Our Tribute to Steve Jobs

“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” - Steve Jobs

I was 15 years old when my father brought home our first computer. It was called a Macintosh Plus, and it had 1MB of RAM. We'd heard about personal computers, even knew someone that had one at one point. Theirs was made by Xerox and plugged into their TV. Ours was like something I'd never seen, or imagined could be possible. It was a machine that I could write my homework on, and save in the little box to keep working on later. I could even select entire blocks of text that someone had written, and delete them, much to the chagrin of my father. We didn't do much more with it, but my introduction to technology, and the beginnings of an obsession that has parlayed itself organically into a career, came about as the result of one of the great visionaries of our time: Steve Jobs.

I have been a fan of both Apple the company, and Steve Jobs the man, for a long, long time. That first computer got me curious about who the people were behind this technology, and slowly, but surely, we began to learn more about the innovators behind the new technological revolution, with Steve Jobs emerging as one of the most colorful, and controversial characters.

Not one to ever shy away from a challenge of any kind, be it a technological one, a business challenge, or a personal one, Steve Jobs has been the inspiration for more than one computer professional, and is responsible for making technology accessible in a way that few other people have been able to do. And certainly no other person has done it with the flair, vehemence, and fervent devotion to detail that Jobs has.

We all know the products that Steve Jobs is responsible for bringing to us. We have read about the conviction with which he voiced his opinions, and the way that he demanded the best from all of those around him. Here is a guy that handed out t-shirts to his employees that read, “90 hours a week and loving it.” It's more than likely that Steve worked even more than that, and loved it even more.

The products that he is responsible for developing are now such a large part of our lives that you can hardly walk 20 feet through a city without seeing someone with an iPod, an iPhone, or sitting at a cafe making sure that everyone can see them working on their Macbook.

These products are much, much more than the hardware and software. Where Steve Jobs excelled over all others is in the little touches: that power cord that won't drag your laptop off your desk if you trip on the cord, and instead comes free when pulled; the keyboard that lights up; the touchpad that reacts to simple gestures, and adapts to how many fingers you are using. And the big things are the simplest. Steve Jobs and Co. are responsible for creating an operating system that both your two-year-old son and your 80-year-old grandmother can understand and use intuitively, and with very little training.

All in all, Steve Jobs gave ordinary people the opportunity to use extraordinary technologies.

And he did it in such a way that they would never have any idea the billions of lines of code and astonishing technological advancements that are behind the devices.

One thing is clear: without Steve Jobs, our world would be a much different place, and is a better place for having had him in it. We here at Beezid are so sorry to see him go, and are so grateful that we lived at a time when one of the world's great visionaries helped to change the world for the better.

Thanks, Steve. We'll miss you.

From 6PM EDT on October 7th, until 11:59PM of the same day, Beezid will only be presenting items from Apple and Pixar. All prices will be frozen at one percent, and a percentage of Bid Pack sales during this period will be donated to a local charity to support cancer research.