With Time magazine set to announce its Person of the Year this week, we asked Yahoo! Voices contributors for their picks.
COMMENTARY | My choice for Person of the Year, Steve Jobs, may seem a bit trite given his recent death. The fact is though that Jobs helped to created the world that we live in and more importantly made technology available to the masses in a way that no one else has done.
Jobs as CEO of Apple Computers created his business from the ground up and in doing so gave others the knowledge that they could also succeed if they had the drive, ambition and vision to do so.
The creation of the Mac computer was big news back in the 1980s but pales in comparison to the iPhone, iPod and the iPad. These devices not only changed technology but they encouraged other companies to create their own versions of this technology, thus building on the legacy of Steve Jobs.
The iPhone made surfing the internet not only possible but easy when compared to precious attempts. As a result of its creation virtually every cell phone makes now offers a similar device. This was done in order to compete in the marketplace but it shows the influence of Jobs at his best.
The iPod creation gave music lovers the ability to not only carry vast amounts of music with them wherever they went but also the ability to quickly and legally download new music as well as movies to their gadget. The iPod even gave us podcasts, a word that was created because of Jobs. This ability to literally carry in your pocket thousands of songs, movies and television programs was a dream that few thought possible. Jobs made it reality.
The creation of the iPad has led to another revolution in computing. Not just in computers but across the spectrum. Electronic readers were created to compete with it, hence the Nook Color and the Kindle Fire. Tablet computing exploded with the creation of the iPad leading all major computer companies to offer their version of it.
The death of Steve Jobs leaves a vacant place in the world of technology. His vision was unmatched and his drive to bring technology to the masses was a testament not to his greed but to his belief that technology would improve our lives.