I never met Steve Jobs or talked to him on the phone.  I never exchanged emails with him or interviewed him on the radio.  But when I heard he died, it was felt like I had lost a close friend.

I grew up with Steve Jobs in business.  I remember my father buying the first Apple II home computer that was available.  From the sidelines, I cheered Steve’s successes (Returning to Apple, MacIntosh, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, MacBook, and the iPad) and even mourned his failures (fired from Apple, The Newton, Lisa, and Next Computers).  I admired Apple coming back from having to take money from Microsoft and Bill Gates to being the most valuable company in the world.

Having worked for IBM in the 1990’s, I grew up on DOS and Windows Computers.  Apple was the other guy until I bought my first iPod.  Steve got me.  My sons all wanted MacBooks for their computers.  When it came time for my wife to have a new computer, I bought her an Apple.  When the iPhone came out, I successfully resisted it…but only for a year.

Now I cheer every Apple innovation and new product.  My family would visit an Apple store just for the fun of it.  More importantly, I cheer Steve Jobs for the impact his genius had and how much fun all of his products are to use.  RIP Steve Jobs.  We will miss you in this world.