I was fortunate enough to see him in person a few times though.  The first was at  the keynote of Macworld San Francisco in 2001 when he introduced the word to iTunes with “One More Thing” of the Titanium PowerBook G4.  I waited in line with my dad for several hours in the dark and cold of a January morning just to get a good seat, but I was still way in the back. In the end, it didn’t matter, because I still could feel his charisma fill the auditorium. It was probably the coolest thing I had experienced at that point in my life; it probably still is one of the top.

I was working for Apple at Macworld in 2005 when I saw him next.  Earlier that morning he had introduced the iPod shuffle and I was manning a wall with about a hundred of them hanging from lanyards (picture, yes, I had a bright green shirt on too).  All of a sudden, as if someone started moshing behind me at a concert, I was getting pushed and shoved by a mob of people.  I turn around, and amidst a throng of photographers flashing photos and reporters yelling questions, Steve, beaming from ear to ear, walks up to one guy who was trying the shuffle out to ask him what he thinks. The guy mumbles something about it being small & light, Steve thanks him, and with that strides off, throng of reporters chasing at his heels.

I wish I could have followed him too that day; just for a little while. I think we’ve all been following at Steve’s heel in one way or another since the beginning of Apple. I hope we still get the chance to trace his footsteps now that he’s gone.

http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

Sad, but it looks like he’ll stick around as Chairman of the Board.

Here’s another great quote from many that I think is even more true today than when Steve said it in 1996:

I’m an optimist in the sense that I believe humans are noble and honorable, and some of them are really smart. I have a very optimistic view of individuals. As individuals, people are inherently good. I have a somewhat more pessimistic view of people in groups. And I remain extremely concerned when I see what’s happening in our country, which is in many ways the luckiest place in the world. We don’t seem to be excited about making our country a better place for our kids.

Via WSJ via Wired via Dad.

Even better, check this Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Steve Jobs’s ‘A Greener Apple’ Article. Here’s my favorite excerpt:

Dear Greenpeace,

Fuck you.

Love,
Steve.

I couldn’t agree more.

(PR Translation from Jesper via Daring Fireball.)

Apple and EMI ditching DRM is good, but it’s not good enough:

Last night the lot of us Engadget editors went to bed with sweet dreams of a DRM-free world dancing through our little heads. Lo and behold, this morning we woke up and to our pleasant surprise, EMI announced that in conjunction with Apple, it would make its entire digital catalogue available on iTunes completely DRM-free. The watershed moment we’ve all been waiting for — the first of the Big Four music businesses makes one of the most pro-consumer moves we’ve seen in years. Or did they? Was today’s announcement a real commitment dedicated to consumers’ digital rights? Or was it a play for disenfranchised music lovers’ hearts? We have a feeling the answer lies somewhere in the middle — although we can’t help but feel the whole thing is gestural at best, and subterfuge at worst. Here’s why.

Read the rest.

Three things I’d like to note in reply:

Engadget’s criticism for Apple for still selling AAC tracks instead of generic MP3′s seems kind of frivolous to me. It’s like winning a computer and complaining that you didn’t also win a monthly stipend to cover increased power bill you get because of the computer. My point is that if the tracks are DRM-free then you are free to cross-convert them to any format you wish, including generic MP3s, very easily (iTunes will even do this for you). Sure many devices don’t support AAC now but that can be easily fixed with a firmware update. I even suspect that AAC support will become more common now that iTunes sells DRM-free tracks too. Also, Engadget’s mentions several MP3-player manufacturers that don’t support AAC, but one class of device that they don’t mention is cell phones where AAC support is fairly common (most MP3 playing Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia phones support the format).

Second is an issue that I haven’t seen discussed anywhere today. Two background facts about the new DRM-free system: 1) You’ll be able to ‘upgrade’ your past purchases to high-quality DRM-free tracks for 30¢/each, and 2) DRM-free full album purchases will not cost any extra once this system goes live. So my question is, what about full albums that I’ve purchased in the past but now want to upgrade to be DRM-free? Will it still be 30¢/track? What if it’s a 30-track album? That’s a $9 upgrade if I have to buy every track, which is probably close to the original purchase price. It would be nice to see a flat album upgrade fee (I would say $3 or less would be a fair price).

Finally, what about the free iTunes singles? Will they be available as high-quality DRM-free files (provided the record label is one that allows this)? Can I upgrade past free ‘purchases’?

In any case, this is interesting news and I’m excited to see how it all develops.

The crux of the piece is that Apple would sell DRM free music if the big 4 music labels allowed this on the iTunes store, indeed Apple would prefer this to selling DRMed music.

It’s a fascinating read for several reasons. It’s an interesting new perspective on the business. But even more interesting is that Steve deemed this topic worthy enough to release this kind of statement. It’s not often you see this kind of open communication from a company like Apple, especially Steve himself.

I love Apple, they give me such good shit.

Ho ho ho, iTunes 7 for all!

Update (4/22): Here’s a satellite picture of the new site. I’m surprised just how close it is to the old campus.

I like to think of it as ‘The Crazy Ones:’

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,

disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.

They explore. They create. They inspire.

They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

I love you!

Be sure to check out the coverage around the web:

Wired: Apple at 30. Highlights: a photo gallery of every Apple (hardware) product and a page of the best Steve Jobs quotes.

San Francisco Chronicle: Apple at 30 Highlights: A long profile of Jobs and some podcast interviews with historical Apple figures including The Woz (ignoring the article discussed here though).

And just about every other Mac website too.

1. iPod Boombox: These little things are cash cows and Apple wants a piece of the pie, but I would expect some differences from the ones already on the market.
2. Intel Mac mini: Probably with a Core Single (perhaps a Duo on the high end) and including Front Row functionality. I’m hoping for even more multimedia options like DVR and iPod docking but I’m not holding my breath since these features would increase the cost beyond Apple’s low target price point. It’s possible we’ll see a Mac mini A/V or something as a higher end option at some point, but again I don’t expect this.
3. More iPod accessories like the FM Tuner Remote and Socks: again, this kind of stuff is a cash cow for Apple.