Outside the Apple store in Georgetown, the mood is quiet, even reverent. Even the few media types, armed with their cameras and notepads, don’t seem much like talking. They act as if they are attending a funeral. In the corner of the front entrance, to the side of the wide, swinging double doors, lies a humble shrine dedicated to Steve Jobs. Jobs, who died yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, leaves behind a legacy as one of the most influential people in human history.
Jobs almost single-handedly created the modern technological climate that we live in every day. As Fortune Managing Editor Andy Serwer once put it, he was a “once-in-a-century innovator.” Where would this generation be without their iPods, iPhones, and iPads, not to mention the internet? Some people might forget that Jobs’ computer firm, Next, created technology that was used to create the World Wide Web. And one would be remiss in remembering Jobs to forget his hand in the rise of successful computer-animation company Pixar who, under his leadership, was able to grow from a struggling company into an international media powerhouse.
But here, on the streets of Georgetown, the size of the shrine does little to match the stature of the man for whom it is built. Several ancient Macintosh Pro monitors line the makeshift monument, relics from another age, pulled from basements and attics and dusted off; their floppy drives a testament to how quickly the pace of technology marches on. There are a couple of flower bouquets, a few candles and, in the middle of it all, a bright green apple. On the silver back of an old iPod, a fan has written “Steve Jobs: RIP.” Most of the young people walking by the shop stop, just for a few moments, to take a picture of the humble little tribute with their iPhones. More than most people in history, Steve Jobs may have achieved true immortality.
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