Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 5 October 2011
We’ve shared this story with you before but we could think of no better tribute given today’s sad news of his passing than to tell your our favourite Steve Jobs story again.
The video clip to the right dates back to 1996. In it, Jobs talks about what he dislikes about Microsoft: he evokes type-setting and proportional fonts to illustrate how Redmond consistently fails to innovate.
The story goes that when he saw the footage he felt bad and called Bill Gates to apologise. But it was an apology like only Jobs knew how to deliver them: “I’m sorry I said you had no taste,” he told Gates “I shouldn’t have said that in public.” There was a pause. And then, he couldn’t help himself and added: “but it’s true, you have no taste. I just shouldn’t have said it in public.”
The thing is, while some see this as Jobs at the height of his pomposity, we think he perfectly captured what makes us love Apple and its products. You see, if caring about how technology looks and feels as well as what it does made Jobs arrogant and pretentious, then colour us the same.
Think for a minute how much poorer the world would be without Apple. These guys brought style – and yes, culture – to the world of consumer electronics. They made gadgets beautiful, turning them into objects of desire in their own right, things you want to have in your life. They made them easy and fun to use. They awoke or enabled creative urges in us all.
We’re not exaggerating when we say that, without Apple, without Steve Jobs, we wouldn’t have the passion for technology that we have today. And this little site certainly would not exist.
Steve Jobs, you’ll be missed most by your family, your friends and your colleagues. But you’ll also be missed by countless others around the world who never met you but who have been touched by your life and work – including a couple of fools here at Prodigal Towers. Rest in peace.
Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
Our tribute to Steve Jobs.
