Thursday, October 06, 2011

Apple’s Eye

Heros Gone by mdt1960
Heros Gone, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.
Thank God, Sarah Palin’s “non-news” that she won’t be running for President wasn’t the most important story in the news today. Sadly however, her “announcement” was upstaged by the passing of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs.

Given his health in the past couple of years, I know the announcement of his death didn’t come as a surprise. Yet, there is a feeling that the world is somewhat stunned by this news.

Will today go down as one of those days that we’ll always remember where we were when we learned of this, like the Challenger disaster or the attacks on 9-11? I’m unsure, but it’s beginning to feel the same—one great loss.

Like my grandfather who worked some 50 years for Goodyear Tire and Rubber, I have made a living for the greater part of my working years via a Macintosh computer. I wonder now if Gramps felt the same when inventor and founder of Goodyear Frank Seiberling passed away in 1955.

In a world where corporations have taken over the center stage, one has to wonder if we’ll ever see another individual like Steve Jobs. Did it feel this way with the passing of Albert Einstein?

Ironically, hours before the announcement of Jobs’ passing, I created a template for a CD jewel case tray in a little program called Pages—Apple’s watered-down version of page layout giants InDesign and QuarkXPress. It was something that came to me on a whim, something my students could use to raise the bar on an upcoming assignment. Up until that moment, I never gave the program much credence for anything beyond a simple letter-sized flyer, yet there I was for some unexplained reason, creating a custom-sized document that included fold and trim marks.

Perhaps even more ironic was that on the eve of Apple losing their visionary, the newest iPhone release had been characterized as a dud. That’s two big strikes against Apple in the same week. Despite the company’s popularity and success, I’m surprised to find myself wondering if the company will weather the storm. Is it possible that the loss of one man, in this day and age, could bring down a company as successful as Apple?

We shall see. In the meantime, a voice tells me to purchase the new iPhone—as if lighting a candle for Jobs.