My first computer was an Apple IIe+ back when I was a kid in middle school. My father shelled out a pretty penny for it because he saw how important computers were becoming and wanted me to have the knowledge.

I used that computer for several years and had just mastered basic programming and started to learn more difficult programming such as the native machine code when I lost interest because of the age of the computer and possibly the age of myself. I dabbled with my father's various work Macs he had at home after that so still kept up with computing.

When I had a chance to attend college, I had a G3 Mac at home that replaced an old 486DX 100mhz Frankenstein of a machine. Having the Mac and PC knowledge got me into working in our computer labs while attending classes.

I remember the day I told my boss, an engineering professor whom taught DOS and many engineering programs on old IBM machines, that I was about to purchase a new computer.

"Oh really? I can get you a good deal on a nice IBM desktop." my boss told me.

"No thanks. I am buying another Mac." I replied.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Apple is struggling and is probably going to disappear really soon." he quickly noted.

"I really don't think so. They have a lot of loyalty in the desktop publishing area and I don't see them quitting with such a following." I said as I thought about Apple's current standing. It was sad at that point and they weren't doing well but everyone I knew who did design on a computer or page layout was using Apple so I thought my assumptions were well based.

That was back in 1993 or 1994 and here we are in 2011 with Apple sitting king of the computing industry. See, I was right! I knew too many people believed in Apple products and this combined with Steve Jobs in charge put them at the top. He was a visionary that could see the future and used that in his marketing and development strategies.

So, Steve Jobs is now leaving Apple. It's been a good run and I think he knows that leaving on a good note is always better than leaving during sour times. According to reports throughout the year, he has been planning his departure by setting up a panel of people that he believes will follow his vision.

To Mr. Jobs, thanks for bringing Apple back and giving us more than just the Macintosh computers. You gave us a rock solid OS and a new direction in mobile communications. May you enjoy retirement and your final years on earth and thanks for just being... different!