Stay hungry, stay foolish

Steve Jobs is dead. I am not him; I cannot make this statement beautiful. On Facebook, his death made at least two things popular than usual: a cartoon of Steve telling St. Peter that he has an app to help him replace the pile of files in front of him, and the story of three apples. As the world mourned his death, many tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs-to-be remembered his words: “Stay hungry, Stay foolish”.

Since the news of his death, the Internet is swarmed with multiple articles and posts; some admiring him on being himself and some questioning if the mourning at his death was exaggerated reaction. My post is one of the millions, but I am one of those inspired by his thoughts and ideologies, and so I write in the memory of the man who deserves an appreciation.  

My encounter with Steve
I was familiar with the name since my graduation as his name was always synonymous with Apple. Although we talked, Microsoft and Red Hat, Apple was mere a topic of general knowledge to me till I graduated. I spent almost my entire career in Microsoft technologies; I remained oblivious of Steve except for occasional encounters in tech news, back then, for all sad reasons: his exit from Apple and the diagnosis of his cancer. Then came iPod, it was a cool gadget. Never mind, I wasn’t getting one.

Then came 2007 and the day of iPhone. For the first time, I saw this man in a black t-shirt and jeans on YouTube, already lean from his cancer. This man talked sense; he had a gadget with multi-touch, appealed my appetite the first instance, and although owning the phone that costly would remain a distant dream, I had but admirations for this guy. My encounters with Steve then increased, as he appeared more and more on news and chat shows, and I got more access to the Internet.  

A source of inspiration
About a year later, a friend of mine shared a video of Steve talking to Stanford graduates in 2005, probably the most popular speech he ever made. I liked the content of the speech, appreciated it, talked about it and forgot it. It was only four years later, when my life had taken enough turns shaking me off the path of social rationality that I happened to watch the video again. I googled about him, learnt the ups and down he had in his life as an individual and as a tech enthusiast. I came to know him as an artist, someone who was far above the ideologies of other technology pioneers including Bill Gates. It did not take time for me to learn that here was a man I could align my ideologies with, to the extent possible. I was reading a lot of motivational books then, from multiple authors, and his speech was one of the sources of inspiration I would use as anecdotes in my talks and eventually in my actions, to a larger extend unconsciously. I stopped worrying about the dots. I have not been able to connect them yet, but I strongly believe it will make sense someday.

If I have chosen a path of meaning than social rationality for my life today, it is also because Steve’s words always inspired me. I would never resist noticing and appreciating him for how he outsmarted Bill Gates with his answers at D5 or how he got the better off the guy who insulted him at one of his public talks. To be successful, you have to be appealing as an individual and as an orator. If despite his ways of running a company with internal divide to get the best of his employees or of the late evening meetings with early morning follow-ups, there are millions who appreciate him for his contribution to the world; this man has got to have touched so many lives. I am mere one of the millions.

When I watched him unveil the best phone till date, I could not help recalling Bill Gates notes “if you cannot make it good, at least make it look good.” When I watched him say “real artists ship”, I could not help thinking of how many times have Microsoft postponed their scheduled shipping dates. Apple is an epitome of quality, substance and delivery that I cannot help comparing it with Microsoft, its best and noteworthy competitor. Steve Jobs steered his life towards his vision with passion, and not only trying but also delivering, and that is one big lesson to learn. You have to think different, you have to be the rebel, you have to sweat and you have to deliver. That’s how you survive and that’s how you bring sense out of life. Follow your passion and give it all, it’s the only sensible thing to do. Steve’s personal life, though not of my prime interest, was mostly ignored part of his life.

I am eagerly waiting for Walter Isaacon’s biography on Steve that is scheduled to be released on 24th this month. Unlike previous books written on him, I believe this book will contain the fragile Steve Jobs that I have seen in him; it is going to be the first time the world will know that he was human after all. Perhaps there will be some more words of inspiration he has left for the world to keep moving towards better technology, not just in progression but also in significance.  

My perception of Steve Jobs
I appreciate Steve Jobs as the man who shaped the world with a vision that made technology aesthetic. I know him as one who believed in the meaning of aesthetics, brought spirituality into technology and directed the world towards multiple technological enhancements that made the world better than before. His attitude, despite him being temperamental and erratic, appeals me. You’ve got to be foolish if you are going to redefine the rules of the game. Had Steve been healthy and with Apple all through, we would have had more innovative gadgets around. Had he lived more, we would have seen more stunning products from Apple like the mesmeric iPhone and the fascinating Mac Air. Steve, for sure, had the potential to make things beautiful. He was one of the rare artists who contributed to technology. If you compare the Newton MessagePad (the project that Steve scrapped on his return to Apple) and iPhone, you will know the potential of this man’s imagination.

People always compare Steve with Bill Gates, claiming Bill as the fake Steve. To an extent, it is true, but it is just because there is an overlap in the area of their contributions. If it had been for Steve, I would not own a computer at home today. Apple products always remained appealing, but costly. Bill is a geek and a businessman and someone with a vision to make technology accessible. For Bill, technology is business. Steve was different. Technology was a religion for him and it was his spiritual interest. Steve was neither a geek, it was Steve Woznaick’s efforts and Bill Gates’ floating point algorithm that made the first Mac possible. There is no basis on which you can make a comparison between the two greats. Yet today, if I think of Steve Jobs higher than Bill Gates, it is because I know that, in technology, quality matters.

Almost all new products to be launched in 2012 from IBM, Acer or Dell (think of laptops or tablets) are going to be inspired by iPad and Mac Air. Steve’s contribution in recent years is going to profoundly impact at least another five years of product launches. May be the world of technology won’t be as beautiful as it could have been if Steve were around, but the essence of the visions is rooted into the industry and it will flourish.  

The future of aesthetic technology
Steve is not around. There are articled on the Internet calling it the death of innovation. I disagree. May be, with Steve around, we could have had a more beautiful set of future gadgets. But when I look at the industry now and the gadgets around, I see that the need of aesthetics in technology is instigated into many, including the so call “sluggish follower” Microsoft itself. If Microsoft thinks of investing in Surface and comes up with an operating system for personal computers and tablets alike, Steve has done his job. I hopefully believe that the ideologies he placed in Apple will be retained by its employees, and I stay positive that it must have been some brilliant minds at Apple who collaboratively thought of revolutionary products like iPhone and iPad, along with Steve. I am hopeful that innovation will continue with the same spirit, by another Steve Jobs, and technology will not only grow, but glow as well.