Obama Mourns Steve Jobs, One of America's Greatest Innovators
By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer
Washington - Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who conceived of ways to make communication among ordinary people extraordinary, is being remembered as one of America's greatest innovators.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama expressed their sadness on learning of Jobs' passing, saying that the California native was "brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."
Jobs, 56, died of complications from pancreatic cancer on October 5 at his home in Cupertino, California.
If the technology is interactive, then it is nearly synonymous with the vision of Steve Jobs. In 1976, Jobs and school friend Stephen Wozniak created Apple Computer, which later became known simply as Apple. The hallmark of Apple technology has been that any device - computer, phone, music player or tablet - must be easy to use.
A college dropout, Jobs began his series of accomplishments by commercializing and popularizing the graphical user interface that has made computing easy for any user regardless of experience or knowledge.
Jobs and Wozniak made the multicolored Apple logo a worldwide icon of innovation and ease-of-use technology.
Jobs went on to introduce the iPod portable music player, with its familiar ear buds; the iPhone touch-screen telephone, populated with one of the industry's newest innovations - the app; and the iPad tablet computer. The rest of the computer industry has worked to follow his lead.
"By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity," the president said in a prepared statement. "By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike."
Obama said that Jobs was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last.
"Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: He changed the way each of us sees the world," the president said.
In testimony to Jobs' achievements in technology, many Americans first learned of his passing on a device he developed, Obama said. "The world has lost a visionary."
Fans of Apple the world over have been expressing their grief and admiration for a man with an extraordinary vision for what is possible. Many fans in Japan stood outside the Apple store in Tokyo and held up their iPads with a single burning candle on the screen in remembrance of the man who brought tablet technology to the world.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State)
No comments:
Post a Comment