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Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

“We’re here to put a dent in the universe.”

Two days ago I was working on a desk laden with Apple gear. A tweet appeared:

I hesitated to write more in solidarity:

I didn’t know the man. I’ve never seen or spoken to him. Steve Jobs was a sage wizard on mountain top wielding magic and the attention of many.

For 10 hours a day my hands touch an Apple keyboard and my eyes rest on an Apple display. For a third of my life an iPod has rung in my ears. Lest I forget the distinctive unboxing smell all Apple products share. You know the one.

My last article ended with a quote from Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address to Stanford graduates. His ethos and adamance for doing what you love are the basis for so many careers like my own.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Steve Jobs

For two summers from age sixteen I worked for my school district as a technology assistant. I was a PC devotee besieged by Macs, mostly of G4 ilk: Xserve, iMac, iBook, PowerBook, PowerMac, and eMac. I resisted. Unboxing two hundred eMacs at 50-lbs each excused it. By August 2004, the end of that first summer, I conceded buying a 40GB iPod — only $399. Nobody that I knew had one. It lent an intangible specialness and quality: a taste of Steve Jobs.

At university in 2007, I worked with Disney to answer “What would a Disney theme park iPhone app do?” before there were iPhone apps. For another class, my team produced this gem documenting Apple’s advertising over 25 years. It’s embarrassing save an epic beard, but it exists for good reason.

IST 402 “Technology in Pop Culture” @ Penn State University (Spring 2009) on Vimeo

I bought my first Mac two months later. His legend is well storied, but the Steve Jobs I remember is the showman on stage — delivering with effortless love for this work. Through declining health his character and persistence became more admirable. Reactions to his death encompassed disbelief, respect, anger, and sadness. Shortly afterward a simple tribute echoed.

Twitter reactions on Steve Jobs' death

Found stories

While Twitter was brilliant in the moment and helped me find these articles, I’d prefer they weren’t lost for ephemera. This is a short list of eulogies and remembrances from people who knew and revered him.

Journalism

Personal tellings

Expressions

Reflection

Most days I rarely have more contact with anyones’ inventions but his. For my part, there was never an Apple without Steve Jobs and there never will be.

Universe dented.

Discourse Gravitated