Steve Jobs challenged everyone -- his staff, his customers and his competitors -- to settle for nothing but the best in terms of technology and usability. He not only helped usher in some amazing products; he created services like iTunes that changed entire industries, and always with the end user's interests at the forefont. In fact, you could say that he thought like a customer better than almost any vendor CEO before him. No wonder the reaction to his passing has been so heartfelt, so personal, by so many. RIP Steve.
-Shane Schick, Editor-in-Chief, IT World Canada
I'll remember Steve Jobs most not for the products developed under his watch, but for his marketing genius in creating and defining new categories and proceeding to dominate them, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake as a stodgy industry tried, often in vain, to catch up. He didn't invent the portable MP3 player, or the tablet computer, or the smartphone. But he made them cool, and easy to use. And he forced everyone to reconsider what
each of those categories were really about.
Ironically, his impact was probably most felt in a market he never devoted much energy to: the enterprise. We hear so much about the consumerization of IT trend these days; well, I'd argue Jobs was the Grandfather of consumerization. From the first graphical GUIs, to the Tangerine iMacs and the easy to use iPhones and iPads, Jobs challenged the perception IT needs to be stodgy, gray and boring. Consumers have learned the lesson, and now they're dragging enterprise IT along with them. And other vendors are jumping onboard.
Jobs made IT a little more interesting and, as someone who has covered this field for over a decade, trust me, that was a needed good thing.
-Jeff Jedras, Assistant Editor, Computer Dealer News
Mr. Jobs:
You made the personal computer a household appliance.
You changed forever the way media is consumed.
You created a whole new model for application development and distribution.
You pretty much invented the notion of a technological ecosystem.
You reinvigorated moribund technologies.
Your products have become synonymous with "digital music player," "smart phone" and "tablet."
You were a genius and a visionary.
Thank you.
- Dave Webb, Editor, IT World Canada I cannot stand Apple's "walled garden" approach to its products, but that doesn't mean I won't give credit to its leader.
Steve Jobs should certainly go down in history as one of the greatest marketers of our time. The company capitalized on the explosion of interest in MP3s following Napster to create the most successful digital music store, improved upon the BlackBerry in a big way with the iPhone and has created an entirely new computing form factor with the iPad.
While all of these services have or will be improved upon in the future, no one can deny that Jobs helped bring these products to the masses. He understood the big picture: Users want simple, easy-to-use devices that look nice.
- Rafael Ruffolo, Senior Writer, ComputerWorld Canada
I heard the news of Steve Jobs' passing from my friend, who read it off the screen of his iPhone. At the time, I was listening to a podcast on my iPad. It's just one reminder of how this man's technology vision has changed our lives and the world we live in. Everyone seems fascinated by Steve Jobs' life - it was even a topic of discussion at my family's Thanksgiving dinner table. From the man who dropped out of college to take calligraphy classes to the adventure seeker that converted to Buddhism and experimented with psychedelic drugs, Apple's chairman was truly one-of-a-kind. Perhaps people feel such sentiment for him because he helped us all connect with technology in a more intuitive way.
- Brian Jackson, Associate Editor, ITBusiness.ca