The debate as to whether SJ is a good or bad man has been and will continue to be a matter of great debate.*
However his capabilities are less open to discussion; under his stewardship Apple has gone from the verge of collapse to the 2nd largest company in the US when valued by Market Capital. It has showed year on year growth over the last 10 years that is the envy of the industry.*
I have personally benefited from Apple's products since I bought my first one just after the first release of OSX. Since then I have taken great pleasure in letting Apple dictate the development of my digital life as I have embraced iLife, iPods, each release of OSX, the iPhone, *ipad and most recently Apple TV 2. Over that time I have bought dozens of other gadgets in the hope that they could be integrated into my life: excepting digital cameras, they have all proved to be useless to the point that I have stopped trying.*
Regardless of the talent at Apple (and there is plenty of that), one man has led the vision and he has been so good at it that he has managed to convince millions more to join in. For those of us that have fully embraced it, our complaints may have been loud, but the the justified ones have been few. Most are simply us trying to hold onto our belief that what we wanted next was the most important. We want Apple's holistic vision, but we bemoan the fact that the developments aren't as prolific as those who are quick to dump products on to the Market. Apple knows when elements are missing and usually acts to add them. I know that my loudest moans are when Apple have let their quality slip, not when they haven't delivered something I want.*
So to my final point: for all his brilliance the man is frail and he has a family to whom his achievements are surely secondary to his presence and therefore I wish him the speediest of recoveries; not for him, but for those that love and need him. To all those that wish for his demise, you are wishing pain not on him, but to those that love him. *All crimes are forgivable except when the perpetrator knowingly denies or wishes the denial of someone access to those that they love. *
