This picture says it all. The front page of Hacker News is completely dominated by the news of Steve's death. Even as someone who never owned an Apple product, he had a huge influence and raised the bar. Not just once, but at least 5 major products from him changed the state of the industry. The Apple // was a watershed for personal computers. The Mac for UI. The iPod and especially iTunes for digital music. The iPhone completely changed the phone business. The iPad created a whole new category of devices. His influence will be greatly missed.
If it were not for Steve Jobs (and Steve Wozniak) I probably would not have had a career in computers. I am of the generation that grew up with the rise of the personal computer. I started toying around with them in 1979. Started my career in software development in 1987 and have been going since.
ReplyDeleteRIP Steve Jobs, you were truely the Thomas Edison of your generation.