Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is an elegantly crafted story and one that will forever remain among my favorites.
Most of us have never met Steve Jobs face-to-face and yet I think we all feel we know him on a personal level having been seduced by his products at some point in our lives for one reason or another. My memories, while not of him, are of Apple, which may be as close to him as we could get anyway.
They begin when I took a computer class in high school with my best friend. The main reasons we took it were the teacher was likable and the hottest girl in school happened to be taking it too. The by-product of this hour long oasis was learning the features of the Macintosh which were intuitive and then utilizing them to compose documents such as "Why Michael Jordan Is the Greatest Athlete on Earth."
Fast forward to my first editorial job at Forbes magazine and my desire to purchase a laptop so I could write wherever inspiration struck. My colleagues in IT, who I knew from the softball team, convinced me to cancel my order for an IBM Thinkpad and buy a Mac Powerbook instead. I did so and they were high-fiving one another as if we won a game against The Wall Street Journal. My great memory of that machine was a road trip I took to Key West to see Hemingway's house and then writing "Notes on South Beach" in the airport waiting for my return flight and trying not to be too distracted by an amazing sun-kissed beauty in the seat nearby.
The machine died much too soon. As did the first iPod that I received as a gift from my wife, who was then my girlfriend. I remember taking the defective iPod to the Apple store in SoHo and fighting the masses to arrive at a table where a kid wearing a black "genius" t-shirt acknowledged the product's fault and then insisted I pay $35 for its replacement. I turned around and walked out and stayed far away from Apple products, promising to not give them another dollar. But there was no alternative to iTunes and on my honeymoon I was grateful that my wife brought hers so that I could listen to David Gray and Damien Rice songs while lying poolside sipping cocktails and fantasizing about what we would have for dinner in between swims and excursions along the beach.
When the iPhone was introduced, I patiently sat on the sideline as it was not available on the Verizon network. Its arrival in 2011 coincided with my birthday and after looking at every alternative, I decided to buy one. Everything Isaacson writes in his book is true. The elegant packaging, the ease of use, the instant set up, all made for a wonderful user experience.
The device is more durable than its predecessors; however, mine developed a software glitch and when I walked into the Apple store to complain, this time on Greenwich Ave, the staff replaced it in seconds at no expense or inconvenience to me.
When news of Steve Jobs death broke, I remember it was in the evening and I was painting the room that would become my son's nursery. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and quipped on twitter that I wonder if Saint Peter would confiscate Steve's iPhone at Heaven's Gate. Then I was sad at the loss of this iconic figure, much like the day Princess Diana died, for reasons I'm not sure I even understand.
As I thought about Steve Jobs, I was anxious to read his biography as well-timed as all of his product launches and I shuddered at the thought that he might figure out a way to communicate from beyond the grave. As impossible as it sounds, all of us aware of his genius probably giggle a little uncomfortably at the possibility.
It is clear that Walter Isaacson's biography is the manifesto for Jobs' legacy. Apple shares have resumed their steady ascent in the market as many of us understand that this company is our link to him and the wonder he inspired and that Tim Cook and Jony Ives embody its philosphy wholly. Of course the possibility that his son Reed may take the reigns one day is also intriguing, or perhaps it will be Eve and I can't wait to read those headlines.
Jobs had me scratching my head recently while I was waiting for a friend at Cipriani's in Grand Central Station. I was looking up at its starry ceiling and then across at the mobs of people congregating under the famous Apple logo and the echo from his earlier ad that "those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who usually do" spun in my head.
Most of us have never met Steve Jobs face-to-face and yet I think we all feel we know him on a personal level having been seduced by his products at some point in our lives for one reason or another. My memories, while not of him, are of Apple, which may be as close to him as we could get anyway.
They begin when I took a computer class in high school with my best friend. The main reasons we took it were the teacher was likable and the hottest girl in school happened to be taking it too. The by-product of this hour long oasis was learning the features of the Macintosh which were intuitive and then utilizing them to compose documents such as "Why Michael Jordan Is the Greatest Athlete on Earth."
Fast forward to my first editorial job at Forbes magazine and my desire to purchase a laptop so I could write wherever inspiration struck. My colleagues in IT, who I knew from the softball team, convinced me to cancel my order for an IBM Thinkpad and buy a Mac Powerbook instead. I did so and they were high-fiving one another as if we won a game against The Wall Street Journal. My great memory of that machine was a road trip I took to Key West to see Hemingway's house and then writing "Notes on South Beach" in the airport waiting for my return flight and trying not to be too distracted by an amazing sun-kissed beauty in the seat nearby.
The machine died much too soon. As did the first iPod that I received as a gift from my wife, who was then my girlfriend. I remember taking the defective iPod to the Apple store in SoHo and fighting the masses to arrive at a table where a kid wearing a black "genius" t-shirt acknowledged the product's fault and then insisted I pay $35 for its replacement. I turned around and walked out and stayed far away from Apple products, promising to not give them another dollar. But there was no alternative to iTunes and on my honeymoon I was grateful that my wife brought hers so that I could listen to David Gray and Damien Rice songs while lying poolside sipping cocktails and fantasizing about what we would have for dinner in between swims and excursions along the beach.
When the iPhone was introduced, I patiently sat on the sideline as it was not available on the Verizon network. Its arrival in 2011 coincided with my birthday and after looking at every alternative, I decided to buy one. Everything Isaacson writes in his book is true. The elegant packaging, the ease of use, the instant set up, all made for a wonderful user experience.
The device is more durable than its predecessors; however, mine developed a software glitch and when I walked into the Apple store to complain, this time on Greenwich Ave, the staff replaced it in seconds at no expense or inconvenience to me.
When news of Steve Jobs death broke, I remember it was in the evening and I was painting the room that would become my son's nursery. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and quipped on twitter that I wonder if Saint Peter would confiscate Steve's iPhone at Heaven's Gate. Then I was sad at the loss of this iconic figure, much like the day Princess Diana died, for reasons I'm not sure I even understand.
As I thought about Steve Jobs, I was anxious to read his biography as well-timed as all of his product launches and I shuddered at the thought that he might figure out a way to communicate from beyond the grave. As impossible as it sounds, all of us aware of his genius probably giggle a little uncomfortably at the possibility.
It is clear that Walter Isaacson's biography is the manifesto for Jobs' legacy. Apple shares have resumed their steady ascent in the market as many of us understand that this company is our link to him and the wonder he inspired and that Tim Cook and Jony Ives embody its philosphy wholly. Of course the possibility that his son Reed may take the reigns one day is also intriguing, or perhaps it will be Eve and I can't wait to read those headlines.
Jobs had me scratching my head recently while I was waiting for a friend at Cipriani's in Grand Central Station. I was looking up at its starry ceiling and then across at the mobs of people congregating under the famous Apple logo and the echo from his earlier ad that "those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who usually do" spun in my head.