R.I.P., Steve Jobs!!

The world will never be the same again. The most public face of innovation of our times- Steve Jobs, is no more. This marks the end of an era and here is my tribute to the man who brought technology closer to human lives and made it what it should be- simple to use.

A lot has been said about Apple products. People never get tired swearing by it. But for Steve Jobs, the world, possibly, would have never known what Personal Computers could be or what a "click" could do. Or more recently what "pinching" on a screen could achieve. The list could go on for a long time, but Steve Jobs' biggest innovation, in my opinion, was bringing the best in class to ,well, the classes. Apple started off as a niche company, bringing the best products to only a few who could afford them. That was however till, iPhone changed all that. Arguably, the best smartphone built to date, it was as simple as it could get and was priced at a very affordable $200 (with contract of course). It brought Apple to everyday lives of many. People witnessed what best in class was and how technology could fit into their lives and their pockets. Aspirational didn't just remain that. It became experiential.

But this is not just about innovations. Steve Jobs and Apple wouldn't have been where they are today if it were just innovations that they brought to the lives of many. 3M brings about more innovations that touch more lives. What set Jobs apart has more to do with a powerful human emotion- he was inspirational. An adopted kid, he dropped out of college to create Apple. Thrown out of Apple, he came back and took Apple to greater heights. His trip to India which made him realize that Edison did more for the world than Karl Marx and his Indian spiritual guru, he spent the rest of his life doing more for the world around him. The commencement day address at Stanford (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA) remains an all time greatest inspirational speeches, where Jobs talks about keeping yourself hungry and foolish.  A great inventor himself, he put death as the greatest invention of life that weeds out the old and makes way for the new. It was these very ideals that make the life and times of Steve Jobs inspirational to people from all walks of life- students to CEOs.

Today, as the world loses a great human being, even Steve Jobs' detractors can't hide their admiration. The world takes a bow.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs!!

And so the Cookie crumbles!!

This was pending for a long long time. I had to take up the public stage and say something. So, the obvious question- why did it take so long? Well, a number of reasons, the most weird being- I couldn't find a suitable title for my blog. Have you heard of a more lame excuse? Come'on, it's true. And I, being a self proclaimed perfectionist, had to have a blog name that was unique, and I, being a late entrant into the blogging world, didn't have too many options left. But after a few clicks on "Check for Availability", I realized that whatever name I choose, the success message after the Availability check would be a significantly good enough measure of uniqueness. And behold, out came the word "Jib-berish". Why? I don't know, but let's keep that aside for the moment. As important as it may sound, it's definitely not the reason why you should be here spending your precious time reading this.

So, lets start. What do I talk about? I am not a natural talker. My wife and 90% of people who know me would say, who doesn't know that. Well, I always say, I don't talk doesn't mean I can't talk. I can talk nonsense and more than you can imagine. Again, my wife, but this time, only 10% of the people who know me would say, we always knew that. Hence this is to prove to the rest 90%. And this again brings me back to the word "Jib-berish" or gibberish because it seems absolutely perfect as a title. This is exactly what you should expect, mish- mash of thoughts, ideas, views, sometimes contradicting and mostly without any rhyme, reason or logic, something you would have already felt reading through till now.

One more important thing before I forget, do give me "your" two cents. Words of encouragement, advise and critiques. Good or bad, I will at least know if someone is reading this. On a serious note, I would sincerely like to write about things that would make an interesting read and worth your time.

So, now that all the formalities are done with, I hope to have something more meaningful and interesting next time you are here!! 

Till then, take care!!!