zlacker

>>patric+(OP)
I'm surprised at how sad (devastated?) this news makes me. I use Apple products now, but I am not at all a fanboy of the company and for many years defended the other side. I really hate the proprietary nature of many of their products and only use them if there is nothing else equivalent in the "open" world. That I own a few Apple products speaks volumes in itself.

But Steve has been an inspiration for the past decade or so. Brilliant, passionate, energetic, and visionary in a way that no one else can ever be.

I don't believe any company in history has had the 10 year record of Apple in the 00's. He's a genius in technology and business... but you can't study him like any other company. Case studies on Apple don't work. Because other companies don't have Steve.

Sidenote: You know he had a profound impact when the news of his departure slows down HN this much. R.I.P.

>>pitdes+v2
Same here, except for the surprise.

I've only ever owned two Apple products, but I am constantly inspired by Steve Jobs. No one else has had more of an impact on how I work as a designer and developer.

And somehow it wasn't just because he was able to create brilliant products. He had such an authentic character, that it somehow humanized the incredible work his company did and made it seem approachable and noble.

I will always be sad that I never got to meet him.