sheriffmitchell

Thanks Steve

jobs

Yesterday I met up with long time friend @Commutrx. It’s been months since we’ve seen each other and over many coffees we caught up on what each of us has been up to since our last meetup. It seemed like we consciously avoided one subject, Steve Jobs. Instead we took a stroll to the Apple Store to read the hundreds of post it note messages of condolence that adorned the windows of the store, a ritual that was taking place all over the world.

We are both self confessed Apple fanboys. I can safely say that I am responsible, in part for @CommutrX’s addition to the brand. We met in University studying Media Production and I already owned my first Macintosh. The 600MHz IMac DV. The first consumer computer to make video editing a dream. I’d made a five minute film with a bunch of friends, shot on a shitty Panasonic MiniDV cam. I’d edited it in iMovie and it won me a place on my Uni course.

The ability to capture DV footage through Firewire was revelatory and editing was lightening quick and super simple. The orginal iterations of iMovie exemplified the Apple experience. Shit hit results in super quick time. Baring in mid, prior to this I was editing with two VHS video decks connected with a Scart lead. The results were a paradigm shift.

My second Mac was the 15” flat panel iMac. The design was unlike anything else in the market. The speed was incredible and it was one of the first computers you could burn DVDs on, thanks to the wonderful iDVD software. @CommutrX and I were the first people on the Media Production course to submit final year productions on DVD, loaded with extras like behind the scenes documentaries and commentary tracks. The idea of using optical media now seem antiquated but in 2003 it was like something out of the future.

But this point we had, through the joy of Bit Torrent, got ourselves down with Final Cut and were making allsorts of short videos and the like. @CommutrX turned it into a full time job, I turned it into a full time hobby.

Leaving Uni I treated myself to the third generation iPod which forever changed my music listening habits allowing me to keep my entire music collection with me at all times. In late 2005 I was able to seamlessly take my video collection away with me to Singapore thanks to the iPod Video.

I increased the horsepower of my home computing by buying the huge workhorse that was the Dual G5 tower which I supplemented with the G4 iBook. On the tower I cut together two commercially released documentaries and tweaked a bunch of published photographs.

Both of the these computers, along with the G4 iMac are still going strong, having being gifted to friends and loved ones. In 2008 I got a MacBookPro on which I edited a documentary I filmed in California, and again saw published photographs edited on ‘borrowed’ copy of Lightroom.

Earlier this year my iPhone seemlessly guided me through the side streets of New York thanks to app built by a friend of mine @paul_a_smith and my MacBookPro was recycled to make way for my new beautiful 21” iMac. I use my iPad daily to devour online content, send emails and solve all movie related arguments. And this Friday I will take delivery of my 32Gb White iPhone 4S after a few months away playing with Android.

In the past 12 years I have spent thousands and thousands of pounds of Apple products and apart from some logic board issues with my second iMac, thanks to which I lost all of my University work, a lesson which taught me the need for backups, I have had no problems. All of the these Apple products have played a big part in shaping many life changing experiences. Their design and ease of use and ‘almost’ rock solid reliability is down to Steve Jobs. His product announcements filled me with excitement, wonder and an aching credit card.

Thanks Steve.