So long, and thanks for all the fish…
Who was it that said “There are no second chapters in American lives”?
Steve Jobs proved that statement wrong. His comeback at Apple was amazing.
I’ve used Apple products for 25 years now. I hope the company can survive his absence.
I first became aware of and began to admire Steve Jobs in the accompanying interview when Inc. Magazine named him Entrepreneur Of The Decade in 1989. He was running NeXT then and I was immediately struck by his intelligence and insight, and I’ve been a fan ever since. It was that interview in fact that first caused me to develop an interest in computers, and after having used a Macintosh at Kinko’s shortly thereafter I was hooked for good. What a delightful, astounding little machine it was. I bought my first Mac shortly thereafter and have been a fan of Apple and Jobs ever since. I know that he could be a jerk and that I probably wouldn’t have been able to get along with him for five minutes, yet the sadness and sense of loss I feel right now is profound. RIP, Steve. You will be missed indeed.
Speaking as a Windows fanboi, who has a hearty dislike of Apple products…
Thank you, Mr. Jobs. Your vision and innovation has changed the world, for the better. Rest in peace.
Too bad…he really did a lot to enhance our technological capabilities. I have to say, though, that the extent to which he did not disclose the actual severity of his illness was unethical. Not that I care, but still…
Perhaps this needs a separate thread, but why would it be unethical to not talk about the severity of his illness? To whom? The public? Apple’s people? I would guess he did reveal it to Apple’s top people.
I echo every letter of this post 100%
I knew that he was sick, and that he would die sometime soon…but I never expected it SO soon…
Last night I was having dinner with my family and casually asked my sister-in-law how long Jobs had left. I had no idea it was going to be less than 24 hours.
I still remember my IIe with fondness.
One of the first computers I touched and used was an Apple IIc in the library of my elementary school in the mid 80s. Later I fiddled around a little with the early Macs. Nonetheless, I went the Wintel way and am still a big user of non-Apple products.
However, I’m typing this from my IPad that was given to me as a gift. No matter what products I use these days, I can’t doubt for a second the impact and inspiration he has been for the world of computing and in my daily life.
RIP Mr. Jobs.
Lord. This is a sizable piece of my childhood passing away.
Although Jobs aged over the years, and fought against cancer, my mental image of him is more or less frozen in time — as he was in 1984, seen on this famous magazine cover.
Thanks for everything, Steve. There was soul in every machine you touched.
Ditto, my comment from a facebook link “I don’t own anything by Apple, not that I have any issues with it. Either way, the guy left a legacy. He has a lot more to do with where computing is today then I think most people realize.”
People just think of him inventing the iPod, but have no idea how far back his legacy goes. I don’t think most people have any idea at all how much off the world of computing was shaped by Jobs, now would I expect them to. Computers are something I’ve always had an interest in and even back in high school (94-98) when I would do the occasional report on them his name would pop up here and there.
Gods, only 56… that is just too damn young.
RIP Steve.
This exactly. Though possibly a windows fangirl.
Thank you for that. Now I have to go, I have something in my eye. 
RIP, Steve.
RiP to the industry’s thinnest and lightest CEO. The world is a little more beige, today.
He had the vision to create things people didn’t know they needed. He was smart enough to make stuff that generated money in a way that couldn’t be easily duplicated. It wasn’t the products themselves but the apps business behind them.
The “Think Different” ad campaign for the Mac was centered around a commercial in which Richard Dreyfuss beautifully delivered the following lines:
Nobody in the world today embodied this more than Steve Jobs himself. Here’s to the crazy ones, indeed.
iBequeath.
RIP Steve… you made what I do so very much better. A loss to lose you so early. So bummed.
He left the world more insanely great than he found it.
I could not bring myself to laugh, but I smiled.
RIP, Steve. Typed on my Imac, the best computer I have ever owned.