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Steve Jobs: Entertainment Star


jobs.JPGSteve Jobs, the computer visionary who helped create Apple, then was fired from Apple, then came back to Apple to take the business to unprecedented heights, is stepping down from his post as the company’s CEO. Speculation is that Jobs’ health forced his hand: He’s suffered from a form of pancreatic cancer for seven years.

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” Jobs said in his resignation letter. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”

The Web has been awash in living obituaries for Jobs, which may seem odd to some—given that the guy is clearly still around and plans to remain ensconced as Apple’s chairman of the board. But to me, all the accolades feel well deserved. He not only shaped how we look at computers, but changed the face of entertainment as we know it. Really.

Jobs was the guy who basically ripped the computer away from its geek-centric ethos and re-imagined how we might use it in our everyday lives. Consider: There are people today who, first thing in the morning, check the weather and sports scores on their phones, work all day on their laptops, come home and watch a Pixar movie, download some tunes online and then read a bit on their tablet computer before finally calling it a night. Even if those people aren’t inundated with devices with that tiny little “i” in front of them, they still owe Jobs a tip o’ the hat: Most of today’s entertainment gadgets took their lead from Jobs’ Apple. He revolutionized the way we really view entertainment, both literally (as in the screens we watch it on) and metaphorically (as in how we really think about it).

I have an iPad at home, and it’s become a catch-all media device for my entire family: We watch television on it. We play games on it. We read on it. Everything that falls under the guise of “entertainment” or “media” can be delivered on that tiny, 10-inch device. It’s not so much a computer as it is a downtime pleasure center—the first “computer” that ever felt like it really fit in the family room.

Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that Jobs helped found Pixar, a movie studio that is setting new standards for what animated films can be.

When people talk about the entertainment industry’s most influential stars over the last decade or so, they might bring up Lady Gaga or Brad Pitt or Miley Cyrus or a host of other entertainers.

Me, my vote goes to Steve Jobs. Here’s hoping he has many years of inspiration and innovation left.