This is a wonderful video http://youtu.be/UF8uR6Z6KLc that captures Steve’s thoughts about a single decision that transformed his life,  and ultimately, the lives of billions of people around the world.  He also speaks about his highs and lows, and moments of tremendous self doubt.  I have listened to this speech many times, and his words always ring true – particularly about the importance of loving what you do, and doing what you love for a living.  My note to all you Dudes out there:  It is never too late, but don’t forget – time is precious!

Tonight, most people are thinking of their iPhones and Pixar movies  as they pay tribute to this true genius of our century – born of the same ilk as Ben Franklin, Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison. He was a true light-bearer, and I am proud to call myself an “early adopter” of his newfangled technology. My career was transformed and took a quantum leap when my office mate – a guy named Peter Radsliff – persuaded me to buy myself a Macintosh SE20, on which I wrote and helped with the “desktop-publishing” of the original service & repair manuals for the Oceanic line of diving products, way back in 1989.

It’s hard to believe I spent more than $3K on a unit that was nearly the size of R2-D2, weighed about 35 lbs, with a 9 inch b&w screen, 1MB RAM and 20MB hard drive. You could make a very large pot of coffee in the time it took to boot up!  In retrospect, though, I’d call it the bargain of a lifetime. That wonderful, but now antiquated tool unlocked and liberated my own talents, and has since led to much bigger and better things.  I would never be where I am today without the Mac, and I owe an unpayable debt to Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and the team they led and inspired at Apple.

Long live Steve Jobs! Long live the Mac!

– G-Dude