WebSite Malaysia.Net

By TAN KIT HOONG
bytz@thestar.com.my

Steve jobs has officially resigned from Apple as chief executive officer. As it is, the move was not unexpected - despite Apple's official statements to the contrary, its been obvious from Jobs's gaunt appearance at every Apple event that his health was on the decline.

So how will users be affected by the departure of Jobs as a CEO (although he remains active as a board member of the company)?

Well, while its certainly true that Apple as a company has gone from being a tech underdog in 1995 to being one of the most valuable companies in the world under Jobs's reign, the fact is that Apple's success is due to the contributions of many people in the company and not Jobs alone.

Sure, without Jobs leading the way in 1996 when he rejoined the company, Apple would not be where it is now, but since then, the company has hired many talented individuals to steer the company right.

In fact, as is evident, the company itself has been aware of Jobs' actual health status for a long time, and a succession plan has been in place for some years now, with Tim Cook taking over.

Perhaps Jobs's greatest contribution to the company is a set of business practices unlike any other in the tech industry today - designing good looking products with features that are not dictated by focus group testing, but rather built on what people need.

There's no reason why this won't continue even as Jobs steps down, since taking this tack has made Apple so successful until now.

However, there is one thing we will miss - nobody has the on-stage charisma of Jobs.

Jobs has a frank and very believable public speaking ability that we have not seen in any other American - a stage presence so powerful that it's been called The Reality Distortion Field, referring to how Jobs can drum up excitement for even the most mundane announcements.

Now that's the greatest loss for us as consumers.