The Big Leaps

Personal Notes

 

The Apple II kicked off the entire era of personal computing, prompting IBM to create the first Intel-based PC. If you're using a computer now, it's because Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had the idea of creating an easy-to-use, affordable computer that anyone could buy.

 

The Macintosh made the graphical user interface a viable product for consumers. Jobs took an expensive experimental machine out of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center and commanded a band of hackers inside Apple (some of whom came from Xerox) to turn it into a better machine that made computing easy for the first time. Even if you're now using a Dell PC running Windows 7, you should be grateful that he made that possible.

 

The iPod created an entire industry from scratch. When other cheap manufacturers failed, the iPod's user interface (which included its now legendary click wheel) made music on the go a pleasure. Consumers bought millions of them, and it defined the way we all listen digital music today. No matter what MP3 player, music store, or music streaming service you use now, it's all there thanks to the iPod.

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The iPhone changed everything again. It took mediocre phones and turned them into dumb ones. If you're now using an Android, Windows Phone 7, or WebOS phone, make no mistake: it's because Steve Jobs was focused on creating the best phone possible. He succeeded, and now many people can't fathom life without their smartphones.

 

And finally, the iPad, I don't care what the naysayers complain, but when the CEO of HP (the world's largest computer manufacturer) hints at the death of the PC as we know it by saying that "the iPad effect is very real" and when Google and Microsoft are changing their Operating System strategies to catch up with Apple's most popular computer, you can be sure that the iPad is the future. Its tactile language will be ingrained in humans for decades to come. Whatever tablet you use, it will be because this man thought a product like this would be incredibly insane.

 

Pedro Baram

August 2011