So farewell then ... Steve Jobs (56)

No matter what you think about the Apple zealots (and iTunes software) it's impossible not to be affected by the death of Steve Jobs. At Apple he has been at the forefront of so much technological and design innovation which directly affects our lives - from the Mac, through the iPhone to the iPad. In the words of AP he had a key role in "reshaping the world's digital landscape". In business terms  "he saw what consumers wanted even before they knew what it was, and positioned Apple to exploit that need" (Loren Steffy).

Possibly the world's most famous garage:
The Apple Computer manufacturing plant 1976-77

Who would have thought, when we were kids, that we would be able to carry our whole collection of albums on a device smaller than a packet of fags (or for that matter, that the concept of a packet of fags would become alien to most of us in the 21st century).

The two Steves: Wozniak and Jobs in the early days

One of the most interesting and touching tributes has been from Steve Wozniak who worked with Jobs from the beginning (you need to click to view the video).

The Mac has long been the PC of choice for creatives (and stylistas) all over the world, while the iPhone and the ability to use apps has allowed thousands to be creative and develop their own applications. There is now an app for pretty much everything.

An example of the creative applications which Apple has seeded is the Barbarian Group's iTunes visualizer, called the ‘Magnetosphere’. Here it is in action (best watched full screen) - a brilliant realisation of Solar by Flight404. The music is by Goldfrapp - Lovely Head from the album Felt Mountain:



You can download Magnetosphere from the Barbarian Group. They are currently developing the visualizer further to have the program decipher the lyrics of the tracks and integrate them directly in the visualization.

Pretty cool - and totally Apple/Steve Jobs ...