Post 019

Apple computer may be the most valuable IT company to date, but most of what it is today, actually narrows down to one man, Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs was more than just a CEO.  He was an innovative man, who never really stopped moving forward.  Yes, ideas for a touchscreen phone wasn't new, an mp3 player whose real specialty was its large hard drive and the clickwheel can hardly be passed as amazing, but there was a thin layer of icing on these products that make the average consumer so amazed.

There always is this unspoken exclusivity whenever it came to an Apple product.  It's like an invisible ward whenever passing the Apple store in the mall, or walking by those black tables at your local big box electronic store.  Much like Steve Jobs, these were the vessels that carried these minimalistic, yet very mysterious devices.  The one thing that made Apple so outstanding was not because their products were usually more expensive than their competitors or because it was so much prettier, but because how well they worked.

In the last few years, Apple has been rolling out with updates, refreshes and even newer generations of each product within a 12-16 month product cycle.  It was a move to declare war against the conformists.  Conformists have now done everything they can, to stand still in time, as they continue to purchase machines that never got any better ever since 2002.  Apple aimed to win these conforming consumers over, by wowing them and showing them, that machines cannot stand still.  This moved in accordance to Moore's Law, and actually explains very well, how society defied it, and tried to stay still after the advent of Windows XP.  Everyone was finally able to get their hands on a computer without freaking out at the cryptic bits and pieces of Bill Gates' software because Windows XP worked.  Windows XP sat around for at least 4 years before Vista came about and was widely rejected.  People still clung on to Windows XP.  It was madness.  It was wrong.

Steve Jobs' greatest achievement was to really show these people that there was a better alternative.  The dawn of the Information Age has caused the speed at which things should be done to take a rapid increase.  So, with that, Apple started to get an upper hand on the war. 

Steve Jobs, being just as charismatic and just as innovative as the products he oversees, have finally won the people over.  Apple is no longer just an exclusive club waiting to die.  It was a growing party.  To drive the point home, Steve Jobs even presented himself, in a minimalistic form with the turtleneck and jeans, just to embody the spirit in which Apple will work.  Every machine ever since the iPod nano has been absolutely nothing short of phenomenal.  Did they have faults?  Of course.  The release of the iPhone in 2007 was often ignored because no one was ready for it.  The MacBook Air was too impractical.  That list can grow.

However, Apple did not stop.  They only made better and better machines, with improved battery life, better form factor, yearly OS tweaks.  It was amazing.  Apple is no longer that beige box in the corner of every late 90's elementary school classroom.  Apple is now, in everyone's pockets, purses, jackets, backpacks, labs...you name it.  For this, we salute you, Steve Jobs.