My first computer

It was 1984 and I was a wide-eyed freshman in engineering school. My dad bought me a Mac, along with a gargantuan 20MB external hard-drive. It had a black & white screen, and 2 floppy drives and ... um ... that was it.

But that little machine transformed what was to become my career. What I learned how to do on that computer formed the foundation of what I know now.

To say that Apple had a significant impact on my life would be an understatement. To say that what Steve Jobs envisioned was transformational in this world would not be an understatement. The products he brought to market changed the way all of us use PCs. They changed the way all of us buy and listen to music ... the universal language. And then he changed the entire telephone business.

Someone compared Mr. Jobs' impact to Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Both are fitting and well-deserved. My comparison is to Henry Ford. He made the inaccessible accessible. He made what was difficult and mysterious into something fun, playful and understandable. He wrestled computers away from the privileged few who could figure them out. He gave Everyman the power to use them.

Thanks, Steve.