iSad

It's a sad sad day today.

I'm writing this so I'll remember where I was when the tech world, and the world at large, grew a bit dimmer. Only yesterday, I was venting over the decidedly underwhelming product announcements from Apple, making my six-month wait to replace my lost iPod Touch pointless. This morning, while driving to work, I heard on the radio that Steve Jobs, recently CEO of Apple, had passed away the day before from pancreatic cancer, apparently not long after the iPhone 4S announcement. Suddenly, my fury over the unchanged iPod Touch wasn't so important any more. At work, I watched the tweets roll in from various people. It seemed unbelievable, although I guess it wasn't unexpected; just very ironic timing.

Now as I sit at home, going through all the tributes and reading about him, I feel oddly sad. I mean, I didn't know the man personally. I'm not even a big fan of his company's products or the walled-garden approach they so cheerfully promote. On the contrary, I've been a detractor, save for the iPod Touch (still a lovely toy). I guess I'm sad about the loss of a great mind, one of the great thinkers of our time. As one who takes great pleasure in the world of computing and technology, I appreciate Apple for popularizing personal computers. As one who loves gadgetry, I appreciate Apple for popularizing media players and pretty phones. As one who loves animation, I especially appreciate Jobs for creating Pixar, the pioneer and leader of CGI animation that has given me and millions of others so much enjoyment over the years.

Truth be told, Apple's products were never revolutionary, rather they were evolutionary, taking existing ideas and somehow turning them into products people wanted to buy. Jobs was certainly a marketing genius and his attention to detail was legendary. He has shaped a generation and like it or not, there's no denying his impact and contributions to pop culture.

At his commencement address in 2005 at Stanford, shortly after his cancer diagnosis, Jobs said:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Inspirational words we should all be lucky enough to live by, though sadly most of us do not.

I will be buying a new iPod Touch in the coming weeks, my joy of buying new gadgetry surely bound to be coated with a tinge of sadness.

I found another quote from Steve Jobs:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

I'm pretty sure you did, Mr. Jobs. If not in the universe, at least on this planet.

RIP Steve Jobs, too soon.