Goodbye

We all know that we're a product of our upbringing, and that early influences (and even some later ones) have a huge impact on the way we grow up. I suppose it's inevitable that as we get older the icons who influenced us as youngsters will pass on. Whatever anyone else thinks of the person providing the influence, the fact is that this person has been there, has shown us something.

So today I have to say goodbye to Steve Jobs. Thanks for the start.

It was back in December 1982 that I got a job, my first "proper" job, working at The Institute of Aviation Medicine, a lodger unit at the old Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. I will never forget my first 3 days, as I sat round in the reception area, waiting for someone to tell me what I was supposed to do. Although someone did show me into the bowels of their very old PDP-8 on the third day, nothing fired me up quite as much as when, less than a week into my job, I was given an Apple II computer and a manual on how to program it, and told I might be able to make something of it. In the new year they sent me on a beginners programming course, but because of the start I'd had in December, I was always a week or so ahead of what we were being taught in the class. This had nothing to do with being a swot, more that using this first PC I found myself fired up to create and improve.

That. Right there. That was the start of my current hobby, life passion, raison d'etre and career.

I remember the first time I saw the iPhone, and I wanted to own one with every fibre of my being - well, until I read the tech specs, that is. But I could quite see, where others (and other phone manufacturers) failed to see, why so many people wanted to have one, and why it was SO successful. It was beautiful. Quite simply the most beautiful phone I'd seen. And despite my continued lack of desire to own one, I've not seen a phone yet that can match the sheer beauty of the iPhone. And the iPad? It took EVERY ounce of strength I had to stop myself spending the capital from the sale of the Big House on an iPad before I'd even found a home in which to house it!

While I've said many times over the years that I'm no Apple Fanboi, much of this dislike has stemmed from the very real fear that if everyone had Apple computers, I'd be out of a job. I remember one single, solitary support call from an Apple user, back at the end of the last millennium, while working at the BP site. Oh, sure, they had Apples, just no one ever needed support on them. EVER! I'd really like to think they were just too embarrassed to ask, since they did bang on so about how completely reliable they were!

Goodbye, and thanks for a large part of my life.

;_;