Geeks rule the world!

Wine of the Week:
Ninth Island Pinot Noir 2010 - For an everyday Pinot Noir, this one is hard to go past. It has the beautiful Pinot nose that you get plus the clean palete as opposed to the really bad Pinot Noirs that have that dirty, gritty feel. Generally, you look for cold climates to give you a good Pinot - start at Victoria and work your way down from there. Ninth Island is from Tasmania and delivers on that general rule. Trish and I look towards a Pinot at those times when we feel like red but the weather is warm or we don't want too heavy a red. As we are getting closer to summer, Pinots will be high on the agenda...especially if duck or turkey is on the menu. Check out more on the Ninth Island here Ninth Island Pinot Noir

Last week, the news came through that Steve Jobs passed away from pancreatic cancer. He will go down in history as one of the legends of Silicon Valley; up there with the likes of Bill Hewlett and David Packard. In fact, one article this week told of how a young Jobs approached Bill Hewlett for spare parts to help him with a school project; which in turn led to a summer job at Hewlett-Packard. It was at HP that he met Steve Wozinak and well...you know the rest.

Whatever your opinion of Jobs, his vision and drive to execute on that vision changed the way people not only use but view technology. He not only made Apple a successful, paradigm changing business but one that evoked that all encompassing, magic word...cool. As I twittered on the day, look at a crowded train carriage and you see the impact that Jobs' second coming at Apple has made. The majority of people carrying a device (irrespective of the manufacturer) either checking their email, listening to music or doing both at the same time - not to mention taking phone calls as well.

Working in the industry, his death was always going to be big news. What has absolutely astounded me was the reaction across the board. Twitter provided a platform for politicians, celebrities and your everyday man or woman to stop and pay tribute to a man that they hadn't met but they felt changed their lives for ever. It was both astonishing and weird all at the same time. 

What was even more bizarre was the need that many, many people felt to hold vigils the night that Jobs died. That in itself wasn't the bizarre part. What was bizarre was the need to download an app which had a single candlestick burning brightly to their iPad or iPhone and wave in tribute amongst the masses in the darkness. That app is now the 5th most popular free app from the App Store (I checked that on my iPad this evening....)

Which leads us to a question that has been debated, written and talked about for the days since Jobs' death. What is his legacy? Many believe it is those devices which have transformed our listening and communication habits. 

Some also believe that it is his drive and determination to execute on his vision and do so with unwavering and at times, offending determination; in other words don't let anything stand in the way of your vision because YOU can make it a reality. 

For me, it could be way more simpler than that. Seek to embrace your inner geek. They get the money, fame and gorgeous men or women by their sides...sometimes both.

In short; geeks are cool...or so my iPad tells me anyway.