Respect & Shame

It's been fascinating seeing how many people have responded to the death of Steve Jobs exactly the way I did. It's truly amazing how many people who never met the man feel not just that the world has lost somebody significant but that they themselves have lost a friend.

Hearing others express exactly what I'm feeling? It helps. And, for the most part, the media has been right there with us, responding to Steve's death by focusing on his impact and the good he has done.

I really hope seeing how many peoples' lives he has touched is helping Steve's family and friends get through this.

But not all of the media has chosen to focus on the good. I won't link to any of the actual articles, but Gawker and the New York Times top a short list of media outlets that have chosen to focus on Steve's flaws and to stand up and shout out to anybody who will listen that Steve was… well… human. Imperfect. Flawed.

There's a custom in modern society that's often called "respect for the dead". It has nothing whatsoever to do with the dead. The dead don't care what you say about them. It's about the living who cared about the dead, and they do. It's because they care that mourning is such a difficult process. Painful. Sad. It's not a time when you want reminders of the flaws of the person whose absence you are trying to come to terms with.

No human with with a shred of empathy or decency chooses to publicly criticize the recently departed, famous or otherwise, regardless of how they felt about them. Doing so is an act of cruelty. It's hurtful. Little. It's kicking people hard when they are already as low as they can be.

For those, like me, who care, but didn't know Steve Jobs personally, people like this are an annoyance. They're just another crass, classless obnoxious Internet loudmouth that we have to make an effort to ignore.

But for Steve's family, friends, and coworkers… the people who really knew him, it's a hell of a lot more than that. It breaks my heart to think that they might read those articles.

Shame on you, New York Times. You're better than that. Shame on you, Gawker. You should be better than that.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." – This quote is probably the most shared and emotional from numerous Steve’s quotes…

He is not among us anymore. After the long and tiring struggle with the pancreatic cancer, at the age of 56, Steve died peacefully yesterday, surrounded by his family. He no longer lives in the world, that only he managed to change!

I’ve heard the news from Mark Zuckerberg, sharing a status update several hours ago: “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”… All I can add to this is that not just a mentor, but a phenomenal one!

He changed the way we watch movies, surf the net, listen to music, take pictures… Changed these all to better, convenient and darn easy way! He changed the way we think; now we think different. He managed to actually change the world! As president Barack Obama commented: “Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

Statement from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, published on Microsoft Official website today, says:

“I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.”

Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Disney, News Corp., Twitter (with the CEO Dick Costolo saying: “Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesn’t just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement”) – fanboys and haters, friends and foes- all expressed their sympathies and all admitted (no matter the past competition and tense relationship) that Steve was an unrepeatable GENIUS!

The new era of the technology starts today, and deal with it, because now the world will suck a bit more without Steve’s love for perfection, his hyperbolic obsession with magical devices, his jeans and black shirt,   insanely great ideas and booms and "one more" things…

Sad Mac

I haven't had much time for blogging lately. I have about a half-dozen unfinished blog posts in my queue, but have been too busy to finish any of them.

One of the things keeping me busy right now is work for Apple through MartianCraft. This work, in many ways, is a dream come true for me, as I wanted to work for Apple for years and never managed it.

I started programming on an Apple ][+ in 1980 and Apple has been a part of my life ever since then. I don't need to look much further than the desk I'm sitting at to realize just how much my life has been impacted by this company called Apple started in a garage by two guys named Steve. I make a living using Apple's products and developing for Apple's products, but more importantly, my life is better because of their products.

I took a few hours away from my desk this evening and returned to the news of Steve Jobs' death. I came back to news that quite literally felt like a kick in the stomach. And I mean literally. My stomach hurts.

It seems odd to feel this way about a man I never met. I've only once been closer to Steve Jobs than the front section of Moscone West or North, and that was when I accidentally knocked into him on the show floor at MacWorld one year. But I feel like an old friend has died. I'm fighting back tears, and maybe I should be ashamed of that.

But I'm not.

Steve died far too young. I think a few tears are in order.