Apple & Us

Since the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, tributes through the internet, in print and on tv have been everywhere.  It seems everyone wants to share stories of his life, contributions and the legacy he leaves behind.  I hear Sony pictures has already purchased the rights to a bio-pic that will no doubt be a story for the ages.

Whether you love Apple products or not, you can't argue with the incredible technological advances that impact us everyday as a result of this man, an incredible visionary to be sure.  I have a 6 year old, so thinking about the impact of  Pixar alone is not only significant to me, but true for an entire generation of kids who have never known anything but movies made this way.

I bought my very first iPhone back in March --- a late bloomer some might say --- and I, like many, wondered if I would ever get comfortable using it.  As the salesgirl promised, in a little less than a week, I was up and running.  A complete and total pro.

I love my phone and everything it does and while I don't think I can (should?) say it has changed my life, it has certainly enhanced the manner in which I do just about everything.

In this lifetime I have always had access to a computer.  Not computers as we know and love them today, but early models that make the evolution I have witnessed over the years so incredible.

My dad owned the very first computer I ever laid eyes upon and at the time, we were one of very few kids at school who had one.  It operated on MS Dos and it was, like, the coolest thing ever.  I remember making invitations to all my elementary school birthday parties, using gray ink printed on paper like this:

I used the program Print Shop and in the late 80's/early 90's, it rocked my world.

And the graphics were super cutting edge:

You totally would have come to my 8th grade graduation party, huh?

Flash forward 15 (or so) years and the way in which we use, love and depend on computers is at the heart of everything we do.  I sometimes reflect on my college years from '99 - '03 and compare the numerous technology advances that have occurred just since then.  In 2002 I didn't know Google.  I didn't have Facebook.  And a lot of cell phones I used still came in bags.  I occasionally used the internet for paper writing, but most of my sources were still quoted from books.

You know books?  Those things in the library....    It's mind blowing to me that my daughter may never pick one up in an effort to write a research paper.  Likely she'll be able to do it --- and pretty much anything else --- entirely in the palm of her hand.

We've come a long way to be sure.  In trying to think of a way to truly illustrate the sheer awesomeness of computers, I give you the following:

The video featured below is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.  It's 2.5 minutes of our wedding day, shot entirely on the iPhone 4 and compiled using some pure wizardry of a modern Mac marvel.  There is perhaps no greater tribute I can offer to Mr. Jobs, the man behind the machine, than this.  It's an invitation into a moment in time that was made possible by computers, namely the miniature one I carry in my pocket each and everyday.  This video will not only serve as a reminder of the best day of my life, but a place-marker in history and a benchmark of the technology used at that time.

 

I love that I can look at this today in awe all the while knowing, in another 15 years, it will be such a thing of the past.  

Thank you Apple, thank you Steve and thank you to our good friend Nick, for making this moment in time and technology, last forever.