It wasn’t exactly unexpected, but still it’s sad to see a true visionary disappear from the information technology stage. Jobs was a catalyst for improvement, in the respect that Apple, Pixar and NeXT seldom invented things. They perfected them. The PC, the GUI, the point-and-click, the laptop, wifi, the stationary computer, the digital music player, the smart phone, the tablet, 3D animation. All ideas that were on the market, but lacked the clear vision and stern leadership to make them into everyday icons.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Jobs on stage twice, in 2007 and 2008 at MacWorld in San Francisco. It was a captivating show, a beautifully organized circus of fan boys, cool devices and borderline hysterical media. In charge of it all, a man that kept it all together, inspired by words like “insanely great” and “it’s better to be a pirate than join the navy”.
There’s not many that mourn the businessman Steve Jobs. He ran some businesses great (Pixar, Apple round 2) and others not so well (NeXT, Apple round 1). What I’m sad to see go, is a person with a unique set of skills needed to push the humankind an inch closer into the future.
At my current work place, I’ve adopted one of Jobs’ quotes from the 2005 Stanford speech into a everyday motto:
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”