Steve Jobs : an Apple a day...

It was a fine Thursday morning in India when I woke up to complete some of my work on the computer. I logged in to my Facebook account, to see my news feed full of  posts about the untimely demise of a significant personality.

 
Just a day after the unveiling of his latest iPhone 4S, barely a couple of months after retiring from the post of Apple's CEO; Steve Paul Jobs had passed away.

The man himself

 
To be very frank, I am more of a Bill Gates person. But Jobs was in an entirely different league altogether. From  an adopted baby to a world class citizen, from a drug addict to a computer whiz, from a simple technician at a video game company to the CEO of one of the most successful companies on the planet; Steve Jobs has done it all. The life and times of Steve Jobs are colourful and for all of us to see.

Early Days

So when the man died from his long fight against pancreatic cancer on 5th of October, the world mourned for him. It felt queer. The man behind Apple Inc. The man who had changed the world of communication, information, sharing, music, computers and what not.

While Apple was his brainchild, he had to stay away from it for some time. This was when companies like NeXT and the most successful animation label Pixar were born. His impact on Apple was so much so that during his absence, Apple became hapless. But after his impending return as iCEO, there was no looking back. He masterminded the development of radical, brilliant and efficient computers in the form of the Macintosh hierarchy. His computers set the benchmark for others to follow. But Jobs did not stop there. He produced colossally successful devices like iPod, iPhone, iPad out of his hat which revolutionized not only the industry, but also our lifestyles. 

   

The man had 317 patents under his name, a sign of his grandeur. The simple yet elegant designs, the robust efficiency of his products were some of the reasons which led many other companies to ape his style. He was a mentor, an idol, a graven image in the hearts of  many a technical and design minded people. One of the greatest modern inventors, he was a visionary and a guiding light for learners all over the globe. 

On a personal level, Jobs was an artist in his own right. His outlook to life aptly matched his success and splendour. A person who led life his way, he was a contemporary thinker. He indulged in narcotics, turned Buddhist and had daughters from various women; someone who followed his intuition and urged others to do so.

                                 Jobs's famous Stanford commencement address.

The death of Jobs has indeed sparked many emotions with the likes of Barack Obama, his long time rival Bill Gates and a horde of known and unknown people. A paragon personality, Steve Jobs might be dead, but his legacy, his Apple will carry on...