The Apple IIe to my current array of Apple devices are just a few of the things my mind ran to when I heard the news of Steve Jobs passing early yesterday evening.  From an irony perspective, I was in the midst of finally upgrading my MacBook Pro to Snow Leopard so that I could go to Lion when the news came across.  I sat back and had a chance to reflect, as the disc whirred in my optical drive.

My first computer in the early 80’s was an Apple IIe.  My mother was a Math teacher at the time and she was on the forefront of the technology curve and was embarking on her own path that would turn her into a Technology Specialist.  Besides writing ‘go sub’ routines my favorite pastime in Computer Class was opening up the CPU and pulling the audio cord so we could play “Hard Hat Mack” and “LodeRunner” without the teachers knowing.  From the IIe I moved on to the Macintosh SE.   For those of you that don’t remember, that was the first ‘all in one CPU/monitor’ package, and it was fairly popular in the schools.  At this time, I was also introduced to Apple Talk and the ability to network 5 or more computers together and even add in a shared printer!

As I entered the business world I drifted away from Apple at about the same time that Jobs drifted away from Apple.  But, as my business world changed so did my ability to experience the change of Apple’s market strategy, which included Jobs re-entry to the company.

I have been an early adopter ever since.  I remember ‘spinning’ the slide wheel on that first, bulky iPod and
realized how much the world was about to change.  With each successive release it seems like I have upgraded until I moved over to the iPhone and was able to integrate my phone and audio devices together.  I was on the original list for the iPhone4 and waited in line to pick mine up on day one.  I am typing now on my MacBook Pro and am the proud owner of not just an iPad but also the new iPad2.  I have also spread the ‘Apple fever’ to my children.  My girls, 11 and 9, both have iTouch 4’s and our favorite thing to do is FaceTime at night before bed as we live a 1,000 miles apart.  That smile I get from them and the ‘live’ kiss sums up for me what the mind and spirit of what Mr. Jobs means to me.  He, and Apple, have helped ‘connect’ the world in ways that we only dreamed about less than one generation ago.

 
The above image is from www.Apple.com