Ice Water

   I was watching a recent interview with Steve Jobs where Mossberg was interviewing both Jobs and Bill Gates.  At times they were both on stage talking.  This time it was just Jobs.  He told Mossberg that he has received emails from people saying that Safari was their favorite program on Windows.  He laughed and then matter of factly stated: "Its like giving someone in hell a glass of ice water."  I just had to bust up.   It was so Jobs to say such a thing.

Woz is back?

A strange story caught my eye today. It was about Steve Wozniak waiting in line at an Apple store to get an iPhone 4S. This makes no sense. Does Woz actually have to wait in line to get an Apple product? Doesn't he get one complimentary out of respect his "holiness"? Or is Apple using Woz to stir attention about the 4S? It actually would make sense. Woz is that lovable geek guy that you just can't hate. Yes he is the ultimate of nerdiness, but still respected for the amazing feats that he did way back in the early days of Apple. Without Woz there would be no Apple. Jobs may have been the visionary but Woz was the implementor.

I can imagine Woz coming back to Apple as sort of a iconic figurehead for the company. He certainly could not be the spokesman, but in a way he is like the Ringo of the Beatles. Sure McCartney and Lennon were the backbone of the Beatles, but Ringo always had this disarming charm about him. He seemed perfectly harmless. Woz is this guy. He would be able to add some pizzaz to the keynotes by just being Woz. Not in a salesman sort of way, but just someone who represents the amazing history of Apple. I think they should use Ives more in the keynotes too. His psychiatrist like soft spoken way about him brings such calm and serenity to any presentation he gives. Usually we only see Ives in a video talking about the beauty of the design of Apple products. He in my view is the best for presenting the coolness of Apple. The other guy I really like is hardware guy with the military style buzz cut. He seems like a no nonsense kind of guy. You need people on stage who are believable, even if they are not as polished. Schiller always seems to be a little off when presenting. Befuzzled might be the word. Sure he is top management but that doesn't mean he should present. Sorry, just a few random thoughts there. But I really think that getting Woz back on board would be beneficial to Apple. Of course Woz should hold back a bit on the Twinkies if he plans to be on stage. We love ya Woz, in a dorky kind of way. Woz in line for iPhone 4S

Just how we think

I found this article on of all places, Fox.com. It is amazing how it echos so much of what we talk about on MacNight blog. Check it out. Article

This cuts deep

I knew it would be hard to see Steve Jobs go, but I didn't think this would affect me as much as it has. It's not like I have ever met the guy before, but like you say its not just the products that he made his whole philosophy about life. Work till perfection and keep what you need and leave off what you don't. Losing Steve Jobs makes it seem like this voice has been silenced. It is almost like following a philosophy with Apple products. It was so cool when you hear how he still would pickup the latest new device and genuinely hold it fondly and say "isn't this amazing?". He still had a kid inside of him. Bringing wild dreams into reality. Don't we all wish we had his job? Able to create something amazing out of nothing. The coverage of his life is truly amazing. Even the comments of people who don't like Apple showed signs of respect. And if a lone wolf tried to go negative, he was quickly silenced. Jobs was respected by many different groups of people. For his business prowess and his love of design for beauty and function. He was known to have a temper, but usually it was for a really good reason. I took it as a sign for standing up for intelligence, and good faith and against injustice. Either in injustice in marketing through deception or injustice in deception of quality where there is none. He was true and real. Not a common attribute these days. This is what I will miss the most. A voice to standup and say when something was just messed up and he could find a better way. My favorite quote was when he was trying to negotiate with the cell phone carriers and he was getting frustrated with the roadblocks being put up everywhere by the carriers. He said something like, " I never had to go through so many orifices to get to my customers before". He has the same appeal as why Simon Cowell on American Idol was popular. He wasn't afraid of stating the obvious. Usually in very blunt terms. So in the end it hard to lose such uniqueness and purity of spirit. Jobs was an original and he has tried to bring this out in all of us. I think it wasn't just about the products that drove him, but how much joy they would give people who used them and tapped talents they never knew they had. Steve, we miss you.

Steve Jobs - The man who could see the future when others could not.

I too am stunned. It reminds me of an amazing story that I read in book I have about hockey history. There was this player, Howie Morenz in the 1920's who played hockey and was an amazing player. He was a player who genuinely just loved the game. He lived for hockey and the fans loved him. He had played for several years in the NHL and had a solid career with the Montreal Canadians. But in one game he got hit with a rather hard check and suffered a broken leg. He was rushed to the hospital. His doctor told him that the injury was so severe that he would probably never be able to play hockey again. He was so distraught that he refused to eat and the doctors said he was having a nervous breakdown. Three days later he died. The doctor said the official cause was that he had a coronary embolism but a teammate stated "Howie loved to play hockey more than anyone ever loved anything, and when he realized that he would never play again, he couldn't live with it. I think Howie died of a broken heart."

I think with Steve Jobs, Apple was the love of his life. And when he was too ill to lead the company, not being at the center of Apple and creating the amazing devices he did must have left something very empty inside. I can imagine for Steve he too had a broken heart for leaving Apple. Sure he was ill, but take away a person's passion so too do you take away there will to live.

Steve Jobs was an amazing innovator and visionary. One the likes of greats like Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. Seeing way beyond what others cannot even image. And then you wonder how you ever lived without their invention. Thanks for all the inspiration Steve.

Rest in Peace Steve Jobs

Stitch, I had no idea Jobs would pass on so quickly. I have a very heavy heart right now. Thoughts?