Today would mark the 59^th birthday of the man whose ideas shaped modern mobile and consumer technology. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, and one of the most innovative minds not only in creation but marketing of technology was taken from us in 2011. He left us a number of products and ideas that changed not only the way technology worked but how people interacted with it. While his impact on the world of technology is immeasurable, here are 5 of his innovations whose ripples were felt around the world and make us miss the genius that was Steve Jobs.

The Macintosh

The Macintosh, forerunner of the Macs we know today was a cheaper and faster version of the Lisa that Jobs had created earlier in his career at Apple  The Macintosh was the first general market PC that used a graphics interface and a mouse. It would also herald the beginning of what we now know as desktop publishing.

The iPod

While there were other digital music players on the market before Apple’s iPad, it was the first to be widely accepted. The main reason was that devices before it didn’t do a good job of integrating the player, computer and software so that it was able to transfer music from either device back and forth with a limited amount of fuss. The iPad made this a smooth transition and later models allowed for video.

iTunes

The iTunes store was one of the things that helped the iPod become so popular and also helped usher in the digital music age. Before iTunes, downloading. piracy and file sharing were the primary means of obtaining digital music. iTunes became a one stop shop for music and eventually expanded into other digital content as devices evolved.

iPhone

The iPhone was the game changer for the mobile experience.  There had been other “smartphones” but the iPhone combined the phone experience along with the popular iPod experience, and made it easy to do. The iPhone successfully made the jump from a piece of technology to a lifestyle product.

iMac

In 1996, with Apple teetering on the edge of obscurity, Jobs returned and helped with the release of the iMac. The iMac changed the PC market in a number of ways, the first of which was the actual design of the actual computer. Before everything was boxy and beige and the iMac was White and Blue and was designed with a more flattering curved design. It also started the “I” prefix in all of the Apple products, that has since become synonymous with Apple products.

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GIANT Life (@giant_life) July 09, 2013