Every tech blog you read today or read yesterday mentioned how Steve Jobs shaped the future of technology. Steve, as CEO at Apple, has done some incredibly powerful stuff. Steve not only changed the consumer electronics world, he changed the consumer.
By 2005, Windows XP was 4 years old and seeming rather stale to a 16 year old always looking for the latest and greatest in technology. While OS X was also 5 years old, it was something very foreign to me, someone who has never played with an Apple computer more than 10 minutes at a time. I decided I wanted expand my technology horizons and decided in early June to go buy a brand new computer, an iBook G4. For all you Apple followers at there, you’ll know that was same time Steve came out and announced the Intel transition. Watching that keynote was one of the most frustrating and awesome moments of my life as a tech enthusiast.
Within days of buying my computer, I learned it would be obsolete in a very short amount of time, but that didn’t even matter to me after watching the CEO of Apple make the presentation. The whole presentation seemed so casual yet powerful. It was really the first time I’d seen a presentation by the man in faded jeans, new balance shoes, and the black turtle neck. It seemed like such a different culture from what I was used to seeing. Before it seemed like CEOs and tech leaders were just goofy and foolish, now it seemed so cool. By the end of the keynote, I wasn’t even cranky about learning that the computer I just bought was already obsolete, all I could think about was how I wanted one of these “MacBooks”.
Admitting to being a fanboy is something I don’t think many in the tech community, especially the bloggers, are willing to do. I on the other hand, really embrace being a fanboy. Every time Steve Jobs comes out to present a new product or service, I just get excited. Seeing and using the products he’s created is half the reason I’m in the profession that I’m in. His work as CEO at Apple not just changed my life, but changed the lives of people all over the world. As Tarun mentioned in his post “A New Era” Steve will likely still be around and helping with innovations, but it will be hard to think about Apple with a new leader.