The best way to mourn is by sharing. Here are our previously untold stories of Steve Jobs. We’ll be updating with more throughout the day. Let us know yours in the comments section below.
A unique calm
I was never introduced to Steve Jobs. The closest I came was getting out of his way as he was mobbed on a visit to London in 2007. I’d been summoned to Apple’s Regent St store to hear some news. It was a small affair, held in the store’s tiny auditorium, usually used to train new customers on the likes of iMovie.
Apple had closed the store to the public and I’d perched myself on the end of a row, typically eager to leap out of my seat at the end of the announcement. I was expecting some iPhone news, sure… but I wasn’t expecting Steve Jobs to appear directly next to me to deliver it.
He appeared unannounced. Smiling, and breezy. It was a surreal affair. One of the world’s most influential and successful businessmen talking calmly to a room of no more than 30 people, and ushering the very first iPhones into the UK.
Apple’s usual press events are large affairs. In the past, they’ve hired huge events spaces (and even borrowed BBC TV studios) to hold hundreds of journalists and business partners. This was different. This was personal.
It’s no secret I’ve been a fan of Steve Jobs for years. My friends and family know how much Steve has affected my interests and motivations. He has been inspirational on many fronts, but on that day, 18th September 2007, I was struck most by his calmness.
Even as photographers, journalists, film crews and PR teams surrounded him, pushing, shoving, shouting his name and blocking his way, Jobs looked as calm as a man out for a stroll in the park. You can see him in the photo I snapped above, and have never used until now. He smiled throughout and accommodated all requests for a handshake or a photo.
Me? I got out of his way. The man was busy, and I was happy to have seen him in person. I spent the rest of the day wondering if I would ever see him again. I never did, and now I never will. Goodbye Steve.
James Holland – Editor, Electricpig.co.uk
Getting in the way
I’d been in San Francisco for less than 36 hours. Apple’s PRs were insistent that I leave the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and join them on the West Coast for a special announcement. It was January 2007.
The day following the announcement of the iPhone, I was invited to a briefing with Greg Joswiak to get a hands-on with what we then called “The Jesus Phone”. Together with a handful of UK journos, I was one of the first outside Apple to play with the very first iPhone. Naturally, I was excited.
Back in Las Vegas were Mike Cooper and James Holland. They’d been helping me report from the front-line. With the lack of an internet connection during Jobs’ keynote, I’d been sending them updates via SMS which they put straight on the website we all worked at, T3.com. Coming out of the hands-on demo I was sprinting to the press room, with my head in my phone (texting more updates to my cohorts) when I was stopped in my tracks by a rather stern Asian woman. She was right in front of me and insistent that I move myself out of the way.
When I looked over her shoulder, I realised why. Steve Jobs was headed my way and her job, along with a handful of others, was to clear the ground for him to pass. And I was an obstacle.
I never got to actually “meet” Steve Jobs, but I did get out of his way. Right after he’d just changed the world. Again.
James Beechinor-Collins – MD, Republic Publishing
