Steve Jobs changed the world.
No, let me rephrase that. Steve Jobs MADE the word as he imagined it.
When we talk about the life of one single man, that’s as remarkable a thing to say about anyone who’s ever walked this Earth. Few people in the history of this planet have had as much an impact on the way we live as Steve Jobs did.
That’s all I’m going to try and say about Steve’s innovation, history and legacy. It almost seems too big a subject for me. If you’re a Mac user, and my guess is that you probably are, then you already know. My friend Dan Moughamian wrote a nice piece that echoes my professional sentiment as a creative professional, called Why Steve Jobs Mattered So Much. Check it out.
So, instead of trying to eulogize any more, I’ve decided just to list my own history and experience with Apple Computers. That’s my way of saying goodbye.
Apple II
My first time ever using an Apple computer. They had one in my 8th grade computer lab and I used it to learn BASIC. And just like everyone else did, I wrote a game on it. Blackjack.
The Mac
My first roommate in college moved into the dorm and brought with him this cute little computer called a Mac. Actually, this was 1986, so I think it was a Mac Plus. Having been more into guitars, girls and hot rods in high school than computers, I had never seen one. For the next few weeks, my dormmates and I all sat around watching each other do Mac Paint on it. I had no idea what lay in store for me…
Mac Classic
My dad gave me his old black and white Mac Classic in 1994. It had 1MB RAM and a 10MB hard drive, and I used it to run my fledgling photography business for the next few years with programs like Word, Filemaker Pro and Cradoc Captionwriter. I also had Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat on it. Innocent, uninhibited fun. You just had to sit really close.
PowerMac 7300
My first experience with color Macs. I used one everyday while working as a Photo Editor at Light Sources Stock in Boston between 1994-1995. Also my first experience with Photoshop, digital imaging, Quark XPress and The Internet. Sometimes I’d play Chuck Yeager on it during my lunch breaks. Eventually, I bought a 7300/200 for myself when the Classic died.
PowerMac G4
I skipped the whole G3 era and went straight to the G4. What an cool machine that was, all sleek, cool and blue! Bought it with the Apple 17” flat panel monitor. In addition to running photo photo business, this was the first machine I used for computer based music recording. (Yep, finally started using that college degree again!) Wrote and recorded a number of multitrack pieces on it with Cubase software. Also played Tomb Raider and Madden NFL 2K on it. Those were my single years. Also, my first introduction to OS X.
White iBook
My first laptop. Bought it in 2002. Used it until it became unbearably slow and then sold it for $200 on eBay. Loved it, though. My sister still has one; I get a bit nostalgic whenever I visit her.
PowerMac G5
In 2003, after four and a half years on the G4, I upgraded to the G5. Whoa!! Speed, power and a really heavy aluminum tower. Ran OS X Tiger, Photoshop CS3, Photo Mechanic and In Design and recorded songs with Apple Logic Pro. Unmatched power for the creative professional.
MacBook Pro
Replaced the iBook with this in around 2006. With 2G RAM, and an Intel chip, it has as much power as my old G5 did Just gave it new life with an install of OS X Snow Leopard and still use it every single week.
Mac Pro
Major upgrade one year ago. After nearly five years on the G5, I moved up to this bad boy. 12GB RAM and terabytes of storage spread across multiple drives. Photoshop CS5, Lightroom, Logic Pro, unbelievable guitar amp modeling with IK Multimedia Amplitube software and flight simulation with X-Plane 9. Creativity. Fun. Life. I spend way too much time in front of this thing.
Of course, I also have an iPod, an iPhone and an iPad. My mom has as Mac Mini and my sister has an iMac. How many Macs have you owned? Let me know in the comment section.
Steve Jobs, I have no idea who will ever be able to fill the sleeves of your proverbial mock-T as we hurl ourselves forward from here. Thanks for all the Macs and thank you for your brilliant vision, imagination and unwavering dedication to moving us all officially into the future. May you rest in peace in the great iCloud in the sky.
G4, mac book, Mac Pro, iPod mini, iPod 80g
and my family wonder why they suffer with viruses etc when they choose P*s!
The first computer I used was an Apple IIE around grade 3 or 4. I remember we had a tour to the principals office to see the COLOR MONITOR that was the only one in the district. It was an Apple of course, but had only 4 colors, but that was a big deal. In grade 7 we upgraded to the Apple IIGS. My family bought one and it was our first computer. I still have it – and it still works. Even booting it recently it seems remarkably full featured and fast. I wouldn’t want to edit RAWS on it though! Since then I’ve had a Macintosh Centris 610, Centris 660AV, G4 400 tower (those beautiful blue ones), G4 800 dual tower (still have this one), and an iMac G5 which is still my email, video player, and occasional web surfing computer on my desk. It feels wrong to be typing this on a PC though. 🙁
A friend and I were talking about Steve Jobs and Apple last week. He is frustrated with the innovation in the company he works for… everything seems geared towards “what ideas would make money” vs “what would be a great idea”. Ideas are tied directly to the whim of shareholders – who know little of the industry directly. At Apple, design and innovation are on the opposite side from the shareholders and I think that is one reason they have been able to produce so many great products and ideas. I do think Apple will be in good hands with Tim Cook though.