I think he was also the driving force behind the agonizingly slow, methodical nature of software updates and to some degree hardware as well. At the time it was infuriating, but in retrospect I believe he knew what it took to achieve excellence. By the time he died Apple was positioned to move as fast as possible without negative repercussions to their bottom line.

The current state of affairs is software that is ahead of the hardware or hardware that is ahead of the software. He was certainly idolized to an unrealistic degree, but nothing like ‘Apple as a lifestyle brand’ is at this point. I was occasionally taken aback when Jobs would announce something mediocre and the audience would applaud in madness, but it was nothing in comparison with the insanity of hearing applause when Cook described drawing on one Apple Watch and seeing it show up on your friend’s. Of course, just when you thought it could not get any more pathetic he went on to show in great detail the display tables that would be used in Apple Stores to show off the watches. Fortunately they redeemed themselves with a useless touch surface, a screen that is partially blocked by design, and talking poop.

None of this changes the fact that I still bought a Mac, but it was a MUCH harder choice this time. It feels as if the point of convergence between the negatives of Microsoft Windows and Apple’s software/hardware offerings is quickly approaching.