Upon going to the Apple website on Oct. 5, customers were not welcomed by the latest Apple innovations, but instead by a commemorative photo honoring Steve Jobs. Jobs passed away at his home in California that day, after fighting pancreatic cancer for 8 years. The Apple homepage was simple and to the point, “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.”
Despite the passing of Jobs, his legacy will continue to manifest itself in the devices that he created and that we use every day.
“He really ushered in a completely new age of technology with the iPod, perfecting touch screen phones, and the whole idea of a personal computer,” senior Aidan Barrett said.
His technological advances are also prevalent in how schools teach in the classroom. Graphic Design students have an individual Apple computer to use to help them with their projects, which teacher Wes Pippard feels is greatly beneficial.
“I took Graphic Design when I was a student, before we had Apple computers,” Pippard said. “It used to take us weeks to do projects that now only take a few days.”
Jobs developed the concept of the modern computer, and Pippard feels that without his contribution, computers wouldn’t have progressed to where they are today.
“If he hadn’t come up with the personal computer, we wouldn’t be able to use the programs in this class,” Pippard said. “He made the technology more accessible for people to own and use.”
Jobs created new tools for the music industry with iTunes and the iPod, which led to music being more accessible over the internet.
“Jobs really did revitalize the music industry,” Barrett said. “He took the idea of online music sharing and turned it into a business with iTunes.”
Pippard feels that the impact was more in his progress with the availability of computers for individuals.
“If it wasn’t for him, no one would have a computer,” Pippard said. “Although iTunes had an impact, it wouldn’t have been possible without the basis for the personal computer that he created.”
As for the future of Apple, it’s uncertain whether or not Apple will stay strong without Jobs’s vision for the company.
“I don’t think much will really happen,” Barrett said. “I think they were most likely prepared after he stepped down, and they’ve mostly sorted things out within Apple.”
However, Pippard believes that the company needs his direction, and that without it, they might not be able to sustain.
“I think it will affect them badly,” Pippard said. “When he took charge, Apple really took off. But when he stepped down and he hired someone to replace him, Apple almost went bankrupt. When he returned, he really saved the company, because in the end, he was the company.”
