Archive for the ‘In Memoriam’ Category

In Memoriam ::: Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

Sunday, October 9th, 2011
We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Steve Jobs. It is impossible to understate his impact on the course of personal computing.

My first computer was a Macintosh 512K Enhanced, which was about as powerful as some high end sports watches these days. But it saved me from having to reach for the re-write cartridge on my trusty old Smith Corona typewriter and came with the “telephone book” promotional copy of Inside Macintosh. I can proudly say that The Institute for End User Computing was born out of that book, which opened my eyes to the potential of programming by demystifying what goes on inside the machine.

Steve’s triumphant return to Apple is a story that brings hope to every founder who has been ushered to the door by backers seeking more professional management and his design sense will inspire us for years to come.

So as we reflect back on Steve’s life and accomplishments, we shall miss his fearless willingness to imagine different ways to do things, to risk failure, and to try to change the world again and again.

What made Steve unique was not that he possessed these gifts, but that he had the courage to use them!

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In Memoriam of 9/11 ::: Through End User Computing, We Shall Never Forget.

Friday, September 9th, 2011

All too often we think of End User Computing in service of entertainment or business needs. But as we approach the tenth anniversary of the barbaric attacks against the World Trade Center we can see how much more meaningful it can be.

Consider the example of life long New Yorker, Brian August, who came to the troubling realization that people’s memories of the Twin Towers were beginning to slowly fade with time. Rather than sit by and watch us drift down a road that might one day lead to 9/11 deniers questioning whether they had really been there, he seized upon the potential of modern cell phones and tablets to determine their location and orientation in space to create 110 Stories.

110 Stories is a social application of augmented reality that lets users within sight of where the Twin Towers once stood to see a composite of today’s skyline with a stark outline of exactly where the towers would appear had they not been destroyed on that dark day.

As users experience the poignancy of seeing just how tall and massive they had once been and realizing the true magnitude of our loss, they are then invited to capture a photo of their augmented perspective and share their thoughts and stories through a linked website in fifty words.

Mr. August created this touching tribute by assembling a solid team of collaborators backed with End User and corporate contributed financial support permitting the App to be offered to the public free of charge.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to him, his colleagues, and all of the supporters of his landmark project.

And as always, we shall never forget those who perished because of any of the attacks on 9/11, nor those whose lives were touched by their loss.

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In Memoriam :: Remembering 9/11

Saturday, September 11th, 2010
It is with deep sorrow and fond memories of those lost that we extend our sympathies to those here in New York and around the world who were touched by the barbarism of 9/11.

Scarcely a day goes by in which the values of our Great Nation and the Western World don’t seem to fall under attack despite the countless benefits that our American entrepreneurial spirit, technological innovation, and willingness to put American lives on the line to defend Freedom the world over — not to seize resources & territory nor to impose our political will on others, but to preserve their Liberty from Tyrants.

Let us never forget the sacrifices of our service members and first responders or the lives snuffed out by those who fear the values they proudly stood for.

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