Apple And Me

Steve Jobs died today.

It's a little more personal for me than for most. I'm not related to him, and I wasn't a friend, but he touched my life every day. I've been having an emotional reaction as though a part of my family has passed. Upon reflection I've realized that, yes, that's what happened.

Apple and Steve are in my blood. From the earliest days of computers in elementary school using an Apple IIe, I was drawn to the little beige boxes. My inner geek loved being able to make things happen with ease.

But it was in 1989, as a freshman in high school, when my life really took a turn with Apple. I was exposed to a Macintosh — this small box with a tiny black-and-white screen, and graphics — lots of graphics! I was instantly hooked. I saw it in my journalism class; you see, I had always been into journalism, starting my own newspaper in the first grade. But I had never seen a machine like this until that fall day in 1989. I was in the introduction class, but I kept turning around to stare at the tiny screen. I knew it could do everything I saw in my head.

And it could. I learned the ins and outs of that box and began mastering desktop publishing, a new concept in those years. I became a devout supporter. When I went off to college, my campus bought some of the newer, color machines. I was on them every chance I got. A new thing called the "Internet" was catching on; I was on there using Mosaic on a PowerMac exploring the concepts of e-mail and web sites.

I got my teaching certificate and college degree and began advising my own journalism classes where I got to design my own Mac lab. I lovingly networked them (at first with AppleTalk) and named each computer after a city in Houston so I could ID them easily on the network. I found students very quickly catching on to the concept of the Mac.

Sometime around 2001 or so, Apple released iTunes and the iPod shortly thereafter. I was one of the first to download iTunes, playing my music at work, and I got a 4GB iPod for $400 (!) to use for music on the go. People were jealous; I was just in love.

In 2005, I got the opportunity to go to work for Apple; it was a dream come true. I worked in the retail division, which was a great way to "spread the gospel" and show others how cool the Macs were. Ever seen something so cool that you're almost shaking with excitement because you want to say, "Look! Look at how cooooool this is!"? That's how every day was for me, helping people see that technology could be simple and fun to use.

Since that time, I'm on my fifth or sixth Mac, my second iPhone, my third or fourth iPod — and there's even an iPad in the house.

It's not about devices. After all, I have Sony products, Samsung, GE, etc. It's about a way of thinking and integrating easily into my life. It's about making my life so easy that I seek them out.

So although I never got to meet Steve — although I did walk in front of him twice (a no-no, btw) — I am forever indebted. He has changed and shaped my life with his vision.

The Apple motto is to "surprise and delight customers with innovative and easy-to-use technology."

Steve, you always delighted me. And I'm better for it.

Best,
Brian

P.S. Pics here.