Is it the end of innovation at Apple – Steve Jobs changed the world

Today saw the passing of a great innovator and man, who in the bigger scheme of things changed the way the world uses computers and also listens to music and much much more.  His unique ability to innovate and think out of the box has changed a lot of day to day activities for many of us.

It would be interesting to see how many households have a least 1 of the many Apple products that over the years he has assisted in creating and innovating.  This day is surely the end of an era and hopefully the start of a new one for Apple where they can start to move forward building on the success that they have seen over the years.  I’ve followed many links today to websites and blogs that have highlighted various quotes and speeches delivered by Steve Jobs.

A few notable ones that caught my eye:

• The Microsoft / Apple tie up where both sides joined to develop Office for Mac and share patents on software.  This video also highlighted the 150 million dollar investment Microsoft made to Apple.  It’s surprising that if this collaboration, which on the video received boos and hisses from the assembled audience, could very well be the life saving act that saved Apple.
• The most notable speech involved his Stamford Speech.  This given in 2005 where he highlights just 3 stories from his life all which have a very strong lesson to be learnt.  He tells of his childhood being adopted and dropping out of university and having nothing to live on returning the tops off coke bottle to get the 5 cents back to buy food, he then goes into being sacked form Apple the company he created and then returning via his involvement in PIXAR and finally he shares his feelings of being close to death when finding out about his cancer.

The Stamford speech is well worth watching. It put many questions in my mind and I will be amazed if it doesn’t for you.