Remembering Steve Jobs: 7th Anniversary
I poignantly traverse back in time to 2011. On this day, Oct.05, 2011, the Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs departed this life failing to fend off the warring pancreatic cancer that had engulfed him.
The medical time of his death was 3 PM Pacific Time October 05, Wednesday, at his home in Palo Alto, California. Pacific time zone is 12.5 hours behind Indian Standard time. It was about 10 AM, October 6, Thursday morning in Bombay, India. I was early at my workplace. I started my morning by checking my emails and the feedback I had received on the Backup and Disaster recovery manual that I was tasked with. I went on to check some online news and I met with one of the most dreaded reports of my life. The internet was inundated with #RIP Steve Jobs. I got chills for a moment; distressed beyond horizons. A stark feeling of paralysis surged within. I held my breath and opened the news report on CNN and The New York Times.
I was in constant dread that this day would appear soon. Just two months ago, on September 24, 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple with these words:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
The stock market and the tech realm shuddered by this letter. We all knew that the inevitable would dawn soon.
Tim Cook’s Letter
I was disoriented at my computer desk, struggling to come to terms with reality. I pulled myself together and continued reading the deluge of news reports and fan reactions on the internet. There was a Press Release on Apple website appended with Tim Cook’s letter, announcing the passing away of Steve. This excerpt from Tim’s letter made me drown further in my melancholy but at the same time, attempted to uplift me:
Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
Remembering Steve and Condolences.
Tim stated in his letter that Apple has created a special email where we can generously send our heartfelt condolences — rememberingsteve@apple.com. Since I was a Steve Jobs aficionado, I wrote a small condolence message and sent it to the email address.
Here is the saddest part: I sent my condolence message to Apple but the problem was that I myself was in a need of dire comfort. I was in a need of condolence because it was a personal loss for me as well. I never saw or met Steve in person but the impact he had on me was of celestial proportions. I scurried about around the office to bring my heart beats to normal. I could not withhold my aggravating pain so I decided to call my colleagues: Danny Joseph, and my docs lead Milton Veigas, to share my grief as they were not in office that day. I called up Dan and Milton and gave them the sorrowful news with a muffled and dim-witted voice. I told them how I felt. Dan and Milton both instantly empathized with me and consoled me with their comforting words. I thanked the gentlemen for their kind words and helping me alleviate my insurmountable pain.
Later that day, in the evening around 6 PM IST and 9 AM EST, when my Pittsburgh Product Management team got online, I passed on my condolences to each member of my unit including Ron Hogue, who was my Technical Writing manager or the Docs Head Honcho. Heartfelt condolences were exchanged and we chatted a bit about Apple and the great products that Steve introduced.
It was dusk. My day was spent consoling myself and reading through the ubiquitous litany of RIP Steve Jobs. It was a day of stirred up emotions for a mortal genius who had impacted the world widely.
The following were three of my strongest reasons to be connected with Steve at that time:
1. Steve Jobs and my first iPod
I owned my first iPod in 2007, six years after Steve unveiled the first iPod to the world, sending all walkmans and disc-based music players to an early grave. All trashed! It was a 4GB iPod Nano 4th generation, silver color. She was sleek and elegant and perfect to handle. The product design was very thoughtful. All my fingers perfectly wrapped around the iPod — natural extension of human hand gestures unlike the other ugly and cumbersome Philips and Sony portable music players that tried to compete with the iPod. Jony Ive, the legend in product design can never get it wrong! Oh, the aesthetics of it, the beauty of it was nothing short of an industrial design marvel!
My iPod Nano gave me some of the surreal moments of my life. In my days of distress and melancholy, I played Red Hot Chili Peppers (Stadium Arcadium) and John Denver on my iPod which altered my neural networks profoundly getting me back on the road. I can still feel the click-wheel over my thumb!
Steve Jobs and Disney Pixar
Steve co-founded Pixar and pushed the animators to achieve extraordinary excellence. Steve’s constant quest for excellence gave birth to Toy Story- world’s first feature-length computer-animated film and it killed the box office. Steve Jobs was credited to be the Executive Producer of the film.
This is what John Lasseter and Ed Catmull had to say about Steve:
“Steve Jobs was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend and the guiding light of the Pixar family. He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined. Steve took a chance on us and believed in our crazy dream of making computer animated films; the one thing he always said was to simply ‘make it great.’ He is why Pixar turned out the way we did and his strength, integrity and love of life has made us all better people. He will forever be a part of Pixar’s DNA.”
Toy Story profoundly shaped and crafted my childhood. I was of Andy’s age at that time. Pixar’s creativity knew no bounds. I got the best friends of my childhood — Woody, Buzzlightyear, Jessy and others! They will remain my friends till infinity and beyond!
Steve Jobs and Apple Stores
Steve unveiled the first Apple store on May 15, 2001, in Calif, revolutionizing how customers interact with Apple staff and buy Apple products. Today, Apple is the top retailer in terms of sales per square foot, coming in at $5,546 per square foot. The most profitable followed by Tiffany & Co.
What is with Apple stores and me? The captivating Apple logo, the minimalist interior design, and the finest-of-the breed Apple staff draw me and million others to Apple stores. The customer experience you get at Apple stores is nothing short of surreal. Be it west or east, visiting an Apple store will make you feel home.
These are some pictures from Apple stores based in Hong Kong clicked on my iPhone:
Condolence Quotes by Celebrities and Tech Executives
PHARRELL: God bless the family of Steve Jobs. He was our modern day Leonardo DaVinci. From Apple to Pixar, what a great life lived. He will be missed.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators — brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.
MARIAH CAREY: Very sad to hear about Steve Jobs passing. He was a genius and a visionary. May he Rest In Peace.
LADY GAGA: From his own invention I open my browser to it’s homepage. Today it took my breath away. #ThankYouSteve. Going to eat Apples all day.
JUSTIN BIEBER: RIP Steve Jobs — thanks to one of your inventions my life was changed. You will be missed but not forgotten!
BILL GATES: I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.
SNOOP DOGG: RIP Steve Jobs Rest in peace homie.
NICKI MINAJ: An innovator. Contributed so much to this generation & beyond. RIP Steve Jobs
KIM KARDASHIAN: Wow Steve Jobs died! He was a brilliant man!
SEAN KINGSTON(Rap Artist): RIP Steve Jobs!… You will be missedl, smh i just heard the sad news life is really short man….
Anderson Cooper(CNN International Correspondent): “My first Apple product, the Apple 2E computer. I think that’s what it was called.”
Mandy Moore(Rapunzel): RIP Steve Jobs. Thank you for your innovation and genius. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones….
Charlize Theron: “RIP Steve Jobs, a true visionary.”
Ricky Martin: “Where is the excitement gonna come from. We won’t see another you in this lifetime. Thank you for everything Steve! :o(”
Mark Zuckerberg: Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.
Google CEO Larry Page: I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me.
Dell CEO Michael Dell: Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come.”
Ellen DeGeneres(Dory): I just finished my show and I heard the news about Steve Jobs. He was an amazing man with an incredible vision. He changed the world.”
Steve Jobs’ Memorial
These stalwarts attended Steve’s memorial:
Tim Allen, actor
Marc Andreessen, Netscape co-founder
Joan Baez, folksinger
Marc Benioff, CEO of salesforce.com
Bono, U2 frontman
Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
Jerry Brown, Governor of California
Bill Campbell, chairman of Intuit
Bill Clinton, former President
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Ron Conway, founder of Angel Investors
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Michael Dell, CEO of Dell
John Doerr, venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago
Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle
Tony Fadell, former senior vice president of Apple’s iPod division
Scott Forstall, Apple senior vice president of iOS software
Stephen Fry, actor
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft
Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC
Chuck Geschke, Adobe co-founder
Al Gore, former Vice President
Andy Hertzfeld, from original Macintosh design team, now at Google
Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president for design
Laurene Powell Jobs, widow
John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar
Lee Jae-yong, COO of Samsung
Yo Yo Ma, cellist
Jon Miller, chief technical officer of News Corp.
Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp.
Larry Page, CEO of Google
Jonathan Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm
Maria Shriver, former first lady of California
Mona Simpson, novelist
Larry Sonsini, chairman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Avie Tevanian, former Apple senior vice president of software engineering
Bud Tribble, Apple vice president of software technology
John Warnock, Adobe co-founder
Steve Jobs’ Grave next to David Packard
Steve was buried in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, California.
Interestingly, Steve’s grave is a few feet from the grave of David Packard, one of Hewlett-Packard’s founders and a Silicon Valley pioneer. David Packard had offered Steve his first summer job at the HP factory when Steve called him for a job.
RIP Steve
I sketched this recently as a tribute to the creative genius and to the greatest tech visionary of all times. RIP Steve. You will be eternally be respected and admired for your work.
