Steve Jobs Dead At Age 56

By now everyone has heard the news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs died earlier today at the age of 56 following a lengthy bout with cancer.

There will be plenty of obituaries detailing his accomplishments as a businessman, an inventor and a visionary genius. In most cases, postmortem career assessments often veer toward hyperbole but in Jobs’ case they actually seem like an understatement. Even if you’re not an ‘Apple Fanboy’ (I’m a proud Android phone user myself) you can’t get away from the reality that Steve Jobs changed the world and did it several times over.

I’m not sure if Jobs ever placed a bet in a casino or with a bookmaker but it doesn’t take much of a metaphorical stretch to understand that he was a consummate gambler. He didn’t just repeatedly bet his company’s financial future on new products and technologies, he went for bigger stakes as he redefined the future of several industries and wagered correctly that the market would follow.

His impact is staggering starting with what is likely the fundamental element of the entire technological revolution of the past few decades: bringing the personal computer to the consumer market with the Macintosh literally changed the course of world history and established the groundwork for the growth of the Internet and the very transformation of the world economy. For an encore, Jobs transformed the entertainment industry via digital playback and distribution with the iPod. As was noted during Tuesday’s announcement of the new iPhone iteration over 300 million iPods have been sold worldwide. It took Sony 30 years to sell 220,000 Walkman personal cassette players. Apple changed the game, and leveraged the iPod and iTunes to become an entertainment power broker.

Then there’s the iPhone, which did the same thing for cellphone technology. Even though I prefer the Android OS, I’m fully aware that without the iPhone’s booming popularity the entire smartphone category wouldn’t have reached critical mass as quickly as it did. And the iPad, which once again transformed the technological experience and redefined how digital media of several forms is consumed. Jobs’ creative genius and notoriously meticulous attention to detail had a huge impact on countless ancillary areas including how consumer goods are designed, marketed and purchased.

You’d have to be oblivious to think that this confluence of innovation doesn’t have an impact on sports betting and the gaming industry. To the contrary, the current gambling milieu owes much to Jobs and his vision. If you listen to the EOG Sports Hour archives via a podcast, handicap sports on a personal computer or follow scores on a cellphone or iPad you’re a beneficiary of Steve Jobs’ contributions to modern culture.

Following his diagnosis with cancer in 2005 he gave a commencement address at Stanford University that included this observation:

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

Jobs’ challenge and mantra was embodied in the Apple slogan “Think different”. He’s inspired the world to do just that.

Steve Jobs: How To Live Before You Die