Steve Jobs: Making The 21st Century As We Know It Possible

Image via WikipediaOn Wednesday, October 5, people from all over the country gathered in New York and other cities to protest what they believe is corporate greed.  To spread the word about this, they used their smart phones to text, tweet, take pictures and go on Facebook.

On the same day Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple whose products he helped create made the 21st century as we know it possible, died after living with pancreatic cancer for several years.  He was 56.

Jobs was the man who brought you the Macintosh computer, the iPhone, the iPad, the iPod, and iTunes.  He changed the way we communicated, how we bought and consumed entertainment, and even the size of the computer itself.  He was what was right about Corporate America as far as innovation went, and for having a sense of what he thought the public wanted.

Jobs was also responsible for helping start Pixar, the computerized animation studio best known for such films as "Toy Story" and "Up", before selling it to Disney in 2006.

Apple had its failures, of course.  But they have had such a winning streak that no one seems to remember the misfires now.

New product launches became big events among Apple-philes and the media, because that's when Jobs would go into master salesman mode introducing his latest gadgets.  Before that happened, it's been said, this new product would undergo many changes before perfectionist Jobs approved the final version.

What will Apple do without Jobs?  Other companies such as Google and Microsoft see an opportunity to put out their own versions of Apple's devices that are faster, cheaper, and more compatible with their networks.  But they face an uphill battle.  Apple's products have become so successful and iconic (never mind the price tag) that, in the public's mind, anything else is a mere imitator.  But if Apple starts dropping the ball creatively, they're in big trouble.

From the California garage where he and Steve Wozniak co-founded what became Apple, to the multi-billion dollar Silicon Valley operation, the products, and the multitudes of fans he left behind, Steve Jobs is being hailed as a modern-day Thomas Edison.  But Jobs didn't build a better mousetrap.  He just reinvented one.