Steve Jobs

For all of us there is never just one starting point, one missed opportunity that is lost and never recovered. It is always a string of beginning moments, there is always a time to start anew, always a chance to step into a new vision. As with many of us, I am so moved by his passing. I am reminded again of how easily we take the living for granted and only when they are gone, when they have no chances to wonder us one more time, that we realize the depth of their contribution.

Steve Jobs began in a garage with a buddy and a vision, no silver spoon, no fancy college diploma, just a $1000 loan from his mother. The legacy half a century later wasn’t just the high standards he created for his products and his ability to make the very complex user friendly, it was that he ushered in a generation of people who hold a higher ground for the products they use and the lives they lead. It really isn’t about the lowest cost, or appealing to the widest consumer audience, it’s about value. It is to be inspired and driven by creating something of value, something that will serve and benefit another person.

Universal access was among so many areas that Jobs pioneered for the computer user. Today a Mac can be adjusted to assist with image and text magnification, voice over, contrast control, visual (not just auditory) indicators, sticky and slow key settings, mouse and trackpad controls, and pairing with other assistive devices. Jobs saw us as humans, not consumers.


Konrad Kaletsch
www.Universal Design Resource.com