I’m sitting here on my couch feeling nothing. I’m numb. My fingers are tapping out this blog post on my iPad, the same device I was using just a few minutes ago when I learned that Steve Jobs died tonight. Twitter has become a stream of reminiscing and sorrow as everyone is telling their stories about their first Apple products and also how they learned about the news.
I consider myself lucky that I had an Apple in 1985 and grew up with a computer in the house, an oddity in the 80’s. I never would’ve thought that that machine would lead me down a road where I would be passionate about technology. I fondly remember playing Lemonade Stand on my Apple //c, working day after day to make a profit. I was likely the only kid around who knew how to play blackjack, a favorite of mine on “The Apple at Play” disk. Many years of mine growing up were behind a small, 6″ display playing Jeopardy, Kids on Keys and learning AppleSoft Basic.
My passion for Apple was reignited in 2003 when I bought my first Apple product ever as an adult: the iPod. It was seeing and holding this revolutionary device that forever changed me and let me see that there was a different world out there than what I was living in. In three short years I had a Mac Mini running alongside my PC and I never looked back.
Today my house is a Mac-only house. I write my books and do all my work on my iMac. My wife uses her MacBook every day and it’s already her third Mac that she’s owned. Two iPods, two iPads, an airport router and other scattered iPods around the house that I’ve lost count of all come together to create my tech world.
I swear by Scrivener as my writing software but the creativity it helps foster is based on the creativity of the Mac OS and the realm in which all creative people work. In the end, the technology doesn’t matter. It’s the connections we make with each other through these machines and the passion it brings out in us. Steve Jobs knew this and forever changed the world by bringing us an emotional connection to a world that is very difficult to navigate.
So tonight as we all remember Steve Jobs and the vast contributions he’s made to the world, take a moment to use that device to show someone you love them. Take a moment to connect with those who matter. In the end, it’s all we have.
Thank you Steve for forever changing my life and for creating a world where those who wish to contribute to the world have the tools to do so.