Goodbye Steve.....

I just didn't know what to say......

That was my first thought when I got the news (on my iPhone) of Steve Jobs passing. The people who know me also know how I've come to respect over recent years Steve, and all of his products that Apple produced. I'm a Senior Windows Systems Engineer, and my world was built around Microsoft. I remember countless debates over the years with other Macheads about who had the better product, or who has the larger impact to the world. I was convinced that the only people who bought Apple products were elitist jerks who thought that they were somehow better because they spent more money on a computer or MP3 player.

Until my now wife bought me an iPod.

I couldn't believe how elegant it looked, how much music it could hold, and how fast it was. It was simple, and it just worked. I was sure that this would be the only Apple product that I would succumb to, and that Apple really had nothing more to offer me than this. But Steve Jobs changed my thinking, he changed my life and how I do things, he simply changed the world. I realized that Steve Jobs drive to make our lives better was the very reason that changed my mind. It wasn't about a quick turn of profits or to push Apple's stock to its highest. It was simply to change the world and how we do things. I realized that if he built a better computer, a better phone, a better tablet, that other companies would have to play catch up and it would push technology. It would make the world better!

Now the owner of several Apple products..... I get it now.

Thank you Steve Jobs!

I will miss you....

Tim Cook Is The New Sheriff In Town, As Steve Jobs Rides Off Into The Sunset

So after having a moment to digest the Steve Jobs resignation, I've come to some conclusions about the future of Apple. The first is plain and simple...... Apple is not going anywhere. Regardless of what the naysayers think, the future of Apple is very bright. Steve Jobs laid the foundation with products that have, and will continue to change the way we interact with technology. As long as new CEO Tim Cook surrounds himself with smart innovative people who share the same drive of perfection as Jobs did, there's no reason to believe the gravy train will stop.

The trick here is not to compromise.....

That is what made Jobs better than everyone else. He wasn't just happy with competing with other tech companies. He wanted to completely change the way things were done, and he was brilliant at it. No mobile phone company executive thought the masses were interested in a phone that could bring you more than calls and email. Jobs had the foresight to understand how a phone could change the way we do things in our everyday life. The iPod changed the way we listened to music, and how we looked at physical media in general. And the iPad is set to change the landscape of mobile computers.

Steve Jobs has the knack to understand what people want is to simplify their life using technology, and bringing that to them automagicly. And this is the middle ground that Tim Cook finds himself in. Tim Cook needs to figure out how to do this, all the while keeping the "Apple Experience" with any new product that is produced under his watch. Living up to Jobs ability to be half leader and half fortune teller is a daunting task for anyone to live up to. And I certainly don't envy the job ahead of him.

But one thing is certain........ If Steve Jobs picked him as his successor, then that's good enough for me.

Why Did The President Meet With The Tech Leaders?

President Obama meet with some of the biggest tech leaders of the world Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, and Mark Zuckerberg, and you have to wonder what they talked about. Well theoatmeal.com put together what they think happened, and I have to say I got a giggle over it.

Apple Gives iPhone 4 Owners Free 'Bumper Cases'

Well it looks like free 'bumper cases' for everyone (iPhone 4 owners).

Thanks Steve!!!

Sun CEO Tells Steve Jobs To STFU

I'm so use to Steve Jobs ruling the world and getting his way. So this story comes as a surprise to me when I first heard about it, and it is a testament to the one truth that everyone finds out one day. If you think you're the man, there is always someone to prove you wrong!!! Case in point is the conversation between Steve Jobs and Sun CEO Johnathan Schwartz about a desktop concept from Sun that is similar to Mac OS X's called "Looking Glass". Steve told him "[if you move forward to commercialize it,] I'll just sue you". That didn't sit very well with Schwartz who responded with this:

"Steve, I was just watching your last presentation, and Keynote looks identical to Concurrence – do you own that IP?" Concurrence was a presentation product built by Lighthouse Design, a company I'd help to found and which Sun acquired in 1996. Lighthouse built applications for NeXTSTEP, the Unix based operating system whose core would become the foundation for all Mac products after Apple acquired NeXT in 1996. Steve had used Concurrence for years, and as Apple built their own presentation tool, it was obvious where they'd found inspiration. "And last I checked, MacOS is now built on Unix. I think Sun has a few OS patents, too." Steve was silent.

I've never seen anyone dish Steve a strong helping of STFU and have a very strong IP portfolio to back it up.

Wow!!!

[Johnathan Schwartz via Gizmodo]

Some will agree, others... Looks like a flame war

Most folk love them some iPhone; but maybe not the kind of love they once had... In fact, maybe folks are starting to think Apple is monopolizing in that market as bad as Microsoft ever did; if not worse. Read on for such an opinion. Good read by the way.

Retro: The Fall Of Steve Jobs

Have you ever made a real bad decision?

Something like: "I can't invest in something that has such a stupid name like Google!"

Well that's what the Apple board did when they forced Lord Jobs out, and began it's fall. But with Jobs back on top of Apple, they've been on top of the world ever since. The guys at Notcot found an old copy of Fortune, proving that not everything works out like you might think.

[Crunchgear]

Who Should Replace Steve Jobs?

As we all know, Lord Jobs won't always be at the helm of the great Apple. So who do you think should take over once the creator of all things cool (insert sarcasm) steps down? The guys at Valleywag asked that very question:

FROM VALLEYWAG.COM: At Apple's shareholder meeting today, Steve Jobs said the Apple board has many potential successors to choose from should something happen to him. "We've got great talent ... we talk about it a lot." Candidates include COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer. more »

[via Gizmodo]

Apple Gives Away Macbook, iPod At Company Holiday Party

In another case of why I should be working for Apple, the latest reason comes from VALLEYWAG.COM:

"Ignore PC in Apple's latest TV ad as he tries to wreck Mac's Christmas. There are no Grinches this year in Cupertino. Apple's technical employees, rumor has it, were treated very, very well at a company holiday party. As a bonus, each one got a new MacBook, an 80GB iPod, and a week off."

By the time it's all said and done, Lord Jobs is going to furnish every employee with every gadget that Apple has.

Rat bastards!

Steve Jobs: Bring Us Your Tired iphone (For A $100)

So I wrote about how anyone who bought an iphone in the past 14 days would still get hooked up by Apple. And if you bought before that, you were SOL.

Well all of those SOL people emailed Lord Jobs, and he has responded to the faithful. He is making Apple do something that I've never seen any company do: Apple is offering $100 store credit for the Apple store or to AT&T for anyone who purchased the iphone before the 14 day cut off.

How lucky are you "gotta have it now" guys?

This is a great move by Apple to try to calm down some of the pissed off people who bought the iphone a couple of months ago. But you know that they won't be able to satisfy everyone who bought one, but you have to remember; Apple didn't have to do shit anything for you.

To all iPhone customers: [Apple Hot News via Crunchgear]

Nerds On Desk: More Than A Picture

Look at these hot pictures of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs!!!!

Both look very sexy!!!

Gizmodo asks this question: " Nerd hunk on desk vs. Nerd hunk on desk. Which would you do?"

Well? [Boing Boing]

Jobs’ Keynote Leaked

Somehow the keynote outline for Apple's WWDC has hit the net. This supposed keynote outline comes from a German site and we have no idea whether or not it’s true.

Check it out with a serious grain of salt. [Tech Feed]