We lost a visionary this week. Steve Jobs died at the age of 56. I grew up listening to stories about Steve Jobs (my father was in the tech industry*) and watched as his products developed over the decades and changed our world. Anyone my age or older has seen a remarkable transformation in technology since our youth. And with the death of Jobs, the enormity of those changes becomes impressively clear. He took a medium that was once tedious and cumbersome and turned it into a thing of style, beauty and finesse. Moreover, he did it from the inside out – his technology informed his designs. Farewell to a renegade, an artist, a pioneer and a true titan of our time.
* An Apple Anecdote
My father’s career was in the disk drive business. He met with Steve Wozniak (Jobs’ partner, upper right) in the late 70’s when they were still working out of a small house in Silicon Valley. For a half hour or so, Wozniak walked my father around the house and discussed the Apple “kits” they were selling and franchising opportunities - all while other members of the Apple team built boards and soldered components in the background. Afterwards, my father thanked Mr. Wozniak for his time, caught a plane back home and reported to his boss in the morning. His recommendation?
“Those guys are going no place. Forget that idea.”
Oh well. Tricia ; )
