Today, we remember the life of a great man. This day one year ago, Steve Jobs, Co-founder, CEO and Chairman of Apple died. Steve was a man who did amazing things. He was the great innovator of our time, the Edison, the Tesla, the Franklin. His life was all about perfection but he did not lead a perfect life. While he did build and then rebuild the planet’s most valuable company in history, he did have some downfalls in his less public life. Decisions he made in his life were detrimental to some and hurtful to many, such as him shutting out his daughter or being a jerk to people he knew. He deceived, lied and whether I like to admit it or not, stole ideas. This goes without saying however that Steve wasn’t perfect but then again none of us are. We all exceed at something. Steve found what he was good at and exceeded in it. Most people, lucky people, find what they are passionate about and pursue it. He did just that. His pitfalls were surpassed by his ability to innovate and his life, his history shows that anyone, even a college dropout with a passion for something they love, can change the world. His philosophy, what he told people about life, to me, was inspiring. He told us to find something we are passionate about and never give up on it. He told us to explore until we have found our true passion. He told us to keep thinking outside the box and to think different. He told us that we should mold our life instead of just living in it. He told us these things in the hope that we would listen. I hope that you join me in that listening. Steve Jobs had some incredible things to say. Steve led his life through merits and ideals that we all could learn from. Of course, we must remember him by the products he left us. The Mac changed the way people use their computers, instead of being stuck in Orwell’s “1984”, we had just plain, old 1984. The iPod and iTunes has forever changed the music industry, no matter what happens to the industry itself. The iPhone changed the way we talk to each other and Steve once lived in the period of the Jetson’s and some of what he saw in that cartoon, he created for real people to use. The iPad has completely revolutionized the computer industry, making us more mobile in what we do. Desktop and Laptop sales has plummeted since the introduction of the iPad. All of that and his legacy burned into Apple like a brand on cattle. His legacy will ensure that Apple will continue to make insanely great products.

Apple has had a mixed year. The good being the iPhone 4S (granted it was introduced on October 4th, but still it was introduced under Cook), the new iPad, Mountain Lion, new MacBook lineup, quickly getting rid of things that didn’t work (Olympics commercials), the $1 billion+ win over Samsung and the new iPhone and stunning iPod lineup. They didn’t do so well on Apple Maps and iOS 6 in general, but all of the problems of iOS 6 are gradually being fixed such as Apple Maps’ improved accuracy. Of course what does raise a bit of concern for me is the fact that under Steve Jobs, iOS 6 would never have been released. It would have been delayed for as long as needed to fix the problem. Of course, it isn’t for certain that Apple knew about the problems of Apple Maps, but it is most likely. Also, I mentioned this before but I will do so again, Quarter 3 financial results weren’t up to expectations. Apple did disappoint that quarter a bit, but I believe that it was because it was an “in-between” quarter, a quarter in between major product releases such as the iPhone and iPad. Apple did introduce new Macs that quarter and granted they did sell four million of them that quarter. Also, Mac sales are increasing all the time while PC sales are declining, slowly but surely, Apple will gain market share. Despite the negative things that happened this year related to Apple, I believe that Apple is still going strong, they have just had a few speed bumps along the way. After all, it wasn’t under Jobs that Apple became the most valuable company in history, it was under Cook. Apple is only continuing to grow. They have the new iPad mini coming out soon, new MacBook Pro Retina 13 inches, a TV possibly on the way and God knows what else. Only Apple knows what Apple knows. The continuation of the success of Apple is the people at Apple’s way of celebrating Steve’s life, to celebrate his work is to celebrate the man. Steve Jobs, thank you for touching my life, for changing my life and many people around the world’s lives as well. You changed the world and the legacy you left behind will continue to change it. Continue to rest in peace Steven Paul Jobs. Thanks again.

Thanks for reading,

Joe