Where were you when Steve passed away

[iMi]

I was just thinking about the first Mac I’ve owned. It has been such a long time. I stumbled upon a website that explored Apple’s history through their website. This trip down the memory lane brought up the memories of the time when Apple’s future wasn’t all that certain again. We all remember the early 2000’s when Apple was days away from insolvency. Then Jobs returned. Apple launched the iPod and the iTunes store and the rest is history.

Then came the news. Steve Jobs, diagnosed in 2004, has died from complications related to pancreatic cancer. It was 2011. Do you remember when you were when the news broke? We’re all here because we love Apple and enjoy the products they develop. Steve is remembered and admired because of his vision for what Apple could become. There is no argument he saved Apple and was passionate about technology.

I remember that day. I was in class at Loyola University in Chicago; in a graduate level marketing class. As usual, I had my MacBook in front of me. I don’t remember why but I went to Apple’s website at that moment. The home page features a photo of Steve Jobs, looking directly at the camera with his thumb resting on his chin. A thoughtful, resolute visionary. Next to the photo, the caption read ”Steve Jobs 1955-2012.” The professor was talking. I blurred out “Steve Jobs died.” Silence. Everyone reacted. You‘d hear keyboards clacking. People talking. It was at that moment that I realized Steve Jobs, for all his faults and shortcomings, was a visionary. He often knew what we wanted before we knew what we wanted.

So, I’m curious. Where were you? Did you remember learning about Steve’s passing? Did it impact you? Did you think Apple wasn’t going to be the same? I’d lIke to hear your story.

 

[throAU]

I would have been at home likely in bed asleep.

If you want cute stories about the very early apple including the staff (including Jobs) from people who were there:


www.folklore.org


Steve in particular:

Folklore.org: The Original Macintosh

www.folklore.org

 

[iMi]

I would have been at home likely in bed asleep.

If you want cute stories about the very early apple including the staff (including Jobs) from people who were there:


www.folklore.org


Steve in particular:

Folklore.org: The Original Macintosh

www.folklore.org

Awesome links. Thanks for sharing them!

 

[throAU]

I find this one particularly amusing and IMHO a clear illustration of both why Steve would have been painful to work for, but also a visionary

Folklore.org: Round Rects Are Everywhere!

www.folklore.org

 

[bousozoku]

I was taking care of my adoptive mother, who was dying from pancreatic cancer.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

No idea. Work maybe? Not sure.

 

[iMi]

I was taking care of my adoptive mother, who was dying from pancreatic cancer.

I’m so sorry. That’s a painful memory and one so relevant. Please accept my condolences.

 

[dukebound85]

no idea. Probably work?

 

[ghboard2010]

I was just thinking about the first Mac I’ve owned. It has been such a long time. I stumbled upon a website that explored Apple’s history through their website. This trip down the memory lane brought up the memories of the time when Apple’s future wasn’t all that certain again. We all remember the early 2000’s when Apple was days away from insolvency. Then Jobs returned. Apple launched the iPod and the iTunes store and the rest is history.

Then came the news. Steve Jobs, diagnosed in 2004, has died from complications related to pancreatic cancer. It was 2011. Do you remember when you were when the news broke? We’re all here because we love Apple and enjoy the products they develop. Steve is remembered and admired because of his vision for what Apple could become. There is no argument he saved Apple and was passionate about technology.

I remember that day. I was in class at Loyola University in Chicago; in a graduate level marketing class. As usual, I had my MacBook in front of me. I don’t remember why but I went to Apple’s website at that moment. The home page features a photo of Steve Jobs, looking directly at the camera with his thumb resting on his chin. A thoughtful, resolute visionary. Next to the photo, the caption read ”Steve Jobs 1955-2012.” The professor was talking. I blurred out “Steve Jobs died.” Silence. Everyone reacted. You‘d hear keyboards clacking. People talking. It was at that moment that I realized Steve Jobs, for all his faults and shortcomings, was a visionary. He often knew what we wanted before we knew what we wanted.

So, I’m curious. Where were you? Did you remember learning about Steve’s passing? Did it impact you? Did you think Apple wasn’t going to be the same? I’d lIke to hear your story.

Actually, Apple appeared to be on its' last leg about 1996, by early naughts Steve had 'righted the ship', and was 'full steam ahead' with the iMac, iPod, and by 2007 we had the first iteration of the world renowned iPhone.

As for that day in October 2011, I was in lab repairing front end tuners for PAR Systems {PAR: Precision Approach Radar}. I had a Windows box running Windows 2000, and that a.o.k., the box was a standalone workstation, no network connection. Network activity of any kind would disrupt timing related testing resulting bizarre results, so no network at my workbench.

I learned of Steve's passing later after work. I was saddened about reading this news, knowing that Apple no longer had its' primary 'Reality Distortion Field Generator' at the helm. And so things changed for better or worse,(depending on ones' personal opinions of all the Apple).

 

[bousozoku]

I’m so sorry. That’s a painful memory and one so relevant. Please accept my condolences.

Thanks. That's only half of it. Their birthdays were close. Their deaths were close. Every year, I'm able to relive the pain because thousands of people help revive it indirectly. Peace is not 100%.

A year after her death, I found myself helping my friends' Chinese restaurant with a delivery to the local hospital ER. It's been uncomfortable.

 

[satcomer]

I was working in Virginia tricking out my 2008 Mac Pro!

 

[ucfgrad93]

No idea. While his death was sad, it wasn’t important enough for me to remember where I was when I heard about it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Probably at home, caring for my mother, who had developed dementia.

 

[Clix Pix]

I was sitting at my Mac catching up on forums and emails and suddenly got a PM from a fellow Mac user on one of those forums, who had just heard the news on the radio or TV; she knew I was an Apple fan and admirer of Steve and alerted me. I promptly burst into tears and then sent her a response, still somewhat shocked, even though this was news that was inevitable, given the severity of his illness at that point. Later that day or perhaps it was the next day I went over to the local mall to the Apple store, and saw that I was indeed not alone in my sadness.....

 

[eyoungren]

I was just thinking about the first Mac I’ve owned. It has been such a long time. I stumbled upon a website that explored Apple’s history through their website. This trip down the memory lane brought up the memories of the time when Apple’s future wasn’t all that certain again.

From 2003 to May 2020, my daily driver Mac has been a PowerPC Mac. The last DD being a PowerMac G5 Quad. The first Mac you remember may be different than the Macs I have used, but PowerPC is solidly in the Steve Jobs era. I'm now using a 2009 Mac Pro as my DD, my youngest Mac.

I own an iPhone 5, the last iPhone design Steve had a hand in. Funnily enough, Apple seems to be going back to that design with the iPhone SE and SE2 and some of the iPads.

My point in mentioning this stuff is that for some this is nostalgia, and for some, we use these Macs still - every day.

We all remember the early 2000’s when Apple was days away from insolvency. Then Jobs returned. Apple launched the iPod and the iTunes store and the rest is history.

No, I'm sorry I don't. Yes, I used PowerMac G4s at work in 1999-2000, but that was work. At home I used homebuilt PCs and a Toshiba laptop. I didn't convert to Apple until 2003, well after Steve had come back. Up until then, I just didn't care about Apple because I wasn't using it outside of work.

I don't mean to be a jerk, because this is a nostalgia thread, but not everyone has had the same Apple path.

Then came the news. Steve Jobs, diagnosed in 2004, has died from complications related to pancreatic cancer. It was 2011. Do you remember when you were when the news broke? We’re all here because we love Apple and enjoy the products they develop. Steve is remembered and admired because of his vision for what Apple could become. There is no argument he saved Apple and was passionate about technology.

I was at work, having put out a newspaper using a PowerMac G5 and was browsing news and Facebook using my own 17" PowerMac G4 (which I still own).

PS. At that time, I set up reminders in my Google calendar. In fact, the first one went off this morning as I was reading your OP, reminding me about Steve's death. In the coming days my calendar will tell me the day he was buried, and the day that Apple had its memorial service.

 

[Monotremata]

I was actually sitting in the optometrists chair at an eye appointment. My doctor was looking up something on his iPad, and I think a news story popped up and he stopped what he was doing and said 'Oh no, Steve Jobs just died' and both us were pretty bummed for the rest of the appointment. I went home and had a moment with my G5 and my blue and white G3 remembering their daddy. Apple itself died that day.

 

[iMi]

From 2003 to May 2020, my daily driver Mac has been a PowerPC Mac. The last DD being a PowerMac G5 Quad. The first Mac you remember may be different than the Macs I have used, but PowerPC is solidly in the Steve Jobs era. I'm now using a 2009 Mac Pro as my DD, my youngest Mac.

I own an iPhone 5, the last iPhone design Steve had a hand in. Funnily enough, Apple seems to be going back to that design with the iPhone SE and SE2 and some of the iPads.

My point in mentioning this stuff is that for some this is nostalgia, and for some, we use these Macs still - every day.


No, I'm sorry I don't. Yes, I used PowerMac G4s at work in 1999-2000, but that was work. At home I used homebuilt PCs and a Toshiba laptop. I didn't convert to Apple until 2003, well after Steve had come back. Up until then, I just didn't care about Apple because I wasn't using it outside of work.

I don't mean to be a jerk, because this is a nostalgia thread, but not everyone has had the same Apple path.


I was at work, having put out a newspaper using a PowerMac G5 and was browsing news and Facebook using my own 17" PowerMac G4 (which I still own).

PS. At that time, I set up reminders in my Google calendar. In fact, the first one went off this morning as I was reading your OP, reminding me about Steve's death. In the coming days my calendar will tell me the day he was buried, and the day that Apple had its memorial service.

It’s amazing you’re still using those vintage Macs. And you’re absolutely right. We all have a different path. It is nostalgic in my case to see those old Macs and remembering things from back then. So much has changed and a trip down the memory lane from time to time is good for the soul.

 

[eyoungren]

It’s amazing you’re still using those vintage Macs. And you’re absolutely right. We all have a different path. It is nostalgic in my case to see those old Macs and remembering things from back then. So much has changed and a trip down the memory lane from time to time is good for the soul.

I'm part of the PowerPC community here on MacRumors. In, fact the PowerPC forum is why I signed up, a couple of months before Jobs died. We all contribute to their continued relevance.

It's nice sometimes knowing that you're using a Mac that Apple sold while Jobs was still running the company. I am no fan of Job's personality and the way he treated people, but his excellence in the product and selling it to people is undeniable.

There is a reason the Macs of the Jobs era, PowerPC Macs, are still functional, viable and usable today.

 

[iMi]

I'm part of the PowerPC community here on MacRumors. In, fact the PowerPC forum is why I signed up, a couple of months before Jobs died. We all contribute to their continued relevance.

It's nice sometimes knowing that you're using a Mac that Apple sold while Jobs was still running the company. I am no fan of Job's personality and the way he treated people, but his excellence in the product and selling it to people is undeniable.

There is a reason the Macs of the Jobs era, PowerPC Macs, are still functional, viable and usable today.

You may appreciate this story. When I worked in advertising our company was hired by Apple’s agency to develop a rich media placement. We were a typical tech company. Zero dress code, ton of nerds and beer Fridays. One day I was downstairs and all of a sudden there is a whole bunch of very excited programmers. All giddy and simply thrilled. Turns out, Steve Jobs was on the call with the agency. He dialed in and was listening until he decided he had enough and yelled at everyone on the phone. Apparently he was not pleased, cursed a lot and basically put everyone though a ringer. Our team loved it. Yup, getting cursed out by Jobs was the coolest thing ever apparently. Those guys wouldn’t shut up about it for weeks. It was actually pretty funny.

 

[yaxomoxay]

You may appreciate this story. When I worked in advertising our company was hired by Apple’s agency to develop a rich media placement. We were a typical tech company. Zero dress code, ton of nerds and beer Fridays. One day I was downstairs and all of a sudden there is a whole bunch of very excited programmers. All giddy and simply thrilled. Turns out, Steve Jobs was on the call with the agency. He dialed in and was listening until he decided he had enough and yelled at everyone on the phone. Apparently he was not pleased, cursed a lot and basically put everyone though a ringer. Our team loved it. Yup, getting cursed out by Jobs was the coolest thing ever apparently. Those guys wouldn’t shut up about it for weeks. It was actually pretty funny.

I seem to remember a similar story about Bill Gates, apparently he sent a brutal email to some unknown employee, and the employee became some sort of hero because he had received an email directly from Gates.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Apple itself died that day.

I disagree with the statement, but I'd admit that without Jobs the tech industry is much less fun.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

I was 13-years-old in 7th grade and I distinctly remember the day. It was a cloudy foggy day and I had an Android phone at the time. I remember I dropped it on the way home from school and the glass shattered. It was when I got home that I found out Steve Jobs had died. I took that as a sign that I needed to switch back to the iPhone. I did and haven't looked back.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

I think I was at home, the news broke in the late afternoon/early evening (Pacific Time). It was sad but expected.

Here in Silicon Valley it was widely accepted for months that he was terminally ill. His resignation as CEO was essentially his acknowledgment of his condition; actions speak louder than words. It was no longer a matter of "if" but simply "when."

The following evening I went to the Palo Alto Apple Store to drop off a little tribute. This was the original store at the corner of University Avenue and Kipling Street (the former music store) not the newer store at the Florence Street intersection (the old Z Gallerie shop). It was Steve's home store, the one he would often drop by on many product launch days.

Unsurprisingly the front of this store had turned into a Steve Jobs shrine. The store staff provided colored Post-It notes and the main display window was plastered with people's written thoughts.

 

[SkyBell]

I don't remember much, other than sitting on my couch at my first house I had ever rented and getting a call from my sister about the news. And then of course having every person I knew telling me about it and asking how I felt about it for the next few days afterwards.