However, Steve Jobs achieved that dream.
Without a doubt, we owe a lot of our personal computing and
mouse experience to the genius, master-marketer, who made it possible for me to
type this entry. We all know he did more than that. Given his contribution, a
lot has been written and said about the man after his death. I learned about
his demise early Thursday morning and as the day went on I slowly became sad.
I find it strange considering that I don’t personally know
the man. I thought hard why I felt sad and this entry summarizes why I, a
common person, mourned the loss of Mr. Jobs.
My first memory of appreciating Steve Jobs was in 2006 when I
came across this Apple Ad during an FMCG company’s recruitment campaign.
I considered this the best advertisement ever, I even shared
it with you here. It sends out the message clearly: think different. Second to
it, is this Dove commercial.
Since then, I developed the habit of following the company’s
product and started purchasing one when I had my own money to buy it.
The Game Changer
I admire the person: his passion to get things done and his
contribution to how we communicate today. A few hours after learning about his
death, I said to Person A “I am bit sad that Steve Jobs died, and I just
realized that I have a huge crush on Steve Jobs!” You see, I am attracted to
men who are smart/geek/nerd and (extra) nice. The geekier, the better. Although, if you base the write ups you
read about him, he’s not the nicest person you’ll ever meet.
However, you cannot deny the genius that’s ticking inside
his head and the marketing giant who can cross communication barriers to get
his point across in the simplest thought possible. Watch him pitch his products...
...and you will immediately think that this is the marketing guy when in fact he
conceptualized 110% of the device from its function, to the software, to the
design and how he’s going to communicate his gadget so that the consumers can
actually appreciate it and shell out money for it. You rarely see an extremely
good scientist/engineer who is also good at communicating. Between Steve Jobs
and Bill Gates, Steve Jobs owned this interview with his confidence and his
larger than life persona.
He’s an artist too with a keen eye for
great design. That’s one deadly combination if you’re in the consumer goods
business.
Add to that his perfectionism, attention to detail,
resilience (we have to remember he was booted out of Apple in 1985), hard work,
business acumen and his ability to predict what the consumer wants before it is
being created. Marry all these traits (including the ones I mentioned in the
previous paragraph) and it’s right to say that you got the perfect brew for a
once in a lifetime visionary.
To sum it all up, I admire him because he’s engineering
smart, business genius, knew what he wants to achieve, knew what WE want, he
spoke well, worked hard (maybe a little too hard), paid attention to details,
he was one of the best communicator, and he dreamt of changing the world and he did.
Connecting People
I rounded up the Apple products that are now part of my life
and I came up with this photo.
What’s lacking is my second-hand airport
express, which is currently in the middle of nowhere, and I am looking forward
to its homecoming tomorrow.
The first computer that I bought with my hard-earned money
is a MacBook.
When I took it out of its box, it was literally plug and play, a
critical step when you are transitioning from Windows to Mac: the less
traumatizing the experience, the better. It’s not intimidating: candy white and with an amply-spaced keyboard. Oh, and the OS that it comes with is the best:
navigating through the recesses of your computer is a fun experience, handling
photos through iPhoto is never boring and very easy. It would have been
difficult for me to blog had I used a Windows-based computer. So yes, I love
the simplicity and beauty of the Mac: hardware and software. The only attachment I have to Windows is its highly powerful excel.
I am not a music enthusiast but I am attached to my iPod.
Whenever I hold it and pipe in some music, it brings memories of roadtrips
Person A and I have done, mostly up north. I sometimes want to go on a roadtrip
to Bataan just because I want us to sing silly while traversing NLEX and SCTEX.
Yes, I value my iPod because of the happy memories it brings.
The iPad. The computer that even Steve Jobs didn’t know what
its main purpose should be. I coveted it for sometime until a generous
benefactor handed it to me on my birthday and I was also one of those people
who made fun of its name in 2010. I was so wrong.
After having it for 3 weeks,
I still haven’t figured out what I am gonna use it for but I have used it to
talk to my tailor the design that I wanted for my first bespoke suit, I typed a
few blog entries with it, I chronicled some of my random thoughts while stuck
in some unknown corner in the universe, and more importantly, less than 6 hours after introducing it to the parents (who are technology-challenged, btw) my Mama and
Papa were actually tinkering it… on their own.
Uhhh-mmmaaazzziiinnnngggg!
In a
way, this piece of beautiful gadget has been passed around between my friends
and my family. For that period of time, it has connected us in a special way
and memories were created. For me, this iPad would be one communication tool that
I can use to bring my own ideas to life.
I am the classic victim of Steve Jobs vision to create and
market insanely beautiful and simple products that will have emotional
attachment to people who use them. I was sad because the world lost a genius
and on a more selfish note, I was sad because my Apple experience may never be
the same again without Steve Jobs' magic touch.
Thinking about it now, we are the lucky ones who get to be
the audience and users of Steve Jobs vision. It may take a longer time before
the world sees another Mr. Jobs but I got to say this:
Thank You Steve. It's okay to relax and take it easy.
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