Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

Some of my earliest computer memories are playing Ultima III on the Apple IIe in high school. I still consider that and Ultima IV to be some of the greatest games ever made. I loved the Apple II series. I had a II+ and wanted a IIe more than anything. Actually, I think I wanted the IIc even more. It was small and compact and had 128k of ram. It was the most awesome thing I’d ever seen. My computer desires where then shifted to the IIGS (Woz Edition). Oh my lord it was amazing. It had full color graphics and sound. It was the best gaming system out there. It was so much more than I could afford and I loved playing with it during school. Those early days, they make me smile.

But anyway, that is where my love of computers started. I loved Apple back in those days. I thought they were the coolest things. I remember the first Macs with their built-in black and white screens. There was the first 3.5 inch drive and then the Fat Mac. I coveted them all, but they were so damn expensive I just couldn’t get one. Eventually, I moved over to the PC with DOS and then Windows. It’s only recently that I’ve moved back into the world of Apple with the iPod Touch and the iPad.

I don’t think Steve’s influence on the computer industry can be overstated. He was in every sense a visionary and revolutionary. His influence has been felt for three decades. Perhaps this is a simplistic view, but he was one half of the computer industry and Gates was the other. We have lost a great mind.