Thursday, October 06, 2011
Steve Jobs and America's company
Quickly, name a US company that you, as an American, are particularly proud of when talking to overseas friends. General Motors? Please. General Electric? Sort of. Microsoft? Well, OK. Apple? Definitely. Apple has long been highly respected world-wide for its cutting-edge technologies, elegant product designs, and dependable quality. There's a mystery and aura to the company that only a few companies can come close to matching. Google jumps to mind. It's a US company I'm proud of as an American. But Apple is different. It's not just a software or Internet company. It's the whole thing --software, hardware, the whole tangible kit and kaboodle. It represents American industry at its finest. ... And now its visionary founder is gone. Steve Jobs has died. It's a sad day for all his relatives, friends, colleagues, clients and customers. But it's also a sad day for the country. A new Steve Jobs-like character will eventually and inevitably emerge down the road. But the passing away of Jobs is an end of an era in so many ways. It was a good and profound technological era, stretching from the introduction of home computers in the 1970s to the hand-held smart phones of today -- and Steve Jobs was at its forefront every step of the way. It was an amazing run. Steve Jobs was an amazing man.
Quickly, name a US company that you, as an American, are particularly proud of when talking to overseas friends. General Motors? Please. General Electric? Sort of. Microsoft? Well, OK. Apple? Definitely. Apple has long been highly respected world-wide for its cutting-edge technologies, elegant product designs, and dependable quality. There's a mystery and aura to the company that only a few companies can come close to matching. Google jumps to mind. It's a US company I'm proud of as an American. But Apple is different. It's not just a software or Internet company. It's the whole thing --software, hardware, the whole tangible kit and kaboodle. It represents American industry at its finest. ... And now its visionary founder is gone. Steve Jobs has died. It's a sad day for all his relatives, friends, colleagues, clients and customers. But it's also a sad day for the country. A new Steve Jobs-like character will eventually and inevitably emerge down the road. But the passing away of Jobs is an end of an era in so many ways. It was a good and profound technological era, stretching from the introduction of home computers in the 1970s to the hand-held smart phones of today -- and Steve Jobs was at its forefront every step of the way. It was an amazing run. Steve Jobs was an amazing man.
