Marcus Hijkoop & Sara Levine
Features Editors
Having owned two iPhones, an iPod Nano and a Macbook, sophomore Alex Robey said Apple products play a big role in his life. Alex has only owned one type of cell phone in his life, the Apple iPhone, and doesn’t plan on switching anytime soon. “It fits perfectly into my lifestyle,” he said. “It’s easy to use, compact and full of technology. I can’t live without it.”
Dedicated Apple customers, such as Alex, have been greatly affected by the technology company’s products and, indirectly, its leader, Steve Jobs. With his recent death, many have voiced appreciation for his contributions to technology. “Jobs’ brilliant ideas have worked their way into my life, and they’re staying there for as long as I can foresee,” Alex said.
Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 at the premature age of 56, after battling pancreatic cancer for eight years. Jobs dedicated his life to the development of technology and was most commonly known as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. Though Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple six weeks before his death, he continuously worked and contributed throughout his illness to release the advancements of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, and Mac computers.
While many knew of Jobs’ struggle with cancer, many students said they were shocked when the fatal day actually arrived. “Although I had a feeling his health was going down hill when he resigned from Apple, I felt his death was a worldwide surprise,” sophomore Alyssa Berry said. “When any person who has benefited the way the world operates dies, people express their sympathy.”
Senior Izzy Scandiffio agreed. “He was so bright and his death was tragic,” she said. “We lost one of the most innovative thinkers of our time. He controlled advancements in technology through Apple.”
“His ideas and creations are so important to our world today,” junior Matt Windas said. “He made technology more accessible to everyday people who don’t have the time or skills to learn how to use more counter intuitive computer products.”
Junior Katrine Reddin agreed. “Almost everyone in the world is connected through Apple,” she said.
Jobs died a little over a week before the release of the fifth generation iPhone 4S. Many supporters of the former CEO took to social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter to declare the release date, October 14, as ‘Steve Jobs Day’. California governor Jerry Brown tweeted that Oct. 16 “will be Steve Jobs Day in the State of California.”
With his death so close to the release date, many students wondered how iPhone 4S sales would be affected. “People tend to think that Steve Jobs was the primary creative force in Apple, so sales will probably decline,” Matt said.
This has led many students to express hope for someone to continue Jobs’ legacy in the future. “Jobs was a pure genius,” Alyssa said. “In such a short period of time he envisioned and produced technology for the world. Hopefully in the future our generation can have another genius that will improve life as we know it.”
Izzy agreed. “I think people are nervous about how Apple will rebound from such a tragic loss,” she said. “Hopefully people will follow in his footsteps.”
Students all agree that the impact Steve Jobs left on the world is insurmountable. The company he founded is one of the largest consumer technology industries in the country, with over 230,000 device activations per day. Shortly after his death, 1 million iPhone 4S devices were pre-ordered and 4 million sold immediately after its release. What started as a small company in California became a multi-billion dollar industry of devoted Apple users. As Katrine described, “Once you go Mac, you never go back.”
