AFB, and the vision loss community at large, will miss Steve Jobs. Needless to state, the world would be a very different place today were it not for him. AFB has been a longtime supporter of Apple products, which come fully accessible right out of the box, and presented the company with a 2009 Access Award in recognition. In light of his passing, some AFB staff shared their thoughts on the man and the indelible mark he left on us all.
Carl R. Augusto, AFB President and CEO: "Steve Jobs, as a technology pioneer and CEO of Apple, was a longtime champion for people with disabilities. Here at AFB, we have applauded his accomplishments over and over. I speak for all of us when I say we will miss him immensely."
Paul Schroeder, AFB Vice President of Programs and Policy: "Steve Jobs is justly recognized for bringing innovative products to millions of consumers. AFB was pleased to recognize him and Apple for creating innovative access solutions for consumers with vision loss in Apple products from the Mac to the iOS line of devices, and wonderfully, the access was included in all products and at no additional cost."
Joe Strechay, AFB CareerConnect Project Associate: "Steve Jobs and Apple have enabled me to access information, my cell phone, and even my television in a user-friendly manner. The iPhone allows me to access Yankee games, my email, the web, and GPS with ease. Apple TV allows me to access movies and television without the assistance of others through the amazing Voiceover. I am grateful to his "user-centric" strategy that has led to accessibility for persons who are blind or visually impaired."
Crista Earl, AFB Web Operations Director: "Apple, with Steve Jobs' leadership, was the first company in my lifetime to design products with true usability at the top of the feature list for both sighted and blind users within the same product. This level of mainstream innovation for such a specialized niche group is unprecedented and so far unduplicated. Steve Jobs' vision for usability and inclusion and his ability to lead a company to effective implementation will be missed."
Darren Burton, AFB National Program Associate, Technology: "I can't say enough about the access that Apple builds into their products and how much it has meant to me personally and professionally. Apple is the model company when it comes to producing universally accessible products. AFB Tech was created as a way to convince mainstream manufacturers to produce products and services that are accessible to and usable by people with vision loss, and Apple does exactly what we want all the other companies to do. We are now developing our own AFB apps to run on Apple products. On a personal note, Steve Jobs' famous Stanford commencement speech inspired so many to live their dreams, and I really loved the part about second chances. I've been either given or created a couple second chances over my lifetime."
