Appreciation: Jobs was larger than life
— -- Everyone knew how sick Steve Jobs was. And yet the sad news of Jobs' death still arrives as a thudding shock, like something that just couldn't possibly happen despite his devastating illness.
Jobs was larger than life, after all, the brilliant charismatic executive, pitchman, and visionary whose powerful force field somehow burst through every Macintosh, every iPhone, every Apple product I ever touched. That his passing comes just one day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone at a media gathering is all the more ironic. The event was not nearly the same simply because Jobs was not the one enthusing on stage about the latest Apple had to offer.
Jobs sway in the world of technology—and more importantly our culture —cannot be understated.
Apple's iPod was not the first MP3 player, it was the first one that mattered. Along with iTunes, the iPod permanently reshaped the entire music industry. The iPhone put the smart in smartphone, and made "apps" a household word. The iPad wasn't the first slate style computer either, but the fact that nearly every tech company out there has attempted its own tablet, few with any success, speaks volumes about the enormously high bar Jobs established. Even when Apple's products were outsold by a wide margin — Windows PCs compared to Macs —its influence in design, media and society is unparalleled. Heck, Jobs even changed retail. I can't remember ever walking into an Apple Store that wasn't crowded.
Sure not every Apple product under Jobs has been an unblemished success. MobileMe (a forerunner of iCloud) had a troubled start and, for now anyway, Apple TV remains what Jobs dubbed it, no more than a "hobby."
I've reviewed every important product Apple has brought out these last dozen years as USA TODAY's Personal Tech columnist. It says a lot that way more often than not I liked what was being released, though I certainly pointed out the imperfections when warranted.
Jobs legacy has been well chronicled. The early days of the Apple II computer, Jobs' unceremonious departure from the company he co-founded, as well as his time at NeXT and Pixar. Ultimately of course Jobs re-conquered Apple and drove it to become what is arguably the most compelling and enigmatic company of our generation.
Jobs famously controlled and reviewed everything Apple did. During my meetings with him through the years, he could be charming and at rare times just a tad testy. But always the passion for what he, and Apple, had accomplished came through.
By chance I was with some former Apple employees when I learned that Jobs had died. Matt Rogers, who for a time ran the iPod software team at Apple, told me he was inspired by Jobs as a 5-year-old kid. "He had a major effect on everybody," Rogers recalls. "You could see Steve's passion in almost everything. The reason why he's difficult and he's hard is because he cares so much about the product and the experience and making it perfect."
And apparently he rarely dished out praise, though he always thanked Apple employees during public events. "It's mostly tough love," Rogers says. "Usually the absence of negative feedback was the positive feedback. Like `this is good, we should go with this.' Steve cares deeply about the company. Apple is his baby."
If there is any positive news at a time such as this, it is that Jobs' imprint should remain on Apple's product pipeline for a long time coming, and the consumer will be the beneficiary. Jobs was truly one for the ages.
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