Life is fragile.

The bright white light filled the high-facility Genetic Lab of a Japanese University, without revealing its source, as if the whole place was glowing by itself. Glass doors everywhere but rather invisible. To a 4th Grade school kid, this was Sci-Fi, this was what even his wildest imagination couldn't come up with. The shiny white floor reflected everything above making the kid step slowly with caution, to him it was a wet floor.

His favourite red chucks squeaked as he went in, he loved that. A lab was nothing new to the 4th grader! He'd been spending a lot of time in labs since he could remember. But this was different. A place that's normally full of cables, huge unknown machines, ugly looking dusty and scary boxes they called computers were what he knew of labs to have. This just blew him away, must be a dream, he thought.

In the lightly furnished lab there were many things to catch attention, mostly of steel and glass! But there was something on a desk in the corner that just pulled the kid like a black hole. It was something he'd never seen before. He knew in an instant what it was! It was a computer, of course! But was it really? It sure looked like one! But maybe just a tiny one. The monitor was smaller and actually very cute. It was placed on the tower which was lying down. His younger brother who was a 2nd grader was sure they messed up with the installation! All computers had towers and with many buttons. They noticed this one didn’t have any and there weren’t any “turbo” button either. But they both decided it might just well be a smaller computer for kids.

"So, I see you kids found the prefect experiment here"!

Their father had brought them to his lab for the evening which was a daily routine by now. As soon as the kids had finished homework, they were allowed to drive with dad and finally do some "real" stuff. Only it was recently though that they came to Japan so it was their first adventure night at the lab after having enjoyed some wonderful Sushi and Miso soup. Both were skeptical about the Japanese lab. They were sure they wouldn't like it.

"Where's the power button"? said the smaller one. Their father replied "well, you have to find it yourself if you want to play with it. Let's see how smart you are"!

DONG!

The brothers jumped in awe! It was easy, there was a huge button on the Keyboard. Not even a single button on the computer made the elder brother look at the keyboard.

The beautiful icons, the smooth mouse and pointer, the Apple logo to guide through every application; I really can't remember how long we played and checked out the Macintosh that night! It was the first computer that was not only fun to use but looked beautiful! Maybe the first "machine" we thought could be called beautiful! The lovely white monitor, the sleek buttonless CPU with a colourful Apple logo, the cute mouse which was like a futuristic car, it was all beyond imagination.

This was my first encounter with the Mac, for my brother Saad too. I've told this story to many but it's the first time sharing it on my blog. I don't know if it was the early exposure to the Mac or its ease of use, from that day onwards, there were actually almost no other device or machine that caught our attention like it did with Apple products. No matter how fast or how latest Pentiums started coming out, no matter what cool games we saw on PCs and no matter what "cool" project we were working on at IT class in school; nothing came near the excitement and coolness factor of a machine with a coloured Apple logo.

It all came down to the tiniest detail. As brothers we were very choosy when it came to buying toys and gadgets. We were building over 1000-piece airplane models in grade 3-4 in our spare time and had various "projects" building the wildest things and so yes, even a tiny LEGO piece not in place made us uncomfortable. So when we compared "other" PCs to Macs, alone the outer hardware design flaw (that's what we called it) of PCs made us furious, not to mention the cranky PC software.

I can still remember a few months after we saw the Mac, one of our Uncles bought one and we were up all night with him installing the English Mac OS (was obviously Japanese in default in Japan) which was almost 100 floppies. We were to make sure the floppies were put in the right order.

A few years later when the 1st iMac was revealed by Steve; Saad and I went to the computer shops to have a look, back then there were no Apple Stores. The great all-in-one design, the smooth and ergonomic keyboard, the cutest mouse we'd ever seen, the translucent body; it was love at first sight all over again. And maybe even the first time computers became like cars! Normal bulky can-drive PCs, or sleek sporty and cool iMacs.

When the Apple iBook was introduced by Steve, I was determined that I'd get one when I go to University. But nearly 10 years later when it was time for me to start University, Apple had gone a long way, new MacBooks, new iMacs; I couldn't decide...

By then we also had iPods and been using iTunes for several years. I still remember how fascinated I was when I saw the first iPod nano. I had tried a few cheap mp3 players and after having all of them malfunction I had learnt my lesson. Save for an iPod! The first iPod nano was way ahead of its time compared to what was in the market back then. We all know how for e.g. the Zune tried to compete. And not that I haven't seen or tried other products, we tried a lot of stuff as tech enthusiasts but couldn't find any match. After so many years, I still have that iPod nano and it still works!

So anyway, when I started University as a Medical Student I decided to get a cool iMac. I'm not getting into all the technical details here but just to say, even now it has the wow factor and serves its duty just as well as it had done on day one!

Being a student, time is the most valuable thing and using a Mac has helped me in too many occasions. Efficiency, ease of use, high security it all makes a perfect combination.

Not too long after that, Steve announced the iPhone. I watched that phenomenal Keynote with so much excitement. It was just as if I was seeing the future! It was pure genius. Every phone now has a touch screen but still use an iPhone then try other devices, you'll see, feel and understand the difference. Since then me and my brother have been exclusively using the iPhone.

A year into University, I was looking for a part-time job to partially finance the tuition fees and that's when I ended up working for Apple. It's been over 3 years now and Apple has not only helped me with their great products that I use in my medical studies everyday but also helped me pursue my dream of becoming a Surgeon. The iPhone has become a crucial tool to day-to-day medical tasks. The Apps are simply great and powerful. The Mac OS X platform is not only safe and efficient but truly built for Science and Medicine. The level of precision and how professional software like OsiriX Pro has shown to be, is just unheard of in other platforms.

Now if I look back to that night when I first met the Mac, since then Apple has had a lot of impact on the way I feel about technology, the way it has shaped my digital Lifestyle. And all credit goes to one person, Steve Jobs. I want to pay tribute to him for his contribution to mankind. From inventing the personal computer, bringing fonts on computers, inventing the floppy and taking it to extinction, making USB mainstream, making products like iPod, iPhone and iPad, reinventing the Mac, to giving cloud computing a true sense with iCloud, Steve changed to World! Even Windows users and people who call on a Samsung mobiles are directly using his innovation and his inventions. He shaped the World of technology for us.  

Not only technology, Steve was an example of a great leader, and showed how passion and will can also play a big or maybe the most important role in life. His personality is something we should all look up to. "Life is fragile." he had written once. Steve knew the value of life better than anyone. What he achieved in his short lifetime is so profound that it will serve us for decades to come. I can't even imagine what he could have achieved if he was still here.

Steve is still a great inspiration to me. His Keynotes, his remarks on products, his comments about life; it all is a great value to me and will be a modern guide to be in the digital Lifestyle and Post-PC era as well as my personal and professional life as a student, medical healthcare professional and surgeon.

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Hassan Sami Adnan