By now, you've heard that Steve Jobs has passed on. He was quite the brilliant business man and innovator. I've read some really heart-warming notes on how people felt about Mr. Jobs and I've also read some ridiculous nonsense.
I looked around the house and I own 2 apple products: a 4th generation click-wheel iPod from 2004 (the first thing I bought after I got paid working at this software company) and my iPod touch. The neatest thing about both of them was that they allowed me to do some things I couldn't do before. I never quite got into buying/burning CDs or walking around with a discman (or a walkman for that matter). There were mp3 players before the iPod, but the 20GB iPod I got was amazing. It came with 2 cables (firewire and USB!) and a charger and I think it cost somewhere around $400. I had to pay the $25 fee that the Copyright Board of Canada imposed on such media. After many years of use, it still works. Except that on a charge, the battery lasts about 30 minutes.
I bought my grandmother the first generation iPod touch. She still uses it and tells me about all the pictures on there and what not. While not surprised that she was able to use it (and play old Indian movie songs etc off Youtube), I was impressed that such a piece of technology worked for her. And the device was not quite like anything else out there. It was a touch screen device that played video. Perfect for when you want to watch something on a bus.
My mother owns an iPod (with the cameras) and an iPhone. She's even able to get Skype to work on them so I can see the dogs at home. Sometimes, technology can be awesome.
I bought myself an iPod touch as well, primarily to replace the ill performing iPod that I owned. And I use it almost every day. Typically, I use it at home and I realise that I use it more for other things than listening to music. In fact, I can't remember the last time I listened to music on it; I listen to the radio or use jango to listen to streaming media. The iPod touch does have apps for those, but I never quite got into it (especially given that iOS only recently started to allow multiple apps to run somewhat simultaneously). Of course, it isn't perfect. For one thing, I can't use my iPod's charger to charge this iPod touch. Even though the connectors work and so on. It also doesn't really multi-task that well. But whatever the quibbles I have with it, I do very much enjoy using it. And for the record, I have bought a single app. Angry Birds. And it was worth it.
I'll remember Steve Jobs as the guy who made people; ordinary people, line up for hours around the block to part with wads of cash for a piece of technology they could get elsewhere without the hassle or the price, then high 5 the rest of the people still waiting in line and give the assembled media a gushing interview about how awesome Apple products are. Steve Jobs made people want it. And they in turn became snobs about it. And they were proud of it. He made fanboys into cool beings. I mean, I've met rabid anti-Windows people before. Rabid linux users before (I'd like to say that I have run a linux machine at home since 2002 or so... and I am typing here from my Ubuntu box). But never have I met anything like an Apple fanboy. They believe in their gospel like fanatic religious people do. Thankfully, there is no suicide bomber equivalent of that fanaticism.
I'll also remember his company for famously using a picture of Gandhi and the controversy that generated.
I didn't know a few things about him. He was adopted. His biological father is Syrian. So he was an Arab-American guy. Take that, crazy people afraid of the 'others', Steve Jobs was one of them. Well sort of. Steve Jobs also had a major role to play with Pixar. And apparently, he was Buddhist. And a follower of the whole foods plants based diet that I am attempting to follow. A lot of mainstream America and Canada might be alarmed by all that. An Arab-American vegan Buddhist messiah?
So there we are then. An astute business man who took down titans of industry (including Canada's much beloved and lately bemoaned RIM) and forced industry to change. What he did to music is legendary. Aside from Napster, I think Steve Jobs can be credited with bringing music to the 21st century. I work with people who use Macs and love them. I don't quite see the point of spending twice as much and always fiddling for dongles to connect my laptop to a projector (my laptop sucks too; it only does HDMI and the projectors take VGA), but I will admit that Apple has, of late, really made their products a lot more desirable than before. I'll still not pay twice as much for a Macbook Pro, but the specs, form factor and battery life are quite attractive.
I also saw some odd pictures of people holding up iPads with candle apps outside Apple stores... and people expressing opinions one way or the other on how important he was to their lives and what not. Just remember people, he was a very successful businessman to whose company you paid vast amounts of money for the privilege of buying toys that made you feel cool. He is no messiah. If you feel that strongly about this man's death, may I suggest you do the world a favour and go clean up a beach or plant a dozen trees or something in his name? Or would that be too uncool? And for those who are making iDied jokes... there is a certain morbid mirth to it, but really, it is too soon. Wait a week or two.
Rest in peace Steve Jobs and may your legacy live long.
And yes, I realise I am part of the bandwagon of those writing about this event and so on. But I want to blog more... and here I am, blogging.
Comments