Remembering Steve Jobs

At the Oscars with my iPhone 4.

In December 1984, the big family Christmas gift was a Macintosh computer.  I spent my entire holiday vacation inserting the MacWrite and MacPaint diskettes and wasting reams of paper and ink cartridges printing up my creations.  I even went off to college with my Macintosh about a decade later and wrote countless term papers on that computer.

Dancing a little West Side Story with my iPad 2 at the State Fair of Texas yesterday. (I seriously need a spray tan.)

I didn't rejoin the Mac revolution until 2003 when I bought my first iPod, but once I went back to the cult of Apple, I never left.  My old Dell desktop went away as I bought an iBook G4 laptop in 2004, a MacBook Pro in 2008, my 3G iPhone in 2008, a gifted iPad in 2010, an iPhone 4 in 2011, and 2 gifted iPad 2s in 2011. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way we look at technology and I always joke that if I could marry my iPhone, I would.  I'm not kidding.

At CES in 2004 launching iTunes for HP.  (Look at that awful haircut!)

In 2004, I had the pleasure of helping HP launch their version of iTunes and the hPod at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas.  Yes, this Apple/HP partnership was short-lived, but it was an exciting time. I remember teaching people how they could find a particular song, download it to their iTunes playlist, and then make a mix of a variety of artists.  I remember adding a plethora of Michael Jackson, U2, and No Doubt songs to my unlimited iTunes account while I was at the show.  I was hooked and I watched as others shared in my amazement that week at CES.  

On the Goodyear Blimp a few weeks ago.....

These days, it's rare to find me without my iPhone or laptop and my iPhone has been photographed everywhere from the red carpet at the Oscars to the Goodyear Blimp. I own a collection of Pixar films from The Incredibles to Finding Nemo and I wear my Pixar sweatshirt with pride.  I am a happy Apple owner and shareholder.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends at home and at Apple.  You revolutionized the world.  RIP, Steve Jobs.

I would love to hear your stories about how Apple and Steve Jobs revolutionized your life.  Share in the comments below.

The Friday Five

Another week has come and gone so quickly because I am prepping for an overseas trip next week.  All of those important things you have to do for international travel:  passport,  converters for electronics, hotel, flights, my script (Yes, I am working over there.), and making sure my team is in place to take care of my house (Yep, there are people there, it's not an empty house), kitty, and my calendar while I am away. Before I go away, here are my favorites of the week, The Friday Five:

1.  Spy Kids:  I mentioned my interview with Jessica Alba a few weeks ago for Spy Kids: All The Time In The World.  They did the press junket a little early because of Jessica's due date.  She is now a proud mama of two.  Welcome to the world, Baby Haven!  See my interview for iVillage here.

2.  Disney: Earlier this week, I was on the Disney Burbank lot to see a screening of Fright Night.  Then I did a super secret interview for Disney on Wednesday. (More on that in October!)  Finally, this weekend, I am headed to their ultimate fan fest, D23, in Anaheim. I will be tweeting all day on Saturday, so be sure to follow me if you want to join the ride.

3.  Klout:  If you aren't familiar with Klout, but you are active in social media, it's time to check out this site.  It measures the amount of "klout" you have across multiple platforms in areas of expertise, interactivity, and influence. You will understand what I mean when I say, "I'm a 63".  To reward you for your "klout", the site will give you fun free items like my FOX VIP package which included a hoodie and a sneak preview of two fall shows, Terra Nova and New Girl.

4.  iPad 2:  Remember when I won this?  Well, it finally arrived 3 months later!  I appreciate the gift from Glimpsed, but their marketing company kind of dropped the ball on delivering the prize in a timely manner.  Either way, it is here and it will be with me all day at D23.  Thank you, Glimpsed!

5.  Hollywood: My super secret interview took place high up in Hollywood.  It is wonderful to see the city from this view from the awesome Santa Monica Mountains to the rooftop of the Kodak, there is nothing like Hollywood.

As the days dwindle on the dog days of summer, enjoy your weekend.  I will be back on Monday with my D23 coverage or follow me on Twitter if you just can't wait.