Steve Jobs - Entertainer
In my column, "Convergence In Entertainment," the exploration of technology and entertainment could not have been possible without Steve Jobs, a technologist and entertainer of unrivaled accomplishment.
The Library of Congress refers to Thomas Edison as the "Father of Entertainment," having invented both the phonograph and the kinetoscope...not to mention the lightbulb.
If Edison was the father, Jobs was the prodigal son. Just as the music industry was collapsing, Jobs gave us iTunes and saved the day for every musician, songwriter and band. It's actually embarrassing not to own an iPod, iPad or iPhone, even though Android and other smart phones, tablets and mp3 players have their share of the market.
I've been a PC guy since day one, and have suffered a strange kind of mental illness never having made the switch to iMac. I fooled around on them, enchanted by the look and comforted by its stability. The iMac was, in fact, going to be my next computer.
For recording, Pro Tools is the de facto standard in recording software, and was originally created for the Mac. All along during the problems I had with Pro Tools PC version, musicians were constantly advising me to make the switch to Mac. Meanwhile, for musician types who had not yet made the upgrade to Pro Tools, there was Apple's GarageBand.
It's going to take a miracle for Apple to survive the death of Jobs. I can't think of any other product or bevy of products that is so stamped with a single individuals signature. When I think of the Mac or related gadgets, I don't think of Apple, I think of Steve Jobs.
The word "technology" is the first word that pops into anyone's mind when they think of Jobs, but for me, I saw an entertainer.
Steve Jobs took entertainment into the Digital Age. It's quite possible he may very well be the reincarnation of Thomas A. Edison.
But he was also an entertainer. He commanded the media stage on a daily basis. Not only did the world watch and wait to see what he would come up with next, but every geek and wannabe geek worshiped him like no other tech God before him.
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