How Steve Jobs Affected My Life

It was late August 1998 when I watched Steve Jobs unveil the original iMac G3. Clad in a bondi blue shell - it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Instantly - I knew I had to have it despite the software limitations of owning a Mac at that time.

I begged my mom until she finally gave in and for the first time in my life I developed a friendship with a machine. Countless hours of my teenage years were spent playing one of the few online multi-player games, Myth II, available for Mac at that time. The Mac gaming community was a small tight knit crew - that despised our Windows using counterparts - and revered Steve Jobs.

Eventually - it was time to head off to college - and I brought with me my shiny new iMac G4 - an alien looking machine, beautifully designed like no other computer. Through college - it too was my companion - drawing onlookers from around my dorm to admire its revolutionary design - as Mac owners were far and few at the time.

Necessity dictated the need for a notebook - so without second though I snapped up a shimmering white iBook G3. Again - this ivory colored contraption brandished with an Apple logo never ceased to draw praise for its unique and beautiful design.

As software advanced - I craved something with more muscle - then Steve Jobs announced the burly Power Mac G5. I remember the excitement upon arrival of this beast of a machine - with its industrialized stainless steel case and futuristic design. It too was my companion as I wasted countless hours playing Tom Clancy games with friends all over the world.

Again - necessity dictated the need for a portable device - and when I saw the sleek MacBook Core 2 Duo - I once again knew that I had to have it. It was my last Apple computer purchase - I still use it to this day.

I guess I'm an Apple hipster in a way - as soon as everyone and their brother owned one - the novelty wore off a bit. But either way these delightful machines - oozing with the creative genius of Steve Jobs - played a big part in my coming of age.

I was choked up a bit when I heard about his passing - he was a father figure of sorts - and he was claimed by the same disease as my old man. Maybe the dude wasn't Gandhi or Jesus - but he touched a lot of lives and changed the way we think and interact with each other - perhaps for the better.