My dad is, like Steve Jobs was, in his mid-50s, but that is really where the similarities end. He likes his cell phone to be "a phone, that makes phone calls", he never checks his gmail account, and he doesn't text. Literally, he won't even read a text if you send him one... so don't even bother. I think he now knows how to download pictures from his camera to a computer, but only after my sister and I teaching him several times. Honestly, I think he's pretty typical for his generation... but there is one area where he has agreed to move into the 21st century.
A few years ago for Christmas, Katie and I got my dad an iPod shuffle. I think at the time he was already using my old laptop as his portable iTunes jukebox... it's possible that he even said that he didn't need an iPod! But we bought it for him, showed him how to use it once (a record, I'm sure of it) and I don't think a day goes by that he's not listening to it. Remember the "put some music on" commercials? Well, he's that guy... he has sewn headphones into all of his hats and helmets and clipped his little shuffle onto anything that will hold it. He sings along loudly to whatever it is we can't hear... whether he's skiing, working on his motorcycle, or just hanging around the house. Dad has even hijacked my original (pink) iPod mini to use as a secondary device. He might be, just a little bit, obsessed with his portable music source.
My point is, Steve Jobs was a genius. And it's not because his products are technologically advanced... even though they are. It's because his products are intuitive, simple, and beautiful... so much so that my technophobe dad will not only use his iPod, but that he will also wear it. Now THAT is a success.
<3 barb
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