The Apple’s Core

 

Photo by Matt Yohe (talk)

Someone once said that palm trees end with a point and each century with men. These days we’re remembering the names of Christopher Columbus and Steve Jobs, and we think about the contributions both gave which will last not only a century but for the remainder of the world’s existence.

Last week we lost a good man, Steve Jobs. Our communities continue to mourn his death because his contributions to the human race are engrained in everything we do. It’s almost impossible to not go by our day without seeing something he created.

He changed the way computers were built, how businesses were run, how global communications worked, how marketing was designed, and how consumers interacted with their products. Steve helped change the way people communicated.

He built high-quality computers that changed the rules of the game, gadgets that went against the norm, and an unforeseen successful marketing strategy that others try to emulate. He was chosen to own an important chapter and stand in the ranks of great men in the history of the world.

To consumers around the globe, he became the symbol of innovative technology. His gadgets allowed us to communicate better with each other but also gave us the tools to create new and better things.

Globalization exploded. We can listen to sounds from across the world, access newspapers wherever, and speak more like humans. My iPod, MacBook, and soon-to-arrive iPhone 4S are the lens by which I see the world.

Steve was a good man and a big part of humanity’s core.

So, because today we remember the discovery of our homeland, I can’t help but make the statement that Steve Jobs ranks among men like Christopher Columbus because of his pivotal role in changing the course of humanity. But let it be clear that there is at least one great difference between the two.

Christopher Columbus made the world bigger. Steve Jobs made the world better.

Thank you, Steve.