“Stay hungry, stay foolish,” said Steve Jobs at the close of his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. Jobs announced in the same address that he had pancreatic cancer.
Jim Clark, advertising and marketing faculty, said Jobs’ commencement address summarized his vision, talent and approach to the way he lived and worked. Clark said it is one of the most remarkable commencement speeches he has ever heard.
“We didn’t have the personal computer before Jobs,” Clark said. “I think he was probably the number one creative genius of the late twentieth century.”
Clark said he thinks Jobs’ legacy is quiet and relied on education to get people to think creatively.
“Creative people scare people. They do things and say things people don’t want to hear and it pushes them out of their comfort zone,” he said.
“He was one of the greatest innovators of our time, he didn’t settle for status quo,” said Chuck Lanham, director of Information Technology Services. “He was always pushing the envelope in terms of new products and design.”
Lanham said he respects Jobs’ dedication to every aspect of invention.
“He not only paid close attention to the inner workings and made sure they had a quality product that worked, but he also paid close attention to the aesthetics of a product so it was easy to use and intuitive for the user,” Lanham said.
Lanham said he was impressed with the simplicity of Apple products and the designs Jobs produced.
The sleek, lightweight MacBook Air is almost a work of art, Lanham said.
“Elegant and simple are two words I think of when I think of Steve Jobs and some of his designs. When he produced a product he thought about the user — how the user would interface the project and how the project could change their lives,” Lanham said.
Mac operating systems have been simple to navigate since day one, Lanham said, and that simplicity appealed to users.
“Back in the early days when Windows and Mac OS were just coming out, in order to run Windows you had to know something about file systems.” Lanham said. “Kind of the behind the scenes workings of Windows but with the Mac OS it was very icon-driven and very easy to use.”
Lanham said what he likes most about Apple products, in addition to design and quality hardware, is that all Mac operating systems have a common platform that can be reached regardless of the device being used.
Clark said he has always been a Mac user and admires that Jobs’ products are unique, simple and easy to use.
Jobs was about being creative, not doing creative things — he was about understanding how to use innovation for progress, as well as creativity, Clark said.
“I am very sad Jobs is no longer with us,” he said. “But I am very happy we have his contributions.”