RIP Steve Jobs

It is a sad day in the tech world and the world at large today. I just saw the news Steve Jobs has passed away. Unless you have been living under a rock or in a cave somewhere it is nearly impossible to not have been affected by Steve Jobs and the company He helped found and run. Anyone who knows me knows I am in no way a fan of the Apple company or their products or way of doing business. None the less I do understand the impact Steve Jobs and Apple has had on the world.

I have a great respect for anyone who looks around and says "there's got to be a better way" and then goes out and makes one. Whether you liked Him or didn't like Him Steve Jobs was that kind of person. Driven to find a better way to do things and bringing that better way to the world. Truth be told without Steve Jobs and the Apple company you might not even be reading this message today.

Granted I did not always like the way Apple did things, I would much rather focus on the things I liked about Apple and Steve Jobs. The leadership, the innovation bringing ideas to the rest of us. Those were all things Steve Jobs and Apple did well. Allowing ideas to advance and spurring on innovation were hallmarks of both the Man and the company. Even when I would disagree with some of the methods I could always admire the can do attitude and forward thinking that went into the advances Steve Jobs and Apple were responsible for.

It is  sad day indeed, the day we lost one of the worlds great forward thinkers and role models for countless people that followed. When you use almost any computer when you listen to MP3's on almost any type of player when you use your cell phone you are benefiting in some small way from the work Steve Jobs dedicated his life to. Even if you never use an Apple product there is very little in our modern world that did not benefit or be impacted by the work Steve Jobs and Apple did.

When I think back I can only remember owning one Apple product, I am about as non-Apple as you can get and yet I realize the great contribution Steve Jobs and the Apple company have made to our society and the world in general. I just wanted to pause and reflect on the loss of Steve Jobs today and pay tribute to a great person who directed the world into the future and has now left us to carry on.

So thank you Steve Jobs and may you rest in peace.