that means I only have 14 years of life left to me.
While I certainly hope to live longer than 56, this gives me pause.
And I hope it gives you pause, too.
What the hell are you doing? Why? What will be your legacy?
May Steve Jobs continue live on inside each of us.
The thing with Apple is that they are a company that not only use techie geeks for their product creation, but they also use them for their business (Which I believe is why they have been so successful as a company) as opposed to some that bring in business from all walks of life with no experience of the technical side of things consequently developing bad products through a lack of communication and understanding between the business department and techies
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Thanks for saying a lot of what’s in my head today. Except I’m 50. If I die tonight I will be pissed that I didn’t accomplish more. OK, gotta go fix that …
p.s. Thanks for sharing “Think Different”. Nice!
That is so true. I’ve never met anybody in love with their HP laptop or Motorola cell phone, heheh
Two things I’ll remember about Steve Jobs
1 – He got engineers to focus on simplicity (for the user). That is an amazing accomplishment right there !! nuff said
2 – He and Apple broke new ground with the iPod. That started a generation right there. Even though Apple was okay before that, nothing could have predicted how big they’ve become today.
I’m more than 20 years *past* Steve Jobs. Sobering indeed. I’ve often wondered why he left Wozniak in the dust. Or did Wozniak prefer it that way?
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It was probably Steve’s belief in these different people that was his greatest advantage, his greatest contribution to our lives. Above and beyond the devices he promoted. If society embraced this overall attitude, the world would be a better place.
That attitude probably allowed him to see and envision and support the people who drove Apple. Apple lost it when they let him go the first time, finally realizing they needed Steve to keep the company going. I sincerely hope that Apple never loses the core beliefs that Steve Jobs instilled.
Steve Jobs’ company didn’t just sell electronic devices and software, he sold a way for people to feel. That is so much more powerful than the technology his company invented.
So true, Desirea. History shows us that a company cannot keep on the same way after it loses its leader. Apple already showed us what it does without Jobs. It might take longer this time, but it will still happen. I’m not saying it will be bad, just different.
You summed up my feelings really well. I love my nano, iphone and ipad, but don’t care for their computers. Though I may have never been an Apple Fanboy, I do appreciate the genius of Steve Jobs.
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We Mac-heads are a loyal lot. I started with the aquarium (classic Macintosh), learned how to do my own troubleshooting, and never looked back.
Yeah, what Desirea said.
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Well said, Michael, relevant, and clarifying. Thanks for this!
My main take-away from all this, is that every visionary leaves their own personal legacy, and whatever their strengths were shine brightly.
Steve was monumentally good at being Steve, and anyone who wants to elevate beautiful design, develop extremely loyal fans, or be generally ‘cool’ has a fantastic role-model.
My 2 cents on this here: http://spiritsentient.com/there-was-a-time-when-i-hated-steve-jobs
Thanks for sharing, Jason.
I have never bought a single Apple product yet, but I felt crying with emotion, he is one of the men responsible for the fastest growth in the human civilization, and without such a computer revolution, there wouldn’t be such a big web world, and Facebook wouldn’t have had so many users by 2011 or many billion dollar companies, no touch screens, Google wouldn’t have been even started by now, no blogs and no bloggers. I’m 20 and I’m a collage dropout like Steve, but if there wasn’t a internet as today, I wouldn’t be blogging or start dreaming of a future. I would be working somewhere in shops for my whole life. I cried when I saw the videos about Steve, and its a greatest loss for our world. He conquered billions of hearts in such a short time in life. He worked from 21 to 56. 35 years of a mans life has changed the world! RIP Steve Jobs, you’ll never die from our hearts.
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G’Day Michael,
And so say all of us! Everyone’s talking about Steve Job’s innovation , vision and passion. I think that he’ll ultimately be best remembered for the way he redefined how successful corporations should operate and how CEOs should perform in them.
Let’s wait and see…….
Avagoodweegend, Best Wishes
Leon
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From a shareholder perspective, having a company continue on the same way after leadership changes is desirable. But when it comes to true greatness—putting a dent in the universe, as Jobs said—continuity just isn’t possible.
I totally agree with Ted. Jobs has the gift to make such a good product that people can identify with it. It´s like each of the products has their own personality, like real people.
Love is right. I’ve been using computers since they only came in “mainframe.”
My brother is a PC consultant and my dad ran a software business.
Like Ted, I’ve never, ever heard anyone say they loved their PC, or their Nokia, or their Windows OS. But people love their Macs, and they loved Steve.
I hated computers until I got a Mac. The difference is that Windows computers and software require people to adapt to it.
Apple computers and software are designed to adapt to people.
I always felt like those mainframes, terminals, and PCs were fighting me. The Mac does what I want.
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Great point on the adapting. That used to be very true. Now, not so much. Microsoft has gotten on the ball.
Interesting to hear how Mac is viewed from a PC user. I’ve blogged on numerous occasions about the power of the emotion connection to a product or service. I am and have been an avid Mac user since the first all-in-one back in the 80s. (gosh i’m getting old ;D)
Thanks for the tribute, I actually teared up when I heard about Steve – the world has lost a remarkable leader!
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I will confess a bit of dampness may have appeared near the vicinity of my tear ducts.
[...] Steve Jobs just died, leaving us words of wisdom about the choices we make with our time. [...]
Im an avid pc user myself, and I repair them for a living as well. I married a Mac tech so I get to play with Apple gear all the time and I do like it. Steve Jobs did wonders in innovation especially in the music/internet field. In the end, pc’s are still the dominant platform and thats where I make my money so thats what I use. I do laugh a bit with some hardcore apple fans, in the end, its only a gadget.
I do hope that people care this much for Bill Gates, after all, most of his money is going to help the poor and cure diseases, gotta respect that no matter how you feel about microsoft.
It was a very sad day. I am an ipod touch user and I can honestly say that I would rather be without my phone than my ipod touch! Its amazing.
Wonderful blog site, I have enjoyed reading your articles.
We will all miss Steve Jobs as he passed on amazinin-siteses.
Perhaps the smallest, is the biggest, giving us the ability to simplify, reduce and direct
My main take-away from all this, is that every visionary leaves their own personal legacy, and whatever their strengths were shine brightly. Apple computers and software are designed to adapt to people. Thanks for saying a lot of what’s in my head today. It might take longer this time, but it will still happen.
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Such a shame we have all lost a magical visionary. They tried to beat him down. But he always got back up again and in the end proved them all wrong. His ideas have changed the world as he knew it. His companies products are the sought after items of status and many many other companies will try and replicate and fail.