NaBloPoMo Day 6 - Sent From My iPhone

There were a number of different topics that I considered writing about today, but all that fell by the way when I saw the news.

Steve Jobs died today.

Sometimes a technology comes along that really does change lives. Medical advances like MRI machines and pacemakers literally save lives, while other advances change the way we think or the way we use something. Apple and the technologies the company has developed in recent years have done just that.

In the same way that Sky+ changed the way I use TV, the iPhone changed the way I use my phone. I remember the days when I used to schedule study time around what I wanted to watch on TV and these days I very rarely watch anything at the point of broadcast, and I remember the days when my mobile phone was for making and receiving calls. These days all my TV viewing gets recorded to the Sky+ and I'm more likely to use my phone to check Twitter or my email than to make a call. My iPhone keeps me informed and keeps me connected to friends and family across the UK and all around the world. My iPhone is my camera, my music player and the whole internet in my pocket. It's communication, it's entertainment and it's knowledge in the palm of your hand and the technology that has come after it (namely the iPad) is just as impressive - this blog post is written on an iPad.

These are amazing tools that set make accessing the Internet and media easier and they are tools that set us free from the office. And they as beautiful as they are versatile.

Some people will play down Apple's contribution and Steve Jobs' role in it but make no mistake, while these great products are the result of great software and great design that is developed by many many skilled and talented people, but Jobs brought that talent together and inspired the company that facilitated that development. You may not be a fan of Apple and you may not use any Apple products but look around, look at the technology you do use: would your MP3 player exist without the iPod, would your Android phone exist without the iPhone, would tablets have had the resurgence they have experienced without the iPad? For the past decade, Apple has been leading the way and every one else has been playing catch up.

So I feel perfectly justified in saying the Steve Jobs was a genius and a visionary and that his death is a loss to the world of technology. This is a sad day for those of us that appreciate Apple products and so, in tribute, I say this:

Sent from my iPhone.