RIP Steve Jobs

As I blogged in July, my first Mac was a G4 PowerBook, which I bought in Boston in 2005 after years of coveting those of richer colleagues. It was something special, and the first of many purchases from Apple.

Of all the tributes to Steve Jobs that I've read, the best and most moving was by Tom Paine at The Last Ditch:

Steve Jobs managed to live just two years longer than Mrs Paine. Cancer cut him down in the end though his wealth gave him unrestricted access to the best medical care in the world. I feel for his family today. They will feel that all their wealth and all their luck is in vain. I hope they will soon be able to look back with gratitude on a life lived well and thoroughly.

He was a business genius and - like all despised businessmen - did more good than any do-gooders. He was not really a technologist at all. Unlike his geeky competitors, he loved not the hardware or software, but what it could do and how well - if beautifully designed - it could enhance our lives. He made the world a better place, while making his partners, employees and family richer.

The video Paine linked to, of Steve Jobs's Stanford Commencement Address (from the same year I bought my PowerBook) is well worth watching.