Thursday, October 6, 2011

In Memory of Steve Jobs

I remember getting my first mac as a young professional, back in 1996.  I had moved from the corporate side of marketing, to the agency side as an Account Coordinator.  And my new, plush cubicle came equipped with a Macintosh.  I was hooked from the first time I turned it on and saw that little square smiley face.

I had never been a huge computer wiz.  My older brother, Eric, on the other hand, lived for computers.  He got his first Commodore 64 at 14 and began programming almost immediately.  I could never figure the damn things out.  But I "got" the Mac.  And it "got" me.  It was easy to use, it could do things I dreamed up in my head - layouts, designs, fonts, graphics, that were visually appealing.  It made me feel so much more computer literate.  Of course, back in the mid 90s, telling people you worked on a Mac did not make you appear computer-literate.  In fact, back then, the standard response was "oh, you must work in advertising or something."  I heard a lot of "you have to work on a Mac, huh?"

Eric teased me constantly about it, and we'd have wars during family gatherings.  Each of us setting up camp on our respective sides of the computer world.  My father in the middle, keeping the peace.  "Right," he'd say to my brother, "if you want the latest software and games, ya gotta go with a PC." I'd roll my eyes, and just as quickly he'd add, turning to me, "but Apple has done a brilliant job marketing themselves.  They're pretty cool computers."

Eric was a computer programmer by trade.  A die-hard PC user.  Until one day about two years ago.  My dad called me and broke the news: "Did you hear? Your brother just bought a MacBook Air."
Huh?  I called him immediately.  Are you kidding me?  Mister PC?  With a Mac?  I never thought I'd see the day.  I promptly checked the skies for flying pigs, perked my ears to hear the fat lady singing.

But I digress. If Steve Jobs could convert my brother, well then, he could change the world.  And change it he did.  He changed the way we work, the way we listen to music, communicate, organize and function.  He changed the way we live.

I write this on my latest MacBook Pro, looking at notes I jotted on my iPhone 3Gs.  Suffice it to say, I am still a huge fan of Apple.

I was so sad to hear the news of his passing last night.  He was a true visionary, and he will be sorely missed.

Have a Mac/Apple/Steve Jobs memory of your own?  I'd love to hear it...

6 comments:

  1. The first home computer I had was an Apple, little tiny boxy thing. My husband and I fought over it when we divorced, :-) although I only used it for word processing, but I argued the point that the kids needed it and they'd be with me more than him. He gave in.
    Nice post by the way!

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you remember, I was dead set against Macs too. But after listening to you and your brother, and a myriad of PC woes, my next computer will absolutely, definitely, without any doubt...be a Mac. Nice tribute to a person of vision (not too many of those around these days:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lynn...you got the Mac? Nice job! I have always worked on one, and am determined to purchase an iMac for my kids...sometime in the near future :)
    p.s. re: our conversation last night...this post was spur-of-the-moment...might be a typo or two, and given time I think I could do better, but I think sometimes the first emotions are the best...so i just ran with it!

    Mom...I do remember. I'd be happy to accompany you to the Apple store whenever you're ready! ; )

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post. Apple fans tend to be among the truly devoted, so that says a lot to me. And how satisfying that you got to nanny-nanny-boo-boo your grown brother!

    ReplyDelete