Steve Jobs inspired me to make apps for the Mac, quit my job and start my own business.  He created the mobile apps industry where I now mostly make my living.  Apple under Steve Jobs set the gold standard for smart phones, tablets, customer experience and even presenting on stage.  I feel fortunate to have felt his RDF (Reality Distortion Field, a shorthand for witnessing his charismatic personality and passion in person) at the “Stevenotes” at WWDC, which I have attended since 2005.

It seems incredible now that with Steve Jobs at the helm, that Apple has gone from a struggling company to being the most successful one today.  It seems normal now to stand in line for Apple products on launch day in front of the Apple Retail Stores, but before they opened, having a retail presence was thought of as a liability.  It seems normal now to have touchscreen phones, but before the iPhone was released, people used to think a hardware keyboard was necessary.  It seems normal now to have a tablet, but before the iPad was released, people didn’t think that they would want or need what seemed to be just a big iPod Touch.

But Steve Jobs was a visionary.  He brought us the future and made it real.  Especially in the past 10+ years, he has pushed the entire tech industry and perhaps the world forward in terms of technology.  He will be missed, but his legacy lives on in the products that we use today.