To Steve Jobs

I am going to preface this by saying that any Anti-Apple discussion or feedback will be meant with the hammer of deletion.  This is a very serious topic.



In my opinion, Steve Jobs is the greatest innovator of our time.  I understand that there have been more significant scientific breakthroughs in the last 10 years or so, but as far as a society and tech world go, Steve Jobs is the man.

We have much to attribute to Steve Jobs.  First and foremost is the advent of smartphones for the average consumer.  Before the iPhone, you had Blackberry and Windows.  These phones weren't for everybody because they were not user friendly, they were expensive and extremely limited in capabilities.  And then, the iPhone came along and changed everything.  But before we start a discussion about the iPhone we must first talk about the iPod.  Granted, the iPod wasn't the first MP3 player, but it was the first to become an international obsession, a fashion statement and more importantly a way to take your music with you.  Steve Jobs envisioned a device that was an iPod, phone and internet capable device and then we have the iPhone.

The iPhone proved superior in the smartphone market because much like all Apple products, it worked, and it worked (mostly) flawlessly and for just about anybody and everybody.  Granted, the network it ran on wasn't great but that was no fault of Apple's, the phone was brilliant.  It changed the way we value certain technologies.  The idea of paying $300 for a phone 5 years ago was preposterous, I mean, that phone better at least be able to do email.  More importantly, the iPhone spawned a revolution in portable technology and telecommunications.

Google acquired the Android brand in 2005, working on what would be their own mobile OS.  However, it wasn't until 2008 when the first Android handset (T-Mobile G1) was released, one year after the first iPhone. Android, as much as I like it and love it, is not the same as iOS.  iOS builds on a foundation of excellent user experience combined with simplicity and elegance, whereas Android is definitely the have it your way kind of system.  In my opinion, I don't think Android would be anything like it is today if it didn't have a major player to compete against, which again we can thank Steve Jobs for that.

In addition to the iPod and iPhone, he also revolutionized the MacBook and iMac line.  In my opinion, the MacBook Pro is the finest laptop one can buy, even at the high dollar amount, because they are sleek, sexy, elegant, powerful and incredibly user friendly.  The iMac's I love as well, but the cost is out of touch with me, but I still like them.

And then we have the iPad.  This was the first successful tablet to go mainstream with consumers, and ultimately spawned an entirely new market of it's own.  I don't need to say much more because we all know what the iPad is.

Ultimately, Steve Jobs was a pioneer of technology.  He made us believe in powerful devices that were cost effective (in comparison, smartphones used to cost WAY more on contract), worked well, did everything you needed them, were small in form factor and became a modern day fashion statement.  His ideas and innovation will forever be felt throughout the tech industry and society as a whole.  He will be missed, but I think his creative ambition will continue to live on through Apple.  RIP Steve Jobs.  You were not just a man, too many you were a visionary, a pioneer, a messiah.