Steve Jobs

photo credits : Cristina Pineda


"We all took a bite at his genius." – Hernan Hormillosa

“Three apples that changed the world.
The one that Eve ate.
The one that fell on Newton's head.
and the one that Steve Jobs built.” - a repost from a Facebook friend

Goodbye Steve Jobs, and thank you very much for making our world beautiful through your genius gadgets. Steve Jobs, co –founder of Apple, a personal computer company, himself said, “People are listening to more music. Millions of people have rediscovered the joy of music.”

Steve Jobs did not originally invent these hardware and software. He improved on them through great product design. He brought the word “design” to a new level by popularizing that design is not just structure but more importantly, his concept of design is also about function. So, from the heavy or cumbersome to carry stereo system or walkman, we were introduced to the iPod, the minute music gadget with a cool design, to borrow the language of the young.

Our first computer in the office which was donated, of course, was a Macintosh. It was a time when others were still into the good old typewriter even in England. That Mac was so savvy and it had a mouse while other computers were still using the arrows in the keyboard. Most of all, it had a Mac Draw, Mac Write & Mac Paint which were gadgets for desktop publishing. The fonts were different from the rest of the clones. I remember that others would ask us, what font we were using because they were not into the Mac and the fonts were simply beautiful and different. Now, the sleek iPhone 4S (with a voice command, GPS features & built in compass for location & directions) & the iPad are simply making the other models so last season, so to speak.

In 2009, while we were preparing a living funeral for a dear uncle, a friend sent me the Stanford commencement address. And so, early on, I was introduced to Steve Job’s prescient death words, now a legacy of sorts about what are truly important in this world. I was also awed that THE Stanford University would invite a college drop-out as a commencement speaker. Here is a profound message to the world about education beyond the classroom. Steve Jobs made an academia out of himself.

A biography of Steve Jobs is underway. It will surely be a bestseller. Earlier, the title was “iSteve: The Book of Jobs.” Now, we hear it will just be entitled Steve Jobs and for the better for obvious reasons. The name Steve Jobs per se already paints a thousand words and more.

My take home lesson from the life and work of Steve Jobs is his great genius of combining technology and marketing. Others say, Steve Jobs is The Entrepreneur of all time. The mantra about this great entrepreneur is that he has three basic business stories to tell: the rise, the fall & then the comeback. When he was fired by the managers that he himself recruited, he spent those years honing and mastering his craft that led to his comeback to Apple, the company he co-founded and which he eventually brought to the heights & pinnacle of glory in business and fame.

Now, the mood is gloomy. A friend who is a Steve Jobs’ fan has posted this tribute: “Ten years ago, the United States of America was a Super Power - it had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash and Steve Jobs. Today, the USA is POWERLESS, it has No HOPE, No CASH and No JOBS.”

We bid our farewell and thank heavens for Steve Jobs and his legacy that led us to a whole new wonderful world.