Steve Jobs

Couldn't let the day pass without some comment on Steve Jobs, without whose contribution I and probably many others might still be finding IT awkward but necessary. This quote comes from an interview in Wired in 1996.

What's the biggest surprise this technology will deliver?

The problem is I'm older now, I'm 40 years old, and this stuff doesn't change the world. It really doesn't.

That's going to break people's hearts.

I'm sorry, it's true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We're born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It's been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much - if at all.

These technologies can make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These things can profoundly influence life. I'm not downplaying that. But it's a disservice to constantly put things in this radical new light - that it's going to change everything. Things don't have to change the world to be important.

It's quoted by Tim Carmody in a thoughtful piece on how Apple technology helps his son, who is on the autistic spectrum, communicate. 

[via Mark Barratt]