No, Steve Jobs did not know me. Yet he became a part of my life.
I started computing on an Apple II. By 1980 I was writing reviews for The Book of Apple Software. Not that it paid anything, but I was allowed to keep the programs, and that was enough. I designed my first database on it. I learned to program on it (ok, BASIC, but still). I spent hours and hours exploring it.
Then I drifted into the world of PC's. I thought I had to, for work. I eventually left the job and worked for myself. I could have any computer I wanted, but somehow still stuck with PC's. Old habits die hard.
One day, about 25 years after that first Apple, our son came to dinner bringing his iPhone. He had to pry it out of my hands before he could leave. The next day I found myself driving down to the Apple Store for my own iPhone. Two weeks later it was a MacBook. A month after that it was an iMac.
Now I have an iPhone 4, an iPad 2, an iMac, an Apple TV, and three Mac Minis. And I've never been happier with my machines.
All this was due to Steve Jobs. He was a genius. He died far too young. But his legacy lives on.
Yes, Steve, I'll be there on October 12 buying the iPhone 4S. I think the S stands for Steve.