Now, I just have to wait for FCP X to finish its long beach ball antics so I can finish editing my film.

Image by lessplasticplease

As you all know by now, Steve Jobs passed away today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Just as thousand of other tech writers have been doing all day, I felt the need to write something about how Steve and the work he did at Apple.

Now I’m not going to gush about his brilliance, or how the i(device) was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  In fact, I was NEVER a Apple Fan boy in the first place.  WAY back in the day, I started working on computers in 1980.  Mostly MSDOS, I was just beginning to understand how to program as well as the possibilities the computer offered. Later I was introduced to the AppleII, then the Mac.  And at first, I thought it was the most amazing, but the limited software choices, cost and bugs turned me off. So I went PC during the great computer war. Function over form when it came to computing.

Little did I know, I would be converted..

I had the palm III and used to connect it to a cell phone with data capability to make what we would call a smart phone.  Later I bought the first really solid smart phone, the Kyocera 6035. Then came the iPhone.

This was an amazing device. The map feature alone was a quantum leap from what I could do on my palm750.  But what really made the iphone amazing to me, and I never really experienced this with the Mac nor the iPod, was just how beautiful as well as technically astounding the device was. It really changed everything, or at least I could see it changing everything.  I was one if the first guys out there to start jailbreaking my iphone because I quickly realized that we have not even begun to exploit the power of this device.  But what I want to stress, and what I’m writing about today, is not that the iPhone married the phone to the computer allowing us to have access to information anytime anywhere.  We had that.  The treo750 was that.  Heck the Kyocera 6035 was that.  No, it was the experience.  THIS was the change.  Yes the technology was amazing, but every little detail of the phone, from how it felt in my hand, to how it looked on the screen, to how it responded to my touch was graceful.  Web pages LOOKED and acted like webpages giving me a true experience. The integration between the phone and other elements of the OS was ground breaking.  And all of this worked so well, and so gracefully, it was a completely new experience from what I was used to on my Treo.  And this is what I think Steve wanted from the beginning.  The AppleII and Mac just could not deliver what he really wanted, but the iPhone did.

I still use my old Tablet PC more then my Mac, and I have Android phones as well as my iPhones, but as a non Apple fan boy, I have to say and iphone is a true mark in the evolution of consumer devices and with iTunes a revolution in business.  I have my grips, but I am a convert to the vision of Apple.

Good Job Steve… and Thanks.

Quick update.  In after market trading, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock dropped $25 and bouncing around $355.  Will be interesting to see what happens.

With the iphone 5 and ipad 3 pretty much done and ready for market, icloud released and the macbooks finally gaining a strong hold on the market, its not like he has big ideas that are in the middle of development. Now its more about execution, working the edges and making the “I” vision that started 4 years ago more sharp.

“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

“The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO,” added Levinson. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”