Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Thank You Steve Jobs

When I got home tonight and clicked on to CNN I learned that Steve Jobs died today. I felt the loss of a friend. I certainly didn’t know him personally -- yet it seemed I did. The reports of his health issues prevailed, but I chose to believe he would live forever.


He said, “No one wants to die, and yet death is the destination we all share.” I recently watched the video of his 2005 commencement address at Stanford on my iPad. My love for Apple began with the iPod, then I became intimately involved with the iPhone. It all synched seamlessly with my iMac, creating my first perfectly integrated relationship.


None of this is so different from the relationship anyone had with Steve Jobs or with Apple. That is the beauty of it. My experience was like the experience of everyone else...except I could not see the words on the screens of any of these devices. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple did something no one else had the guts to do -- they gave text the ability to speak with Voice Over.


He revolutionized a culture and he allowed everyone around him to think of everyone around them. And, I have no doubt that this legacy of inclusion will continue and his powerful spirit will continue to change the world.


In realizing his dreams he also realized mine.


Thanks Steve -- you changed my life!