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.
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.