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    Wednesday, October 5, 2011

    On Steve Jobs Passing

    It is an indicator of his impact on our modern life that news of Steve Jobs passing has spread like wild fire across not only the internet, but across broadcast television as well.  I can think of no other instances where a person has not only impacted, but in many ways defined our modern life.  At the helm of Apple, Jobs defined what personal computing was meant to be; he redefined how we listen to music; he ushered in what the modern age of mobile computing is.

    His vision has shaped and defined my industry.  No longer is it simply enough to have a killer device, you must have an ecosystem to go with it.  Within the ecosystem he shepherded in, entire industries are taking shape.  And make no mistake, while other ecosystems have arisen to challenge the Apple ecosystem, the sweet spot, the one where all of the action truly is, is still the Apple ecosystem.

    My family is in no small part supported by the machine that Jobs put into motion.  The industry I work in would only be a shadow of its current self had the iPhone never existed, and the iPhone was one of Jobs' babies.

    I will never be a man of vision like Steve Jobs.  Yet I would count it an incredible blessing to work with one whose vision is like his was.  Perhaps one day I'll turn around and find that I have had the opportunity to work with someone of his vision, but such was his vision that it could not be appreciated in the moment, but only in hind-sight.

    I am and will be forever grateful for the impact that Steve Jobs has had on not just my industry, but on this world.  Our lives are better off having tasted the fruits of Jobs labor.  The world is a much more exciting place having had the benefit of Steve Jobs' genius.