Considering how apparent it was that Steve’s health was gravely bad and rapidly deteriorating, we all in the back of our minds knew the time we had him in this world was limited and precious. So it comes as a complete shock to me how upset I actually am by Steve’s passing.
Even though most of us never knew him, we all feel as if we did know him very well; his inventions, complete labours of love, have become so central to how we live our lives. The profound impact his creations have had on us cannot make us feel any other way.
I didn't go to college, and I remember having a shitty job back in the day, saving so hard to buy a PowerBook G4, but it was completely worth it because purchasing that machine literally changed my life. Without a computer that was an absolute joy to use, I would have never spent so many hours learning how to code and consequently now have the career opportunities that I do.
I feel eternally indebted to Steve, despite having never met the man myself. By creating the wonderful tools he did for us to work with, I feel he is significantly responsible for the career I have today.
To one of the few that can say ‘I changed the world’, thank you.
This. While I'd done a little scripting, I was never interested in working in software development. It made me think of boring/painful win32 programs. After I graduated college I skipped around through sales jobs I hated and was terrible at. And then I got an iOS device (2g iPod Touch) for my birthday, and I was suddenly very interested in programming. The way that device was so effortless to use, powerful (for its size), and fun captivated me. Within a year of receiving that that device I was roughly a third of the way through a CS degree (post baccalaureate), going to school part time and paying for it with my part time job (working at an Apple Store). I've been a paid professional developer for almost two years now, primarily working on iOS stuff. And I really like what I do. It sounds stupid, but I really don't know what I'd be doing now if I hadn't gotten that iPod Touch.
Thanks Steve, I certainly feel like you've done something for me even though I've never met you.
"Without a computer that was an absolute joy to use, I would have never spent so many hours learning how to code and consequently now have the career opportunities that I do."
That's what Commodore 64 did for me (I grew up with it), and that might be the reason that I'm not the least impressed by any of Apple's products. Furthermore, Apple's conduct -- patent litigations, DRM, "simple" user interfaces -- it all goes against the spirit of opennes and sharing in the "old days" when people shared their code and hacks as printouts in computer magazines.
Steve Jobs may rest in peace, he did a lot. I got enormous respect for him when I learned that he basically saved Pixar, and that's what I will remember him for.
Apple, the company, could disappear tomorrow and I wouldn't miss it the slightest.
(I know I'll get downvoted by Apple fanboys, but so be it.)
Even though most of us never knew him, we all feel as if we did know him very well; his inventions, complete labours of love, have become so central to how we live our lives. The profound impact his creations have had on us cannot make us feel any other way.
I didn't go to college, and I remember having a shitty job back in the day, saving so hard to buy a PowerBook G4, but it was completely worth it because purchasing that machine literally changed my life. Without a computer that was an absolute joy to use, I would have never spent so many hours learning how to code and consequently now have the career opportunities that I do.
I feel eternally indebted to Steve, despite having never met the man myself. By creating the wonderful tools he did for us to work with, I feel he is significantly responsible for the career I have today.
To one of the few that can say ‘I changed the world’, thank you.
Rest in peace Steve