Most people in the UK were tucked up in bed when the sad news of Steve Jobs’ death was released, but I was still up, getting a few chores done while the house was quiet. It was kind of strange as I wanted to pass on the news and talk about Steve and Apple but everyone I knew was asleep. For a moment, for all the social networks, for all the tweets, it was just me and my thoughts, sitting at my desk, alone.
The Steve Jobs and Apple I will always remember is not the consumerism of the iWorld but the part they played in the 80s and in particular, the Apple ][. My father had an engineering business and I remember him buying the Apple from a dealer about 50 miles away – you couldn’t just pop into PC World in those days. The beige unit, the twin 5.25″ floppies, the green screen monitor.
Photography courtesy of Rama & Musée Bolo
On weekends and on holidays he would bring the computer home for me and my brother to play games on. I remember playing a breakout game for hours on the computer – I think there were only three levels and the last was blindly fast. Later, I started programming the Apple ][ and from that point a career in technology beckoned.
I even had a black Apple-branded sports bag that I used as a school bag. It had Apple patches at each end and for some reason, when the bag was worn out, I took them off the bag and kept them. I really was a geek even then.
I’m not good with famous people so it’s probably for the best that we never met. The last celebrity I met was a Pop Idol / X Factor winner and I totally dissed him by not knowing who he was (sorry).
Regardless, I’d like to say thank you, Steve, especially for the Apple ][ and the journey it started for me. Requiescat in pace.