steve jobs.

or rather, his passing away. i think i was one of those slower ones to get the news because i havent been really active on twitter or any other form of social media lately.

i think i have regressed into being a hermit this days because of my tiredness. i only got the news from my colleague while we were both stuck in the lift making small talk the other day.

and shocked i am, to hear to news. to hear that the world lost a well-loved person, one that changed the way of lives for a lot of people. one that encourages people to think out of the box and one that gives truly inspires.

i just had to log into apple website and stare at the screen into the face of him, and observed a moment of silence.

i thought about how he affected my life. right from the moment when i was still a kid. when i had the first mackintosh as a personal computer.

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thinking back, i think it was more like he influenced my uncle (who was and still is an apple reseller in the states), and my uncle influenced me (because all my computers came from him).. in fact, he influenced the entire family because my grandpa also owns a mackintosh. I used a mackintosh all my life back then (without even knowing the existence of PC/windows) until the day i entered polytechnic in 1997.

it was hell for me in school. being in the business faculty, computer classes was like a subject everyone in business had to take. i was struggling with the right click concept and a total different navigation from all that i know in my life, using a single-click mouse and a mackintosh. even using a start button in windows was tough work for me. and gosh, i felt so lost for the first 2 months, i really think i was going to fail the subject. i had my friend coach me, spend hours in the computer labs learning (because i do not own a PC at home) hoping that i could pass my tests and exams.

i did, fortunately and moved on the PC because it was what is required in school work and what everyone was using and i had to be compatible. but it sure didnt stop me from using apple products still.

when the imac came out, we (the brother and me) had the blueberry sitting in our house. i often argued why it wasnt the strawberry because it was more cheery looking than the blueberry. I think we still have this sitting somewhere in the storeroom. i love the imac because the pretty colours were really nice to look at in comparison to all that dull looking beige personal computers we all own in those days and i remembered that shortly after, the PC market sprung up with a lot of colour looking PC casings that were similar to that of an imac and a lot of people swapped their beige boring standard casings for the colourful ones. talk about inspirational.

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then came along the ipods. my brother had the first generation ipod (scroll wheel) and he was one of those early adopters and i had often steal it from him in my poly days to accompany me on my 1-hr bus rides to school from the north to the east.

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then came the 2nd generation ipod (touch wheel) which i got my hands on, just so i don’t get screamed at by my brother on those days he found his ipod missing when he actually needs it. heh heh. thinking back, its hilarious! i always take his because he doesnt bring it to work (which is 5 mins walk from home) so i thought i could put it to better use since i have long bus rides to take!

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and then, i kinda went along the flow and got the ipod (click wheel) version, then ipod nano (black, 2nd generation), 5th generation ipod (with video functions) and i think the last ipod i got was the ipod nano (3rd generation) which i bought and gave out as a christmas gift. god knows WHY i needed to have that many ipods, all of which are still functioning perfectly ok……..

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thing is, with apple products.. do you just want to get the newer ones? just like when iPhone 4S was not yet revealed and the whole world was excited with the “upcoming” iPhone 5 and just waiting to switch? i too, was one of those who were waiting for the revolutionary iPhone 5 which have yet to happen.

so yup, the ipods are still with me and are functioning perfectly fine. but i got to a point where i couldn’t bring myself to buy another ipod anymore (kinda switched to radio because i started driving around instead) so i stopped there.

I moved on to something else, not computers because the environment that i am in still garners the usage of a PC. i could only lust after it because i could never afford owning the PC AND the mac. besides, my brother is always the mac user and there is always a mac lying around so it just didnt make much sense to duplicate the equipments. there was a point of time in my life when i was quite mad about running, about races, about keeping fit and staying fit. so it was just natural that i had to get a Nike+ apple sensor, along with a pair of shoes, and it makes perfect sense, especially since my nano was my jogging companion.

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this is probably the MOST underutilized apple item of mine because i had a few pairs of shoes and didnt always wear the nike+ pair and i was just too lazy to track my runs post-run, though i love the fact that i get announcements on the distance that i am running and how much further i have left on my target.

the iphone 3GS was the next apple product purchase. everyone was familiar with that, and it was when everyone i know was switching to an iphone. it was interesting to note that i was quite a laggard to jump on the iphone bandwagon. i didn’t like using the touch screen and thought the user interface was rather slow.. but when the 3S came out, i was SOLD. the rest is history and i tell you, i would tremble in addiction and feel cold sweat dripping off my forehead from boredom each time i am caught without the iphone. i feel so incapacitated like i lost an arm and a leg. the same symptoms happens when my phone dies. the phone changed my life totally, and with it, my impression about touch screens.

i just cannot wait for the new phone launch. i just want to get my hands on it.

and i have since ditched my PCs, laptops, netbooks for the macbook pro. because i no longer do work at home (ok, i refused to) and besides, i always have the work laptop to lug home and use anyway. so, i feel kinda complete. especially with the latest addition of the magic mouse. its really quite magical. so i am totally indoctrinated by apple. see the impact that i has on my life?

i think its the same for everyone. everyone around them is using apple too. for me, my brother has the iphone 3Gs, iphone 4, macbook, and the ipad 2. the husband uses the macbook pro, iphone 3gs, and ipad (darn that ipad – i really hate it). and get this, my 62 years old mum uses the state of art macbook air. i’m actually a little jealous of her machine. even my slightly tech-idiot aunt uses the ipad2 to viber me all the time these days. guess this is all the work of a genius. it just infiltrates, and it hits you before you realizes it.

with steve jobs gone, i know many of us will miss his ingenuity and how it revolutionizes the world we live in. but like the movies, the heroes never dies. they live on in your hearts. i’m sure there would be millions out there who, because of him, are inspired and would work towards what he has dreamed for us, to live by his values, his advises and seeks to craft the future, and maybe, lead a more fulfilling life, like each day is our last.