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
Your comment really resonated with me. I'm no Apple fanatic, but I too am far more saddened by this news than I would have believed. I wonder what else he would have come up with if he lived another 20 years? I'm sad I'll never get to find out.

>>dos1+G4
Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus. I literally purchased my first Apple product a couple of months ago with great skepticism; I am a frequent critic of iTunes, and Apple products in general. I always viewed Steve Jobs as someone who I admired for his success and vision, but no more than any other notable figure in the field. But I feel a poignant melancholy at the news... when I saw someone's comment pointing out that the filename for the image on Apple.com was "t_hero.png", I found myself almost moved to tears.

Perhaps you really do never understand the gravity of losing something until you lose it.