I’ll admit, I’m no Apple fanboy. I’m quite possibly the only kid on the block without an iSomething. And it’s not that I side with Microsoft or the PC. It’s just that I’m comfortable with my PCs. And my Android phone is stable, offering everything I need. Seriously – the user experience with non-Apple products isn’t that bad.
Maybe I just don’t get it, but Apple products have always seemed overhyped and overpriced. Do I really need to pay two, three grand for a MacBook when a thousand dollar Toshiba running Windows 7 meets or exceeds my needs? Apple has always seemed like an “emperor has no clothes” type of entity. So I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to jump on the bandwagon.
But I think what bothers me most is that I don’t like the way Apple tries to control everything. Why do I have to use iTunes to transfer music to an MP3 player? Call me old fashioned, but I want a smartphone that works with Flash, dammit. An article I read earlier today at Natural News sums it up nicely:
“By any honest account, Apple operates today with a mindset oftotal monopolistic domination, requiring apps to be sold through its iTunes, where Apple takes an unfair cut of every sale. In fact, Apple has come to very much resemble the Orwellian Big Brother image that once made it famous in its January 22, 1984 Superbowl ad, which positioned Apple’s Macintosh computer as freeing people from tyranny… What’s so striking about this commercial is that, in many ways, Apple has become the very thing it once claimed to oppose — domineering control, automaton conformity, and centralized command over the expression of musicians and programmers alike.”
I learned of his passing this morning in the car, shortly after dropping my son off at school. I was surprised by how much it struck me – like a thunderbolt – and how saddened I was by the news. Oddly enough, it was a 9/11 or JFK moment. I think I’ll always remember what I was doing when I found out. Despite my indifference towards Apple products, I feel fortunate to have had part of my lifetime overlap with that of Steve Jobs.
The accolades are flowing today. Revolutionary. Visionary. Leader. All true. But what I think I admired the most about Steve Jobs was his mastery of the creative process. It is an awe-inspiring thing of beauty to be able to watch any creative master at work. Michael Jordan in his prime on the basketball court. Yo Yo Ma on stage with his cello. Michelangelo, lying on his back, on the scaffolding of the Sistine Chapel. Steve Jobs, and his relentless drive to create the perfect user experience.
Thanks, Steve, for letting us all watch and enjoy the fruits of a master at work.
Steve Jobs commencement speech to the 2005 graduates of Stanford University:
A few of my favorite Steve Jobs quotes:
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”