Thanks Steve

The news of Steve Jobs death was a strange event. As one might expect, people were tweeting, Facebooking, and texting the news of his passing with the very devices he created. But on another level, it was clear that people were clearly feeling like they lost a friend or companion of some sort. I know I felt that and judging by the comments across Twitter, others did too. It got me to thinking about my own personal relationship with Apple (and Jobs) throughout my life. I don't really remember a world without Apple products.

One thing I will always credit Jobs with is his decision to target schools for his early Apple computers. While many schools can no longer afford to use the Apple computer (mostly for reasons Apple cannot control), my generation grew up in the '90s using his machines upwards of five times a week. Many of us experienced the internet for the first time on a Macintosh computer. While Apple was largely mocked by the business and personal computer users, Jobs was building that level of trust up with the younger generation.

Apple's big turnaround of course came with iTunes. It was a product that the younger generation was craving badly and it didn't take long for Jobs to use the iTunes as the source for a new generation of "i' products. Ironically, it was not long after iTunes and the iPod that I started to sour towards Apple. Apple not so surprisingly, became one of the symbols of modern day hipsters, a group I personally can't stand. I also disliked some of the secretive nature surrounding Apple, their decision not to incorporate Flash on the iPhone (something I now experience personally), and their overly strict rules surrounding the App store.

That said, this past fall, I went against my personal distrust, swallowed a huge pill, and bought an iPhone. I've been pretty happy with the purchase. The Verizon employee who pointed me in the iPhone's direction was certainly right about it being easy to run for a smart phone, and it doesn't freeze up like my Blackberry used to. I still have some of the other issues with Apple yet, but it's hard not to respect a product that simply works better.

And so I've come full circle. While I'm not about to buy a MacBook or even an iPad for that matter anytime soon (my PC works just fine and has been an excellent buy so far), I am saddened today for the family of Steve Jobs and for the fact that we are not going to see some of the other incredible inventions he had floating around in his head.

Simply put, thanks Steve for everything.