In Memoriam

Steven Paul Jobs, 1955–2011

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Recommendations:

The "CNBC Titans" profile on Hulu.

The 2005 Stanford Commencement Address on TED. Here's the text version (thanks to MM for the latter).

Nine things you didn't know about Steve Jobs including that he's genetically an Arab-American (his birth father is Syrian).

The authorized biography by Walter Isaacson (Walter Isaacson was the longtime editor of TIME magazine and also wrote a wonderful biography of Benjamin Franklin).

A brief appreciation by Hank Stuever at the Washington Post site (Paul De Zan suggested this).

Finally, a reader named Peter suggested this simple but poignant epitaph: Jobs restored to his rightful place in the famous Apple "Crazy Ones" ad (from AdWeek):

The portrait at the top, the best-ever of Jobs that I've seen, is by the great Albert Watson. I built this post before I knew that this was the portrait Apple chose for its home page; I think the tones as seen here are closer to Watson's usual palette, but I've never seen an original so I don't really know.

Mike

Featured Comment by Bahi: "I've been dreading this. I knew what to expect when Jobs resigned as CEO but the news is still difficult to accept. Steve's death in October sheds light on his last public appearance in June and also makes this picture, taken immediately after that appearance, all the more poignant."

Featured Comment by Steve E Miller: "What was most amazing about this man is not the plethora of products that his companies made but rather his amazing ability to inspire, engage and encourage the people who worked at all of his companies to make the best of their skills which in turn created the iconic products put out by Apple, Pixar and NeXT. This is the thing that it seems most CEOs don't recognize—it's the people not the product. I wish I could be more precise in my language in trying to describe what I understand so fully in my mind.

"This Stanford speech of his will go down in history as possibly one of the most important speeches by any businessman ever. I know it inspired me...."

Featured Comment by Ken Tanaka: "I am profoundly grateful for living concurrently with Steve Jobs. He greatly affected my life which is why I am deeply saddened by his early death, as if I just lost a close family member. What a wonderful life this man lived."

Mike replies: I concur Ken. At times I've reflected that I am that guy who he intended to enable with his innovations. I was the creative type who was uninterested in computers and had little aptitude for them. I probably would not have been a writer today if it weren't for the Mac—much less be writing TOP every day. Steve Jobs didn't create the computer age, but he enabled people like me to share in it.

If there was ever a guy who ought to have lived long and prospered, he was it.

Featured Comment by Andreas: "Sorry for being negative again, but some of the comments (including Ken's and Mike's featured dialogue) are pressing a little too hard, on the edge of becoming pathetic, like declaring him as a family member posthumously. C'mon....

"The quote from Barack Obama is much more sensible in my eye, acknowledging Mr. Jobs's success in a witty manner, without transfiguring him."

Featured Comment by Allan Graham: "Mike, I wholly concur with your assessment of Steve Jobs as a man who enabled others. A long time ago now, when CAD was just starting to become common, I was a newly qualified architect struggling hopelessly with a widely used but horribly clanking CAD program (really designed for engineers) on a certain type of personal computer with a rather inadequately developed graphical user interface. Frustration and misery. I shortly moved to another practice where they were using MicroStation on Macs. Liberation and delight! The system just didn't have the same irritating capacity to get in the way of my lame mental processes, and in 25 years I have only ever worked with Macs.

"Without Mr. Jobs and all those bright people he led and inspired, I doubt if I could have kept up with it at all. It's just my generation of course, but I still find it easier to think with a pencil...!"

Mike replies: 'Zactly. My own experience was more pedestrian, but just as acutely felt. In the summer of 1976 I was awarded one of the few private study carrels in Baker Library at Dartmouth, to write in, as part of an one-on-one English 89 seminar. Seventy pages into an ambitious manuscript I realized I was having severe organizational problems (long my Achilles' heel), and I saw no other way to get a handle on it than to literally cut up the ms. with scissors, and tape the bits on the wall so I could reorganize it all. Before long my entire carrel was festooned with strips of paper of varying lengths. Then I would tape it all back together again for the next of several laboriously retyped drafts before starting the process anew.

It would be another eight years before I used a Mac for the first time (and I had already learned to solve my organization problems with brevity by then), but the usefulness of the "cut" and "paste" commands and, especially, the ability to revise and rewrite another draft without retyping everything...an amazing revelation. Your just-right phrase "liberation and delight" hits that nail very squarely.

Featured Comment by M: "The best tribute to Jobs' work I ever heard came from a temp sales clerk in the 1990s who was struggling to ring up a sale on a PC-based terminal in the store. He couldn't get the commands to work right and kept apologizing. Finally he said, 'I don't use computers—I'm a graphic artist. I use a Mac at home.'

"For him the Mac was not a computer you had to grapple with, it was a tool that was part of his art.

"I grew up in the computer industry, from the days of mainframes on. What Apple did under Jobs direction was complete the work. He didn't invent most of the Apple products—they existed before Apple. Personal computers and MP3 players and tablets and smart phones all existed before Apple developed them. Jobs saw to it that Apple made them work, took the extra steps to invent whatever was needed to make them extremely easy to use, and made them beautiful. He did change our lives."

Featured Comment by Caleb Courteau: "I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, and probably always will. I'm 25, so I didn't experience JFK, but I imagine the admiration and respect I feel for Steve Jobs is similar to what was felt for our late president. Rest in peace Mr. Jobs."

Featured Comment by Steve Rosenblum: "'Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else's life,' Jobs said. 'Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other peoples' thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.'"

Featured Comment by Emmanuel Huybrechts: "I understand nothing about this Apple/Jobs cult but it's always sad when talented people die too much early."

Featured Comment by Edie Howe: "I would not be a photographer today if it weren't for the work of Steve Jobs. Vale, Steve."

Featured Comment by Wayne: "It is our nature to be born, to live, and to die. Know your nature and live with it to the fullest. Steve Jobs did, and in doing so, helped others do the same...what better legacy?"

Comments

[Ken]

This is the first time since the death of Galen Rowell that I felt sadness at the passing of a public figure, a complete stranger. To me, both were truly wonderful "artists" whose lives were, unfortunately, too short.

[Radiopaque]

The new iPhone 4GS might be the best camera you always have in your pocket. Thanks Steve, and may you rest in peace. 

[Mike Johnston]

I actually built this post before I knew Apple was using the same portrait on its home page. I got it from TiPb.com, which was the first use I could find that included a photo credit. The tones of this one look closer to Watson's usual than Apple's rendition, but I don't know.

http://www.tipb.com/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-ceo-apple-chairman-board-tim-cook-ceo/

Mike

[Matt Miller]

A true thinker of original thoughts. Our lives are better today because of him. Cheers.

[Mark Kinsman]

Steve made a dent in the universe -his personal goal. Music, photography, movies and more... Touched by his vision and drive. Thanks Steve,you made an impact in this world like few do.

[Nick]

Genuine sadness at his passing. Thanks Steve.

[Hugh Crawford]

Lots of people have changed the world , but very few have made it better , and fewer still have done it by empowering the rest of us.

Andy Warhol said that the greatest art is business* , and in that sense Steve Jobs was the greatest artist of our generation.

*I can't find the exact quote because no mater how I search for it , all I get are stories about Steve Jobs. So there.

[Paul De Zan]

This, I think, is an especially perceptive take on Jobs' work: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/steve-jobs-and-the-idea-of-letting-go/2011/10/05/gIQAWxNqOL_story.html

The future had to catch up to Steve Jobs.

[Manish]

President Barack Obama: And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

Having read this news on my iPhone made that moment all the more poignant. RIP Steve Jobs. You'll be missed.

[Hans]

Life is all too short. When he announced his resignation in Aug, I, along with many others, was happy for him. He had given Apple, and us, his all, and now it was time for some well deserved quality time with his wife and kids. If only fate had been kind enough to give him and his family a little more of this quality time. As my nephew said on his Facebook page: "Stupid cancer!"

[David]

Damn..the guy was just so brill, can't really measure his impact on the world.

[Blake]

Thank you, Steve, you've enriched my life.

[johnW]

Sleep well Steve. You left us one heck of a legacy.

[Peter.]

56 is too damn short!

Cried after seeing this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g55Rnc92KWI

[Godfrey]

".. Stay hungry, stay foolish. .. " - SJ, Commencement at Stanford, 2005

I offer a moment of silence for the best "one of the crazy ones" of all time. He will be missed.

[erlik]

I'm not a Mac user. I'm not an Apple user. I'm not even a fan of the company, just the opposite. But the profound positive effect he had on the industry and the world at large simply cannot be denied.

[Nick]

"The portrait, the best-ever of Jobs that I've seen, is by the great Albert Watson."

>Maybe because it was (almost) a self-protrait...
http://www.artnet.com/awc/albert-watson.html

N.

[Dierk]

Hope iGod found his personal iCloud. Thanks for the iPad and MacOS X - these eased my daily life...

[kevin]

Jobs did everything "wrong"; he ruled by fiat, was cranky, irascible, and told consumers what to buy. You don't need a floppy drive! You don't need Flash! If your products really are great, not much else matters.

[Robert Roaldi]

Wouldn't it be something if more political and business leaders were like this guy?

[Edward Bussa]

I still remember the day back in 1988 when I used my first mouse on a Mac (II maybe?). One of those things I guess you don't forget.

[Marcelo Guarini]

It has been an immense privilege to live during his unfortunately short life, and to be an spectator and a participant of the profound changes he induced in our society, in the way we work, in the way we teach, in the way we live, all this with his unique vision and his deep passion to offer only the best.

We´ll miss you very much Steve.

[Michael]

I thank Steve Jobs. From my first Apple ][ to my iPhone and every Mac in between... His vision, make that genius, made the world a far better place, and changed my life in the process, may he rest in peace...

[David Simonton]

Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. —Steve Jobs

[Andrea B.]

A life too short, but well-lived.

[Chris Y.]

"Death don't have no mercy, in this land..."
-Rev. Gary Davis

[Jacques Pochoy]

I remember...
Years ago, at the first Apple Show in Paris la Villette (1986) we were shown a short movie of a man opening a flat notebook he had on him, the device once opened was seamless and looked like a bigger iPad.
While the man took a shower (out of frame) his voice guided the computer to gather elements for his presentation to be (influence of Amazonian deforestation on the desertification of Africa) and we could follow what was going on the screen.
At the end, after having asked the device to download the images at the conference room, the man closed the notebook and quitted the room... There hadn't been any socket plugging, modem, or whatever cable dandling anywhere!

At the time it was for us, early members of user groups, a complete science-fiction scenario... Today the only detail of that story I can't have is the seamless folding screen !

Years after years, and because of this very precise short movie, I felt that each new keynotes, each new product presented by Steve jobs, was a step toward this visionary short movie (I never could find it anywhere after that presentation).

Voice control, flat touchable screen, wifi, as an OS in which software were just mere plug-ins, even the "cloud" notion were already there.

A tribute to a man who never left aside his dream and with forbearance gave us his future.

[Rob]

I'll echo Mike's reply to Ken; I spent a few years in the late 70s working as a low level computer flunky for an oil company, and when I left that job I swore I'd never touch a computer again. But not long after that, my sister got a job at Apple, and eventually she ended up with a spare SE that she loaned me. That was such a revelation, and I was immediately hooked. I've been a Mac user ever since.

[John Camp]

An odd occurrence: I was catching a plane at MSP this morning, and stopped to buy a couple of newspapers. A Somali man (lots of Somali's in Minneapolis) was standing at the newspaper kiosk and he started talking to me about Steve Jobs and how sad he was that he had died...this from a guy who barely spoke English, and had not exactly grown up in a hotbed of computer science.

[Ken White]

I'm an old technologist. Prior to the Apple II there was nothing that could be called a consumer computer system except for the TRS-80. Woz had a vision of the technology that became the Apple II but without Jobs it would never have become more than a curiosity.

Steve Jobs was best at understanding what technology could become and finding creative technologists to realize that vision. That is not an insignificant skill. Those of us who maintain a close relationship to the hardware and software of small computers owe a great debt to his determination to make powerful technology accessible to average consumers.

[Jim Freeman]

We will not see the likes of Steve Jobs pass by for many, many years.

To me, his best line was "I always tried to skate toward where the puck was going, not where it had been."

Words to live by.

I think we are all going to miss him more than we can imagine now.

Regards, Jim

[David A.]

When I think of photographs of Steve Jobs, I think of this one:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0712/y_walker08.html

Some have appraised his design style as being minimalist and the photograph illustrates that for me. If he didn't need it, he didn't bother with it.

[Player]

Steve Jobs didn't invent the smart phone, the tablet, the mp3 player, or the personal computer, but he certainly capitalized on all of them magnificiently. God bless America, our founding fathers, and the Constitution for delivering us Mr. Jobs.

[MarkB]

To me, his best line was "I always tried to skate toward where the puck was going, not where it had been."

That was Steve quoting Wayne Gretzky, but still good words to live by, and exactly what they both did in their realms.

We will not see the likes of Steve Jobs pass by for many, many years.

More literally, we will never see the likes of Steve Jobs again.

Nor will we see the likes of any of the rest of us, whether we fundamentally change the world or just change our clothes. Outside of Apple, Mr. Jobs was pretty consistent in reminding people of the value of their individuality and our precious short lives. I hope that message is also part of what he is remembered for.

[Tony Rowlett]

The worst thing the industry ever did was to use the term "computer." Nobody except me ever had trouble with a microwave oven, right?

[MIkal W. Grass]

Mr. Jobs,

Thank you.

[NucularHolyWarrior]

Sad day... but as he said, new comes to replace the old... here is to the new...

Time... works everything out

It gives some hope for the world though that the it seems to be stopping for a day to recognize this genius who was among us...

[n r von staden]

Just love Albert Watson's portrait of this great man.... Steve Jobs... One of my favorite photobooks is Albert Watson's...Cyclops, more stunning work..

[Steve Jacob]

I wonder, had he had the choice, which route Steve would have chosen. Longevity or posterity?

[Craig]

He didnt always make breakthrough products he took products and made them into a breakthrough product! Visionary sadly missed but hopefully he planned well and the companies will continue to deliver.

[Dean Johnston]

Hey there.

Stephen Fry has a nice write up, here:

http://www.stephenfry.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs/

As always, well written, interesting and insightful opinion.

Dean

[Mitch Alland]

In 1982 a couple was coming for the weekend and my wife said, "He's brining his Apple II, be polite".

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell him how much you hate computers."

He brought it and excitedly was showing me computer games, in which I had no interest. But then be showed Visicalc — the first spreadsheet program I had seen — and I recognized immediately that I could use it to make financial projections, which I had to do laboriously by hand as part of my job in project financing. On Monday morning I bought an Apple II computer. I still remember the price, US$1,728. I also bought a small portable B&W monitor and lugged it together with the Apple II back and forth to work every day, as it was only some years leader that personal computers were provided at work.

I got interested in programming and started learning Pascal, and on some Saturdays, went to meeting of Washington Apple Pi, a very active Apple group. Steve Jobs spoke at one the meetings. In the Q and A session he was very intense, very focused, listening to reactions to the new Mac.

Eventually I installed a CP/M card in the Apple II so that I could run Wordstar and use a telex service from home, without having to rely on slower distribution of telex messages from a central telex machine at work.

In 1984, I bought a Mac and a portable B&W monitor that I also lugged to work. Later I installed a 10MB hard disk in it — 10 MB, that was huge increase in storage capacity. I also bought a Next computer and used it for a while. It's clear and accurate display was the best thing around for creating presentational material and laying out a newsletter for the organization that I was working for.

Today, my MacBook Air is central to my life. Without this computer, there is no way I could do what I do, which involves worldwide travel, communication by e-mail and Skype, creation of complex documents and presentations as well as planning — all a part of being a CEO running two listed companies — one on the Toronto and London stock exchanges — that operate out of Vancouver, London and Manila, while living between Bangkok, Paris and Washington. And, yes, also maintaining an interest in photography and processing photo files on my computer. My whole lifestyle, and that of countless other people, was transformed and made possible by Steve Jobs. How sad to die so young, and what a loss to so many, many people.

—Mitch/Manila

[Armand]

No words to express the loss of a great mind and innovator. We will miss him.

[Stan B.]

All due respect to Mr. Jobs, but yesterday also marked the passing of Fred Shuttlesworth, one of the leading figures in the Civil Rights movement who garnered hardly a whisper in the media. One man made people's lives easier by making very pretty and efficient machines for those that could afford them. The other repeatedly risked life and limb to defy a world where segregation was the norm- beyond visionary.

[ctein]

Dear David A,

I've always liked that photo, too. Worth noting that at the time that was taken, Steve was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Can't recall if it was on the high side of half a billion or the low. Enough, anyway, that I do remember him asking me if there was anything “neat” he could do with regards to space for about $100 million.

Ah, to have that kind of mad money to play with!

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]
======================================
-- Ctein's Online Gallery http://ctein.com 
-- Digital Restorations http://photo-repair.com 
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[Barrie]

I am just wondering wheather we are not pushing it too far putting steve job in line with people like Ghandi, martin luther king.

Let his soul rest in peace

[Sandro Siragusa]

I got it from TiPb.com, which was the first use I could find that included a photo credit. The tones of this one look closer to Watson's usual than Apple's rendition, but I don't know.

Tones, shmones. It was shot in color. All else is post production.

http://www.macuser.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/jobs_hero20110329.jpg

[Dennis Ng]

There are two seldom mentioned facts on all the major o.

One is about the issue of the brand name Apple and how Apple Computer was not allowed to do music for decades.

Another seldom mentioned fact is that whilst NEXT is not successful, it is the computer used by T B Lee to program and launch the very first web browser and server.

Look for the other one on the wikipedia.

It is not just he is a inventor, enterp. and icon. It is what he has enabled is more important.

[Oskar Ojala]

A business genius and great innovator has passed away. While I think Steve Jobs' reputation grew too large long ago, there's no denying that his impact was significant and he was a transforming force in the digital era. Here Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, remembers his friend http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/steve-wozniak-on-steve-jobs/

[steveH]

Prior to the Apple II there was nothing that could be called a consumer computer system except for the TRS-80.

Almost, but not quite. The TRS-80 was introduced for sale August 3, 1977. The Commodore PET was announced a few months earlier, but none had shipped yet.

The Apple][ was introduced April, 1977 at the West Coast Computer Faire.

Lots of churn in the computer bidness back then. Anyone remember the 6502 MicroMind?

[John MacKechnie]

Warp Speed, Mr. Jobs.

[Christopher Laughton]

The worldwide response to Steve Jobs' demise is understandable in view of his extraordinary cult following. Although I'm not into Macs, this guy profoundly influenced humankind's relationship with computing technology. But I find it sad that the eulogies don't give credit to Jonathan Ive who was almost entirely responsible for the 'Apple style' that Mac fans adore. They needed each other, but I don't believe Jobs would have got far without Ive's exceptional design ability.

[Rico Ramirez]

I own two Albert Watson books. One is pocket sized (Cyclops) and the other book (Maroc) is the tallest one in my collection. The miniature Cyclops book came from Edward R. Hamilton. The cheapest monograph I own yet it has the best printing. The photos are printed in quadtone!

Just found out from PDN that Albert used film for the portrait.
I was wondering if Albert Watson used digital or film when you posted this. My initial guess was he used 4x5 and I was right.