Steve Jobs Changed My Life

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In view of yesterday’s news (of Steve Jobs stepping down as Apple’s spearhead), I wanted to write something to say thank you to Mr Jobs.

Image via CrunchBase

The Man – The Legend

I watch Apple’s, mostly Jobs’, keynotes with excitement and awe, they command my attention more than England Rugby matches (and you will rarely shift my gaze from those). This softly spoken man commands so much respect, so much attention, without ever shouting and screaming like a Double Glazing Salesman.

The new releases, improvements and upcoming iOS, Mac and other products always fill me with excitement, so to hear that he is stepping down as the CEO comes as a huge blow. We all know that he will still play a major part in anything moving forward, and that his team will continue to improve on the Apple stronghold. But it saddens me that I may never see another Steve Jobs’ Keynote!

Selfishness aside, I wish him recovery back to full health, and that each day brings a smile instead of a chore.

My Affair With Jobs

I was always on the outside looking in, one of the people that defended Windows for graphics and design, (but deep down, I still wanted a mac) and then it all changed . . .

I was working on a 17′ HP laptop, over powered, did its job very well, when the (then) wife, said “Why don’t you just get the mac”, a simple enough statement, but this had been building up for a while, I was an iPhone user, drove a black Alfa Romeo (red leather, of course!) and the only stereotypical designer thing that was missing was the iMac.

A week later, after watching idiots filming their unboxing of Macs on YouTube all week, my first iMac arrived, a 21.5′ behemoth, I only wished I had filmed me unpacking it! It truly is a beautiful experience, one only a Mac user will appreciate.

Within 2 weeks I was struggling to use Windows (I was working between the two), the keyboard shortcuts were terrible, made no sense, this new mac was a breeze, intuitive, user friendly and the keys are in the right place! Using a Windows keyboard for shortcuts is a nightmare compared to the Mac, and I use more shortcuts than most.

I was in love, and I would sing it from the rooftops!

No More Windows!

A month after my unboxing, my step-daughters mac-book arrived, hidden away in the wardrobe as part of her Xmas set.

A week later it was my birthday, I had ran out of things to open (and my step daughter to try and break), so I said maybe she could open a present (this was October!), the ex-wife was having kittens, so I said, maybe just a little present then. So she opened up her Magic Mouse, starting squealing with excitement (how my ex did not know we would have to give her the mac-book after opening a mac Magic Mouse, I don’t know!), so she unboxed and botted her first mac-book up, aged 15. I filmed it!

Before Xmas, the ex-wife had a mac-book too, after holding out for so many years, Apple had made around £4k out of us in a few weeks. And I was pleased as punch! No lagging, no slow boot ups, everything just worked! (Bear in mind I have around 14 programs open at any one time, Photoshop, DreamWeaver, AfterEffects, Camtasia etc).

I had found efficiency and I loved it! My work was reduced by an easy third, I got to argue with an art teacher who said my step-daughter had to produce the project in Publisher! Pfft, we won, she did it in InDesign, and got an A! (She should not lose out because she has a superior machine and a spare Dad that can pimp a DTP project!).

The Aftermath

I can name at least 4 clients, that have moved to macs, just on seeing how fast I can work on mine, whilst they are still loading up an image, the mac is an amazing piece of kit, and it is all thanks to Steve Jobs. It just works.

I will spend the same money on Macs in my lifetime, that people would spend on PCs, they are not expensive, they work and they last, the one I am writing on now is 2 years old, doesn’t miss a beat, and is in no need of any extras or upgrades. (Like a phone contract, I always get over spec, to save upgrades or high bills!)

Basically I am ranting about iMacs, mac-books etc, but the underlying message, is that, Steve, we (the mac world) love you, love what you have done, and will probably love what you go on to do.

Wishing you the fastest recovery, and back on top soon.

Kip and millions of other Mac Users!

Kip's natural habitat is at the mac messing around with websites and graphics . . .

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