Thank You Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday October 5, 2011.  On that day the world lost an incredible Visionary, leader, and a one-of-a-kind genius who led Apple and indeed the world, into the digital age.  Steve Jobs inspired a whole new generation of tech founders including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, as well as Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google to innovate, and "Think Different."

Besides starting the personal computer revolution with his partner Steve Wozniak, he also gave us the "windowed" software environment, popularized the computer Mouse, and started up an amazing little company you may have heard of called Pixar; which was later sold to Disney - yet another firm he restored to its former greatness.

Now, many men would have stopped right there thinking "I've done enough for one life" and went on to a comfortable early retirement, but Steve kept going; restoring new life to Apple with the iMac, rescuing the music industry with iTunes, and the iPod - revitalizing mobile phones with the stunning iPhone, and creating a space for tablet computers (better known as iPads) all one can say is wow.

Steve Jobs is: The Innovator.

He made life easier for all of us, and focused on quality in building great products, saying: "Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected." and excellence was expected - and delivered - at Apple, pouring forth in a torrent of wonderful software, and amazing devices year, after year.

What i will remember most about him is his passion for design, and his not being willing to settle for "good enough" always striving for perfection.  Only Steve would say:  "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."  The fact is he got it. and so did we in products that simply worked. 

Thank You Steve Jobs.

Instead of saying he died on October 5, 2011, i prefer to say he graduated that day, to the more advanced classes, where I'm sure once they realize what they've got, he'll skip a grade or two.  The next time you swipe a screen, think of him.  Goodbye my friend, for now.

Steve Jobs once said: "I want to put a ding in the universe." well Steve, i think you just did.