Thursday, October 6, 2011

The final Job




Like many of the Mac-addicts, I was one of the rabid followers who woke up early morning of October 5 (October 4 in the US) awaiting for the launch of the iPhone 5. It was a sordid disappointment to see instead an upgraded version of the iPhone 4 which Apple called iPhone 4S. It would be available in stores on October 14. I guess most of the Mac-followers were also quite disappointed with the upgraded version as they (like me) were expecting something out of the extraordinary. After all, with all the fanfare and secretiveness behind the launching of a new iPhone, it was anyone's wild guess what Apple still had under its sleeves.

But nothing, I guess nothing at all, would have been the greater surprise than the news the day after iPhone 4S was launched - STEVE JOBS passed away.

The icon behind all the Apple gadgets was gone. And while many of us knew that he was battling cancer and that his stepping down from the helm a few months ago was a sign that his health was taking a turn probably for the worse, the rabid fans had just held on to hope that a new techie gadget would be around the corner. The news and speculations about iPhone 5 was probably leaked out by Apple insiders as well. Sneaky, yes. It probably was a way to throw out all speculations surrounding the impending exit of Steve Jobs from this world.

And what a way to go! The day after iPhone 4S was launched, Steve Jobs death is announced.

When my niece informed me that Jobs' death was all over the news I was flabbergasted and saddened. I grew up with Apple. My first Apple computer was like my baby. It had this odd yet funky modern design. My mom would wonder why I opted to buy an oblong like desktop with a weird location for the floppy disk. After being hooked on the Apple computers (mind you, this was way before all the newbie styles of Apple came into being), I have never looked back at any other computer brand again. I remember that I used to carry that candy colored (BLUE) laptop that looked like a space capsule to school. Everyone stared at the cool gadget I had. It was distinctly an Apple. It was uniquely Me.

Today, I have a MacBook Pro for my office, a MacAir for my travel, a Mac desktop for my study room, an iPad, an iPhone4 and an iPod. To me, Mac is everything my techie directed life has put me. Thanks to the man behind the discovery and the dream.

My hats off to Steve Jobs and this generation owes much to the icon behind Apple. He has left a legacy that would be a hard act to follow. It is amazing how one man has changed the technology of this world. After all that hard word, today he rests forever - free from all the worries and pain of health uncertainties. Today he rests forever, knowing that he his life in this world though brief, created an immeasurable impact on all.

Steve Jobs will be missed. But Apple will live on.

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