Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Jobs’ Death a Byte Out of Apple

How can millions worldwide love one man whom they have never met?

On Oct. 5 one of the leading tech titans of the world, Steve Jobs, passed away. The Apple co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer died after battling pancreatic cancer for seven years. Millions of people across the world mourned the passing of one of the most influential people in their lifetimes. His legacy lives in every single computer, tablet and smart phone; he revolutionized how people work, play and interact.

Out in Silicon Valley, Calif., where I grew up, it is the norm for at least one parent to be working for some high-tech company. Engineering runs through people’s blood and sets a lifestyle. Everyone, no matter how much they know about technology, has some sense of what is going on and what is on the cutting edge of new technologies. That is why, when it was announced that Jobs had died, my Facebook feed exploded with people expressing their condolences. One person even wrote how much she had enjoyed making his favorite hot chocolate at a store where she worked in Stanford. Jobs’ death impacted the region and high-tech industries, since it felt like we had lost a close friend, even if we hardly knew anything about him.

Steve Jobs was the first person to fully market computers to the common person. When the computer was invented during World War II, it was a large, complex and difficult-to-understand device that only a handful of people could effectively use. However, Jobs saw the mass potential of computers for the life of the common man.

Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, after which the dynamic duo introduced several computers that were aimed at the consumer by making them more than just green text on black backgrounds. The products they created brought the first meaning to the term “personal computer.” After an internal power struggle that resulted in his walking out on the company, Jobs founded a software company called NeXT and a computer animation company called Pixar. In a twist of fate, Apple purchased NeXT in 1996, and Jobs returned to the helm soon after. Over the next decade and a half, Jobs oversaw one of the largest expansions of any company worldwide. Through huge successes such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, Jobs transformed Apple into arguably the most powerful technology company in the world.

Jobs revolutionized how we interact with the world around us. Every single computer, tablet and phone has a little bit of Jobs’ work in it, even if it is not an Apple product. Jobs’ keen eye for delivering products that helped consumers influenced how rival Microsoft designed its operating system, not to mention the development of the mouse (another Apple invention). He also changed how we listen to music by effectively killing the compact disk market and spurred a revolution of digital music sharing. But arguably, his most important contribution was his unwillingness to accept the cell phone companies’ design of the original Apple phone, a decision which led to the revolution of the mobile phone market that allowed companies to develop phones as they saw fit.

The products Jobs designed were extraordinary, but his real contribution was to the technological revolution and the societal change in Silicon Valley that continues today. Jobs helped establish Silicon Valley, along with Bill Hewlett and David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, Larry Ellison of Oracle and many other tech leaders, as the capital of technology companies. As a resident of Palo Alto, I can attest that Jobs’ influence over the region is unspeakable.

I won’t go so far as to say that Jobs was a “magician” as some people do, because frankly, Apple products are usually overpriced with underwhelming specs. But Jobs had the ability to develop and deliver products that were easy to use, and people wanted to buy them. He was able to deliver a product that forced other companies to play catch-up and redesign with the customer in mind. His unwillingness to make the Mac environment as free as the company’s Super Bowl XVIII ad makes me believe that Jobs was a revolutionary in the high-tech, music, entertainment and business industry, but not a god. However, he was someone who not only changed how Silicon Valley does business and lives, but also how the world functions as a whole.

Chris Bien is a sophomore in the College and a deputy photo editor on The Hoya.

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