Thursday 6 October 2011

Steve Jobs

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Steve Jobs this morning.

I have been a long-time admirer of Apple and the work that Steve and his people have done there. I mentioned previously in this blog that my first computer was an Apple ][ (purchased in about ’78 I think).

At the time that computer came out it was head-and-shoulders above other similar computers. It was extendable, had a proper keyboard, hi and low res graphics, and a strong case that would support a monitor/TV. I got a lot of enjoyment out of that computer (and learned a lot too!). It is still up in my attic as I can’t bear to part with it.

The story of those early days (of the “personal computer”) is very well told in the ’99 TV movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”. Noah Wyle does a good job portraying Steve.

I don’t know specifically about Steve’s personal contribution to the history of innovation at Apple, but I did see a documentary (The Triumph of the Nerds) where he was emphasising the importance of shaving 5 seconds off the boot-up time for the Mac. He was telling the engineers to imagine the time that would be saved by millions of users powering up their Macs at the start of the business day. This is an excellent example of (a) the importance of putting the needs of the user at the heart of decision-making and (b) showing leadership by motivating your team to achieve goals which seem to be impossible.

What I do know/believe is:
  1. Apple is now (and always has been for me) a cool company making cool things
  2. Steve’s name will be revered in Apple and in this industry long after other names have faded from memory.

And that is his legacy.