Steve Jobs, CALL 985

We'll miss Steve. It's not like it wasn't expected. And I think it'll pretty much cover over much of the gnashing of teeth over not having the iPhone 5 announced earlier this week.

Steve Jobs loomed large in many of our lives. There is a cult of veneration that surrounded him as far an wide of the mythical reality distortion field he exuded. An Apple wasn't the first computer I used. It wasn't the first computer I programmed. It wasn't the first computer I owned. It was, however, the first computer I loved. The Apple IIe, a command-line interface that practically demanded that you know BASIC to really get anything out of it, was the first computer I wanted to use. And it was built so well, and the way it worked was light years ahead of all the other machines I was using.

I am an old Macintosh Evangelist. But unlike the opposition that believes we love all things Apple and just don't know anything else (or have yet to realize the joys of other operating systems), I am capable in several operating systems, and can see some faults with what Apple has done. Just the other day the person in the next cubicle asked me a computer question and then apologized because I'm a "Mac Guy." I was able to help them solve their problem. How? Because I do know other computers. I can use them. I just prefer to use the Mac OS.

I also say this while typing on my laptop which is nearly 12 years old now. Twelve years old. That's longer by several multiples than what most people get out of their other machines. Within reach are three Apple devices that I own. Given the choice between something that Apple may have produced and the competition I will choose the Apple product almost every time. And for good reason.

Why? Because of Steve Jobs' greatest legacy. He pioneered usability and function as important as any other aspect of computers and computing products. He was concerned over startup times. He was concerned over just how fast the mouse tracked. He was concerned that you the user had a satisfying experience while using his products.

While most people will talk about his history, his launch of Apple (and use the press release boiler plate), his megalomania and micro-management style, how he saved Apple, Pixar and Disney, and a thousand other standard myth making things. But his greatest contribution to the field of computers is that he wanted people to be able to use, and like using, what he sold.

And for that, I honor the man and will miss him.