Everybody says "Thank you Steve Jobs"

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”

This quote from Buddha suits surprisingly well to Steve Jobs. Because if everyone doesn’t like Apple products, even his worst critics must admit that this entrepreneurial genius has left his mark on the world of new technologies with his inventions. Visionary and unrelenting, he was the bearer of an ideal, influencing many entrepreneurs.

He loved to say it was a trip to India that opened his eyes to this new way of thinking: to put the user at the center of the creative process. Isn't he one of the pioneers of personal computing for having introduced personal computers in everybody's home? Didn't he point out the potential of the couple GUI / mouse after a visit with his team to Xerox PARC?

Thus, he favored ergonomy to technology. Whereas computers using the operating system MS-DOS from Microsoft were easily alterable and customizable, Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak decided to seal the Macintosh. He had determined our needs and strove to move beyond our desires. Useless to try to change components inside our computer when everything was already perfect! "Anticipate the customer's needs and wishes" became the guiding policy of Apple's marketing. Remember the first Macintosh: it was so well designed that some machines are still available for second hand sale today.

For Steve Jobs, it was only the beginning of a great series of innovations. October 91, Apple released the first PowerBook: a laptop with a keyboard which would be imitated by all other laptops in the future. One of the slight but major innovations he brought to the keyboard was its positioning. If you can rest your hands on the front of your keyboard, it is thanks to Steve Jobs. Because before this change your hands were constantly suspended in the air!

On the left, an old Macintosh laptop. On the right, a Powerbook with this addition to lay his hands (images via oldcomputers)

August 1998, he kept on amazing us with the iMac (which has been constantly evolving since then). With this new computer, and thanks to genius designer Jonathan Ive, Apple adopted its sleek and atypical design.

Apple released the famous iPod in November 2001. With its many technical advances, the iPod quickly became the best-selling portable media player in the world.

Apple stroke back on the market of mobile computing in 2007 with the iPhone: a revolution signed Steve Jobs. With this smartphone, he became the pioneer of multi-touch-sensitive capacitance sensors of the operating system from Apple - IOS.

Image via Bindapple

The iPad was launched January 27 th, 2010 by Steve Jobs. Famous Wall Street Jounal technology columnist Walt Mossberg stated "the iPad looks like a "giant iPod touch". But he also admited that it offered more powerful softwares similar to the versions for Macintosh, especially in the case of productivity applications.

Yes, Steve Jobs has had a big impact on the world of new technologies. Beyond his amazing innovations, he also embodies the American dream. Coming from nothing, he accomplished his dreams with gusto. It is important to remember this man was inhabited by an incredible force. Until the end, he fought against cancer and has prepared his succession as best he could. His way of living can be summarized with these simple words he once said:

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address