Since Steve Jobs died Wednesday, October 5, I had gotten to do some thinking about how Steve has affected all of our lives in one way or another. Everyday, no matter where we go, we carry a little piece of him with us. Whether it be an iPhone, iPod, iPad, or even Mac laptops, some part of the mind of Steve Jobs lies within. As of the writing of this article, I’m sitting on the floor of the communications building on campus with my iPad waiting for my next class to begin while looking at the words I have just written. What exactly do they mean to me?

Steve Jobs was a man of passion. He wouldn’t settle for second rate. He took what was best and made it even better. If only during his early pioneering years he had settled for mediocre quality, we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today in terms of modern day computing.

Steve’s eye for quality and detail was second to none. I would almost even dare say he was anal about it. I had heard stories over the years about him reducing Apple engineers to tears because the products they were working on didn’t meet his standard of excellence. He wanted to take good and make it better. And essentially, this is what has broken Apple out of the pack and has placed it as the most successful and profitable company in the world to date. But Apple didn’t just come out of the box working like it is now.

The now gigantic company we know today as Apple started out as Apple Computer in the form of a circuit board called the Apple I by three broke college dropouts in a garage in Cupertino, California in 1976. In 1977, the company received outside funding and began work on the successor to the Apple I, the Apple II. And as they say, the rest is history. But in that history are a lot of bumps in the road. Bumps that included Jobs resigning from his own company due to power struggles before being brought back after the acquisition of another company, NeXT, in which he founded. Fast forward through time, new and revolutionary devices (including some released years before their time) have been released unto the world changing how we do things forever all because of the vision of one man.

Through Steve’s vision, iDevices are now in the hands of people on the go, MacBooks are on the laps of eager college students, and iMacs on the desks of those turning the music and designing industry on its ear. We are now connected no matter where we go.

Sure you can call the man mean, tyrannical,or a perfectionist because of his methodology, but that is your opinion. I stated my opinion based on what Steve has accomplished, not on what pundits and fanboys are saying while some sling post-mortem mud. But even while he was alive, Jobs rose above the noise. Although he is no longer is here with us, his legacy will continue where he left off.

All in all, Steve Jobs had wanted to put a ding in the universe. I say he certainly has.