On behalf of the team at OWC, I extend our condolences to Steve’s family, friends, and everyone for who Steve was anything but ordinary. Few words need be said about a legendary genius, brilliant businessman – who wasn’t just about innovation, but always was about the user experience.
We get but a short time in the grand scheme of things. Steve Jobs’s time will not be forgotten any time soon, although his time certainly ended far sooner than what can be considered fair. Many of us are in a state of shock with his passing and mere words just can’t express what many team members are feeling. Our prayers go out to his family whose loss is the greatest of us all.
Apple has asked that remembrances of Jobs be emailed to them at rememberingsteve@apple.com.
- Larry O’Connor
OWC Founder and CEO
glasses image © 2011 Other World Computing
Steve Jobs passing comes for me not with a sense of sadness, but of great accomplishment. I have been an Apple advocate since 1982 which was also when I was born. To see Apple make it through a really long, tough period and not only come back but invent completely new industries is gratifying to say the least. Steve Jobs worked extremely hard for the success, both during his time at Apple and the time spent away building the foundation for everything that we know today. Next was an incubator for many of the technologies that make OS X and iOS possible and this cannot be overlooked. Even when he wasn’t working for Apple he was working for Apple. When he rejoined Apple acquired Next and came out with OS X, which was a little changed version of Next’s OpenStep OS, and it’s still in there. Apple with it’s computers, phones and iPods is even more ubiquitous than most people realize, Quicktime technology is inside of MPEG, H264 and Qualcomm NaturalVoice; anyone who has ever turned on a digital TV, played a DVD or BD or made a digital cell phone call has used Apple technology. If I had to boil it all down to one statement it would be to say “Steve- You did it!!”
20 years as a Mac developer in Silicon Valley working on some of the most exciting products in the world. My own adventure with Apple technology was so interesting I plan to write my own book about the experience. As for Steve, all I can say is: thanks for one hell of a ride.
All of us change our own world as a whole, few of us change the whole world, Steve did just that.
Thank you Steve!
iSad
iWept
iSaid
iCan
iWill
iAm
inTouch
iMiss
iCry
iTired
iSleep
Back in about 1988, I had a massive rethink of my life as I had made the hard decision that I could not afford to take over the family business. It needed a paradigm shift, and having used Macintosh since the 128k Mac, I actually chose to live, eat and breath Apple. Twenty-three years later I am still doing that, and it’s been a hell of a dedication. Actually now I think I may have gone overboard choosing all three metaphors, but I have to say, it has been my passion, and I have followed it, for better or worse.
Steve knew how to do it right. Make it work, cut the bs marketing. He once said, we will just build the best computer, and people will buy it. So many of the Apple innovations have been the way I would expect. I cannot believe the archaic frustration of using Windows, BlackBerry and Sony Ericcson smartphones. I was incredulous over how lacking in imagination the people who designed these things must be. They accepted mediocre because that’s how it’s always been done.
Steve must have visualised what would be an easy and intuitive way that people would wish it could be done, and then seek expertise to make that a possibility. The iPhone 4S is basically the “Knowledge Navigator” which was featured as a concept design in 1987. I am sure that Apple have at least a quarter century of innovative ideas waiting to be built, that the team is well tuned to the demanding creative brilliance inspired by Steve, and that the current management will do him proud.
I wouldn’t say he was my hero, but I believe I think in the same way. Guy Kawasaki was my hero. Steve was more of a consummate artist and an inspiration. I admire him greatly and it would have been my dream to one day work on a project with him.
My deepest sympathy to his family and all those who knew him personally.
I got my first Apple in the late 80’s, it was a Apple iic. A good friend of mine gave it to me (used of coarse) But it was my first computer. As of now I have owned 10 other Mac’s, 6 iPods & 1 iPad and I’m sure I’m not done yet.
Thank you Steve for all you have done, your ability to know what works best is truly appreciated by the world.
Think different.
R.I.P.
Bought my first Mac II? for work back in 1993 for typesetting since then bought many others from g3 to g4 to g5 to Mac mini & pro… Now use iPod, iPad, Mac mini @ home as well… Great products from a great visionary who left us too soon… RIP Steve..
His creations changed my life in a very positive way… thank you.
Steve Jobs changed my life. I remember all the launch of Windows from 3.1 to Win 7. In the meantime of Win7 (development), I was first introduced to MAC and iPhone (2008) with my first iMac (2008 model…) At that time, I knew that Apple had changed my life. I then discovered how easy to use a personal computer should be. I then also learned about the man, his vision, his passion and how EXTRAORDINARY everything was. Just listening to his keynote made me so full of energy, because it’s this perfect example EVERY CEO should follow. Even the smallest piece of equipment was extraordinary, fabulous, amazing…
That, at that point, changed me and my vision for the future… Steve Jobs is a source of inspiration and should be for every human on this planet. He was able to put success to every product that he launched, with his vision.
Thanks Steve, I had the pleasure (I shouldn’t say that but say how sad I was…) to visit the 4 Apple Stores in New York City this weekend and I saw how you changed people around the world with all the comments and the post-its at every store. From any country and any languages… no barrier… everybody agreed that Steve, you were the man.
And you still are…
The only regret that I have is not knowing Apple and you Steve before…
Marc Martineau, Quebec, Canada
I became a Mac user 6 years ago. Before that I was building gaming PCs and scoffed at Macs because they couldn’t do what a PC did for gaming. I was wrong….. I am a musician/ drummer, and every time we went into the studio to record a new cd, it was all done on a Mac w/ Pro Tools. After my last band broke up I became interested in recording and mixing myself. I got the itch so to speak, and did research on what computer to get and what software to use.
I got my very first Intel Mac Mini w/ Pro Tools and the rest is history. It’s been 6 years now and I currently own 6 Macs, 2 PPC, 4 Intels, and I have never been happier. Steve Jobs did a great thing, I switched and I am a believer. I am slowly but surely constructing my home project studio and have been busy recording, mixing, and producing a lot of local bands and artists. Steve Jobs and Apple have shown me the light and because of that I am now making my dreams come true……
Rest In Peace Steve, and again……. Thank You!!!
Doug.
Thank you OWC for making this tribute page possible.
I’m a graphic artist who has witnessed the entire industry change and pivot on the invention of the Mac. Thank you so much Steve for enhancing our lifestyles as well. You’re never really gone when millions are thinking of you, wishing you well wherever you are. I feel fortunate to have witnessed your great works and the man behind them. God Bless
Thank you for your perseverance…
Thanks for the ride.
Thank you for your ingenuity
Thanks for the ride
Thank you for your innovation
Thanks for the ride
Thank you for the revolution
Thanks for the ride.
Thank you for the “one more thing…”
What a wonderful life.
In my life I fell short of your words, but always got up wrapped myself in them and continued.on. Steve just one more thing… Thank You
Posting this on behalf of my wife who surprised me with her reaction to Steve’s passing. A befitting legacy…he still continues to amaze us!
Her words:
Steve Jobs. A Visionary, A Leader, An Intellectual, A Role Model.
These words all sum up a man that we all respected and only hope we can someday become.
A sad day occurred on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. Will I remember it as the day of my Great-Grandmother’s 122nd birthday (she died at 108, was very feisty…you would have loved her!) or the day Steve Jobs died?
Steve. He was a son, a husband, a father. To most of us, he was an icon, a visionary, an innovator. He was truly a special person.
Steve was a take charge kid of guy. He didn’t ask how to do it because he knew what to do, executed it and he did it well. If he didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this! Yeah…when I was in college in 1984, we didn’t have computers in the classroom, let alone in our dorm rooms. Welcome, Macintosh!
Steve was the future. Steve was technology. Steve had a passion and he made it come to life! As Steve said….“Keep looking, don’t settle”
We all want to be like Steve. We want to have his success, his passion, his vision. We don’t want to settle.
Sadly, cancer took Steve’s life, sooner than anyone would have hoped. No amount of money or fame could have saved him. The same holds true for Walter Payton, Michael Landon, Farrah Fawcett and numerous others. No matter your social status, fame or amount of money, we are all battling this together.
As I write this, I know 19 cancer patients. Sadly, nine have passed away. Of the 10 individuals that are still living; seven are family members. All have different types of cancer.
Please help support Steve’s family and all those that need and desire our help and support in cancer research and funding.
Our condolences and our never-ending support to the Jobs family and the Apple family.
Never settle!
Good Bye Steve,
I’m sure our little lives are better and happier thanks to your talents, visions and passion. Your greatest legacy are not phones or computers but words, thoughts that being a round peg is square hole is the best what can happen to thinking and creative human being. We will miss you.
Polish Mac users salutes you.
Send from beloved Mac Pro
J.S.
Everything you did will be remembered and last in our life.
You really change my life, thank U…
James H.
Awfully hard to find the words to say how I feel. Even harder to find any words that will do justice to Steve Jobs and stand alongside the many other comments posted here. I never met Steve, but he was nevertheless an inspiration to me and to my generation, my young son’s generation, and I have no doubt, to the next generation.
What Steve did in his 56 years in this world did not end yesterday, it will go on and on. Thank you for getting the ball rolling, for delivering technology that performs, looks and feels the way discerning users are entitled to demand. That ball is still rolling, growing and gathering momentum, because of what Steve did in his lifetime. His legacy is his greatest gift to people like us. RIP Steve Jobs.
iSAD II …
I can not do better than most of the professionals who have made their thoughts about Steve public, but I’d just like to add a few words. Steve Jobs, first of all, has left us way too early. My first and only computers (and now devices) have only been Apple – from the //c through my MacBook Pro i7 & Mac Pro (2007). In fact, much to my wife’s wonderment, I have not gotten rid of any of my “retired” Apples – I even have a Lisa.
I felt Steve was a mentor, even though we never met. He was the inspiration for the Apple products that I love and have made me a more productive person. I spent my early career as an automobile technician with General Motor’s dealerships. I left that, later rediscovered computers; I say rediscovered because in 1972 I ran a computer for a California Workman’s Comp company with an early (maybe one of the earliest businesses) computer – it had huge storage disks (I think “12 diameter) and I was in charge of it, creating the coding for the data input. Someone traded me some auto work for a //c and GS, I found something I loved as much as cars.
I was so glad when Steve returned to Apple and got it back to being the visionary company it started as. I’m now disabled veteran/retired working as a volunteer developing web sites, newsletters, and doing the books for veteran (and related) organizations. I couldn’t do it without my Apples. I’m the person on the block who has to have the latest and greatest, but in Apple’s credit age does not lessen an older computer as it does in the PC world. My G5 still does its job, my PowerBook WallStreet works and was upgraded to run OS X as was my G4 AGP Graphite. Name a PC that can do that, I don’t think one can.
I will miss Steve along with so many others. I hope he has instilled a legacy at Apple that will continue the visionary products which have come out of Cupertino. Only time will tell. But, in a way, Steve was given a gift of sorts in knowing he was dying. I believe he used the time he had left to do as much as possible to make Apple able to survive without him. Steve’s speech at Stanford in 2005 has inspired me since seeing it on the news last night. I will try to do as he did and look at myself each morning and try to do as much day as if it was my last.
I have a lot to do…
Regards,
Tom
Steve sure didn’t want to die. I can only imagine how hard it was to accept that he would not have more time – he still had ideas and dreams he wanted to realize! He should have had more time, I know we all wish it was so. But I think he also understood that death being the end, inevitably, for everyone, was the truth that can tell us how to live life. To live as if each day could be our last. He did, and look how much he did with his life! And so his life bears out the that saying – it’s not the quantity but the quality that counts. Steve was a class act for sure. What a hole he has left in the fabric of this world by leaving it. I miss him too, along with so many others. If there is an afterlife, I’m sure Steve is looking around, seeing what it’s all about, and basking in the elegance that surely would be there for him,( though he might want to tweak things just a bit….)
Steve is in iHeaven.
Larry;
Steve would have loved the glasses. Simple. Elegant. Evocative. Cool.
Yeah!
Got my first Mac – a 512 – in 1984. Never looked back.
Remember how Steve Jobs would like to always end his presentations with the statement “There is one more thing”. Ironic how that plays out, right after apples announcement on Tuesday.
brazilian users crying for steve.
RIP
Somewhere in the back of the attic the boxes remind that I was once young. The Apple II purchased used from a shop on Telegraph Ave in Berkley. The first of my Macs with a whopping 512K of RAM (released for “business use” shortly after the original Mac) and the Mac Plus that I used for so long that I could swap out power supplies in my sleep. There were others that I didn’t keep with names like Centris, or Quadra, or Performa that arrived in the years when Apple had lost its way — some from an era so awful that there were those who prayed SUN Microsystems would acquire the firm just to keep the doors open. The return of Mr. jobs changed that. OS X made computers fun again, and stable. iMac, ibook, ipod, iphone, Macbook, and ipad reinvented how we look at the world.It was vision thing. Somewhere in Heaven, or Bardo, or on a the platform of the train station to the next life a porter, or a redcap, or an angel, or a woman with a clipboard looked up and smiled and said, “Mr. Jobs. Hello again.”
Wow! Beautiful! Immediate tears upon reading. Thank you for your words that captured so many of my thoughts and feelings.
I have been using Macs since they first came out in 1984, so have always been a Steve Jobs fan. My sympathies go to his family and close friends. I hope the Apple team keeps things going.
A man of insight who made Bill Gates’ claim that he knew what we needed sort of flat.
It’s a good thing Steve didn’t work for microsoft or there wouldn’t have been any real
choices for the computer world … then again, microsoft might have not been the waste
it is today!!! We’ll miss you!
Having big shoes to fill is one thing…
but having the vision to wear these glasses is “one more thing”…
“… the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
The world has been rocked on its axis with Steve’s loss. A sad time for the whole world to lose someone so innovative and influential.
Rest well Steve and thank you for making the world so much smaller and better.
Bill Paris
Today, I have lost a friend, a kindred spirit, one who only knew
me as one of the countless, nameless faces who loved Apple products.
Since the day I first held the mouse of a Mac 512K in my hand, I have
been a fan of Apple Computers, the Macintosh, and it’s co-founder
Steve Jobs.
It was Steve’s vision of the future and his drive to inspire his
people to achieve that future with beauty and excellence that has made
me a devoted fan all these years.
Good-bye my friend…rest in peace.
Ciao Steven lasci un grande vuoto e ti ringrazio per tutto quello che hai fatto apple era una tua creatura che ti ha dato tante soddisfazioni e per la quale hai investito tanto tempo sarai sempre presente nei miei ricordi e continuerò a comprare sempre solo ed esclusivamente Apple.
Ciao da la su cerca di riposarti e non lavorare anche la!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ciao Gianluca
Can’t add much to the comments above. But I know I’ll re-read Andy Hertzfeld’s “Revolution in the Valley”. And smile a lot…in a sad way, that he’s gone too early.
Thank you, Steve Jobs, for it all.
From my first Macintosh, an SE30 with OS 7, to everything we have now, *you* were personally responsible for their incredible design and implementation. My life has been made immeasurably better by your innovations.
Most gratefully, thank you for sparing me from a life of Microsoft designed, lowest bid produced, insanely compromised, technologically dead ended, labor saving devices. I really don’t think I would have survived them.
The world just got a little smaller.
A man with an impressive life.
Thank you for all you shared with us Steve.
OWC …
Thank you for sending us your thoughts tonight. Thought Full and Meaningful. I, too, very much the image of his glasses here.
I wish to add this poem for those who might like to read it. as I will add the photo of Steve Jobs (from Internet copy) to my Altar at this Altares del Mundo Altars exhibit which opens On Saturday, October 8th here in Sacramento.
Remembrances
Events change lives
a family
a few friends
a spectrum of colors
as a mirror reflects;
A tree spreads its wings.
Time becomes a ribbon
a thread of golden essences;
Frankincense and myrrh
like heaven and pine
an ocean of rhythms.
The mirror turns inside out.
– Maggie Frost, Altar Title & Poetry as Statement
for the Altares del Mundo Altars Exhibit, 18th Annual Exhibit, October 2011
I owe my professional career to Steve Jobs. When I bought my first Macintosh I was impressed with the design: quiet and not a barrier between me and whoever was sitting across from me at my desk. That design integrity surrounds me every day, whether I’m making a phone call, shopping at an Apple Store, or relaxing with an iPad on my lap.
Steve crossed my path one day in the 90’s at Moscone; I regret I did not stop to say hello and thank him personally.
Henry Ford said “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” Steve had that same instinct: the ability to know what people want and need before they can identify it for themselves. Having your wish fulfilled before you can even know what to ask for is the gift he gave the world, along with an uncompromising demand for excellence and the stubborn refusal to accept less than the very best.
You had your ups and downs. You finished on top. Your perseverance was truly awesome.
R.I.P Steve.
My brother Jerry’s ashes are fluttering in his urn. He died 5/31/09. He lived and breathed Apple. Steve
Jobs was a GOD in his eyes. His first Apple was in the late 70s. He payed $3500 for it. He could have bought a
Corvette. When he died, age 66, he had 35 working Apple computers. He loved them all.
He guided me in to a G3 in ’99. Although greatly modified, I’m still using it. That is the greatness of an Apple. They aren’t
just a “paper plate” like a PC. You don’t have to toss them after one party. A little tune-up once in a while and they
just keep going. I started out on OS 8.5 – I’m now at the top of Tiger OS X 10.4.11. Try that with a PC and Windoze.
Steve Jobs was a genius like no other.
RIP
Mr. Jobs will be remembered as a great visionary, inventor, and tycoon.
His name will be on the same list as Edison, Westinghouse, Bell, Ford, and perhaps even Gutenberg.
I met him once, when he was at NeXT – I still have the t-shirt he gave me.
My sympathies to his family and friends.
-the OWC image of the glasses was a class act, sums up the loss we all feel.
It’s all been said out there. Steve will be missed. We grew up together. He built my business. I will support the format. And THANKS for all you have done for me and my family. Be safe out there, where ever that is, and stay in touch, we’re still listening.
My best to your family and we are all family together.
Capt. Paul West
s/v Panacea
Thank you for inspiring us, Mr. Steve Jobs.
[to owc, i’d like to borrow the image too]
I remember learning the Apple IIe at my Dad’s office around 1984 or so, staying up late, writing high school English papers, printing them with both margins justified on what I’m sure was a super expensive printer. And it’s been Apple ever since. I guess the thing I most appreciate is: when buying the higher end Apple computers, upgrading is typically not an issue for at least several years. Having to deal with the technology itself – & upgrades – only every 4-5 years is golden & worth every penny.
…an empty feeling, much like when John Lennon departed…someone who had such an influence. Thanks Steve for sharing your vision and inspiration.
Yes sir…a few words but most poignant. I thought the same. Thank you
Yes, and both so young.
Rest in Peace Steve.
I’ve been trying to put a handle on this feeling I’ve had since I heard the news, and that’s it – a sinking feeling. Like when John Lennon left us… Knowing that while we’re alive we’ll never hear new songs from John – or of new ideas from Steve. My prayers are for his family and friends. And for Apple, that they maintain his courage of vision… and may they pick up his glasses and see as well as he did.
The glasses are appropriate as Steve obviously saw the world differently than the rest of us. His advanced vision saw what the rest of us wanted and gave it to us in an elegant package that will live on forever. I have had a teary evening thinking about this great man and his legacy.
I bought one of the very first Macs when they were introduced in Seattle in 1984. My first thought as I sat down and played with the interface: “Who is behind this thing? It is a machine, a tool that is made for US: intuitive, practical, stylish and fun – – all at the same time.” I have gone through many Apple products in the intervening years, frequently thinking, “What a mind to bring this idea to life!” I write this email using a new Mac Pro. It is indispensable.
Steve may have lived a few less years than many of us, but he had the impact of a multitude of lifetimes. I am one of the many whose career path was dramatically altered for the better because Steve Jobs at some point said, “What a great idea! Let’s make this, and let’s do it really well.”
Passion for a positive user experience in every phase of the product has created a loyal and appreciative audience of millions. I am one of those millions. We are grateful for who he was and what he has done for us.
“Thank you, Steve.”
I got my first Mac in 1994, a Performa 6115, and bought my first OWC product shortly there after, a clock accelerator. I’ve been a devoted follower of Apple and Steve Jobs, as well as an OWC customer, ever since.
This is truly a sad day.
I’ve been using apple computers ever since 1992 and it’s
always my favorite for all my graphics needs and i always
admire the creator and inventor. Every year i would buy
new macs just because I love the simplicity and didn’t
have to use any anti virus software. I am very sad and
feeling weak when I heard about the news about Mr. Steve
Jobs passing. I respect him and all the effort and passion
that he did to make life and work fun and not boring. He is
always thinking ahead of himself as far as innovation is concern.
Thanks Job for everything I will always remember you and keep
you in my heart. Apple is a big part of my life and apple is
Job.
Fidelity – Saipan
Larry, we’re deeply grateful for the forum your company hosts and the community it has allowed us. Thanks for all that you do to run a business that speaks not only to our heads but to our hearts.
Stephen
My heart sank when I heard the news today that the man I have respected for all these years for his vision and incredibly high quality products had died. Steve Jobs was a true visionary, who made millions of peoples lives simpler with his innovative, easy to use, yet very powerful products. He’ll be greatly missed by all of the loyal Apple users around the world.
I started using Apple products back in the early 80’s and used a mac for the first time in 1985 at the age of 15. I’ve been a loyal Apple user ever since having owned my fist Mac, the SE/30. This was followed by years of Macs (in order) Mac LC (First Gen), Mac IIsi, Mac Quadra 610, G3, Powerbook, Imac (bluberry), Imac (2006) Macbook Pro. I also have 2 iPod Classics, the original shuffle, iPhone 3g and iPhone 4 (2 ea) as well as Apple TV.
There is no one else in business today that even comes close to Steve’s vision and passion. R.I.P Steve Jobs, You’re legacy will live on in the hearts of millions.
-Brian
I shall always remember what I was doing when I heard the news, just as I remember what I was doing when Princess Diana died, or what I was doing when John F. Kennedy was shot. A very sad day it is.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” Steve Jobs, from his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech
I just watched that speech again, myself. There’s a lot in there to think about.
Here’s the link to it on Stanford’s YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
I have to borrow this. Thank you for a sad but appropriate image.
His glasses without their owner is the best graphic I have seen this evening concerning this news.
My respects to your designer on this.