Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. (apple.com/stevejobs)

I and several of my friends found out about his passing via notice on our iPhones. (Naturally.) As a cancer survivor who last year lost a cancer buddy to the same thing Jobs had, it amazed me how most of the media consistently misreported the nature of his cancer. Pancreatic cancer is way different than a neuroendocrine tumor in/on the pancreas*. Cancer is so different in each individual regardless of type, and even people with the same type have varied experiences. You'd think the media would do some quick research and get things right but I guess they've gone from fact-checking journalists to being honey badger. Honey badger don't give a shit.

My first computer was an Apple II+ and I loved it. Back then, my dad would take me with him when he visited one of his friends across town. They were total Mac geeks. Dad's friend had a Lisa and I remember thinking it looked really cool compared to what I had. I smile when thinking about the total RAM of the Apple II+ maxing out at 64 kB. Heh, how things have changed over the last 30 years.

It's nice to see non-Apple fans and Apple haters giving props to Mr. Jobs. Words like "visionary" and "inspired" and "revolutionary" keep appearing on all sides. My Facebook and Google+ feeds are blowing up with friends sharing the news. Out of all of the remarks and remembrances I've read, the most poignant sentiments are perfectly captured here:

Steve Jobs was an amazing human being, and his passing will be mourned by millions. Though I was only seven years old and not aware when John Lennon died, I think I now know what that could have felt like. (Kevin Lowe)

Just one more thing? Weirdly Steve Jobs passing reminds me most of the death of Jim Henson. Two men with transformational vision. I fear Apple without Jobs will be too much like the Muppets without Henson. (Jeffrey Weiss)

I'm kinda dreading going to a local Apple store tomorrow but am also wondering how bummed out the grunt workers are. The iPad I acquired through eBay has been dropping wifi for the last month or maybe two, I dunno. I'm finally tired of resetting the network every 5 minutes so reserved my space/time at the Genius bar for tomorrow, about 20 minutes after the end of an appointment happening down the street. (I did this about an hour before the news broke. Great timing.) From what I gathered online, this 32 GB wifi + 3G 1st gen tablet caused a lot of people to be upset from the same issue back in April 2010, so maybe I'll get a replacement. I have the AppleCare Protection Plan so I shouldn't be out anything, whatever happens.

Here's to Steve Jobs and everyone doing their best to make this world a better place. I close with a final thought from the man himself, from his commencement address at Stanford University in June 2005**.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. (Steve Jobs)

* http://www.npr.org/2011/08/25/139942326/with-a-spotlight-on-jobs-time-to-talk-about-cancer?ps=rs

** http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html