I was not a fan of Apple computers, I never understood the fetish that it caused among its users. First, you have to understand that I was of the first generation of PC. For me a computer was not a thing of beauty, it was a tool I used every single day, many hours a day. The very last thing I wanted to do was to have a computer at home.
I purchased my first home computer while living in Asia -- in late 1999, and only because I was starting a consulting business, and needed a computer! Then in 2002 I bought my first Ipod, and I immediately understood what made Apple better -- it was the user interface. Four years ago, fed up of my every two year purchase of "Gray Boxes" that seem to fail with great regularity I bought a Mac mini -- again the interface blew me away. Two years ago I bought an Ipad, and "magical" was the first word they came from my mouth -- this was the computer device I always dreamed of (I of the star trek generation)!
Mr. Jobs, who died yesterday, was an innovator who as one Tweet comment said: Made something beautiful from something that was ugly. Mr. Jobs embodies everything that is great about America: A smart man can rise to the top -- make his mark is few can do anywhere else in the world. Granted Mr. Jobs is an exception, but where else in the world can such a story occur.
For all of its faults (and they are many as America's numerous critics are found of pointing out) America remains a beacon where the impossible can occur. The question remains today, where tuition fees even in public university are skyrocketing, if this dream is still possible, but for a 56 year old adopted man in a blue collar family the dream was possible -- and he made the world a better place.
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