Linked List: October 5, 2011

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

‘It Means to Say Your Goodbyes’ 

The most he ever revealed about himself — his 2005 commencement address at Stanford. Can’t think of any better way to sign off tonight than to quote Steve himself:

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

‘He Changed the Way Each of Us Sees the World’ 

President Barack Obama:

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

Tim Cook’s Company-Wide Email 

Tim Cook:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Steve Jobs Dies 

So it goes. So it goes.

Damn it. I thought the “That day has come” line in his resignation letter implied the end was near, but, truth be told, I never gave up hope that Steve would beat this again.

What a life.

That’d Be Some Fall 

Zach Epstein:

But an interesting takeaway from yesterday’s announcement may simply be that Apple has fallen from grace in some respects. Apple is fallible, even if the 4S ends up being a success. A company that could do no wrong in recent history just, well, did wrong in the eyes of pundits who had previously viewed every Apple product announcement as a gift from the heavens.

So even if it’s a success, it’s a fall from grace? And since when does Apple care what the pundits think? And since when are new Apple products met with universal acclaim from the pundits? Remember the original iPad? Lots of pundits thought it was boring. The knock on the iPad 2 was that it wasn’t better enough to encourage existing iPad owners to upgrade. Etc.

Were yesterday’s hardware announcements spectacular? No. But Apple product announcements seldom are. The show me something new and shiny pundits have never understood Apple.

By Any Other Name 

Marco Arment:

Would as many people be disappointed if Apple had released the same device but called it the iPhone 5?

Likewise, why the disappointment in no new form factor? The iPhone 4S internals are cutting edge. The external design is still the best-looking device on the market. The new-form-factor “iPhone 5” everyone was hoping for had the same internal specs — dual core A5, improved camera — as the actual iPhone 4S, right?