We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build. When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through. — Steve Jobs in an interview with Playboy in 1985, talking about this Mac thing he played a part in inventing.
As you may have noticed, today was big day of Steve Jobs-related tribute and reflection on the internet. And while no, Jobs isn’t dead, his stepping down as Apple CEO does signify the end of a career of innovation perhaps only rivaled in American history by Thomas Edison. The man reshaped entire industries around the world.
So I’ve spent some time reading a bunch of the stuff published about Jobs, his career and his life today — much of it quite good — and I’ve compiled a few highlights with links if you feel so inclined to indulge in the Steve Jobs lovefest, as I did.
-The New York Times put together a great infographic on the 300-plus patents held by Jobs.
-James Altucher wrote a list of ten fascinating but little-known facts about Jobs and his life.
-The New York Observer highlighted a speech Jobs gave in 1997 on the value of saying no.
-Gizmodo posted a great story on how much of a stickler for detail Jobs is.
-Grantland’s Katie Baker on how pulling for jobs was a lot like pulling for your favorite sports team.
-Yahoo’s Dylan Stableford makes the argument that Jobs was a lot like a world class editor-in-chief.
-Fast Company’s Adam Penenberg got really, really meta over Jobs’ resignation.
-Brobible takes a look at the seven most significant moments in Steve Jobs footwear history.
And to think — this is where it all began…
Thank you for all you’ve done for us, Steve. May the rest of your years be filled with happiness. You will be missed.
But most of us won’t miss you as much as this guy…
(iMiss graphic via)