We lost a great man – Maltese Apple fan

Maltese joined other fans across the world yesterday mourning the death of Apple co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs, whose vision and genius bred a technological revolution which helped bridge the gap between people and computers.

Adrian Micallef, general manager of iCentre Malta, said Mr Jobs was a man who put himself in the users’ shoes rather than seeking to be better than the competition at all costs.

“He built the products around users to ensure they made the best out of them.” He said the consumption of Apple products in Malta had risen over the past five years.

Mr Micallef never met Mr Jobs but recalled an event at an AppleExpo reception in Versaille, France addressed by the inspiring CEO.

He described Mr Jobs’ success as revolutionary: “He changed the way we use music or the mobile phone. Apple is not just a computer. It’s a lifestyle.”

The Times photojournalist and ardent Apple fan Jason Borg said Steve Jobs was first and foremost a great inventor. “If it weren’t for him and his vision, we would still be working on difficult machines with ugly text,” he said referring to the intuitive, windows-style operating system which was first produced by Apple.

“I didn’t know Steve Jobs in person, I wrote emails to which he never replied but from afar I admired his vision and the concept of how Apple was run. We’ll have to wait and see if this will continue to be the case but in the meantime, I think we have lost a great man.”

Mark Lightfoot, an Apple enthusiast from Newcastle who has been living in Malta for the past 16 years, described Mr Jobs as an “approachable visionary”. His charismatic persona was engaging, which made him a “fantastic salesman”.

Mr Lightfoot is the proud owner of a 1984 Macintosh personal computer which he had bought for $2,000 among other Apple products.

The company yesterday said that “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and im-prove all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

Mr Jobs was battling pancreatic cancer and underwent a liver transplant in 2009. He resigned as CEO and became chairman six weeks ago, handing the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.