I switched to Apple in 1990. Only months before I left MIT, I decided to leave IBM, as well. And I was over the moon. The experience was breathtaking. I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt liberated. Twenty-one year later, I still feel happy with my Apple computers, of which I happen to have no less than three at the same time. At the moment, I am typing into my Mac Book Air. However, I never connected all this to Steve Jobs. Although I always appreciated what he was doing, I was also annoyed by his prominence in the media. His illness changed little for me. The show went on, but I paid it little attention. His death has changed things, though. Out of the blue, this morning I find myself fearing that Apple itself is in question. Everything will be going smoothly for a while, of course, but it is hard to tell for how long. Sooner or later, Apple will start fading. Am I exaggerating this time? Perhaps, but I still fear that Apple was Steve Jobs and that Steve Jobs was Apple. Note the past tense, too.

Addendum (October 21, 2015)

Judging by this piece, I kind of panicked a day after Steve Jobs’ death. Tim Cook started as acting Chief Executive Officer of Apple after Jobs got seriously ill, but he took over as CEO months before Jobs passed away. So many years later, Cook is taking Apple from one business high to another. In other words, my panic had to do with the massive hype about Jobs, which eventually got to me even though I was paying it little attention at the time. It only goes to show what a hype it actually was back then. It was not just massive, but outright gargantuan. Given the company’s growing success, I can imagine the hype surrounding the next succession at its helm. By then, Apple will be Tim Cook and Tim Cook will be Apple. Once again, note the future tense.