WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER 2011

R.AGE

11

Legacy left behind

By NIKI CHEONG alltherage@thestar.com.my
AST week, the technology industry in particular, and the world at large, mourned the death of a visionary. Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died at the mere age of 56, just one he said in a statement: There Tweet day after the unveiling of the may be no greater tribute companys latest iPhone and new to Steves success than the operating system. fact that much of the world Naturally, in this day and age, the news learned of his passing on a spread quickly. Social media was abuzz device he invented. #thankyouSteveJobs and #RIPstevejobs Despite the fact that Jobs rose up the Twitter trending list quickly, obviously had a major passion while some people changed their for technology, he also never saw it Facebook avatars to mourn his death. as an industry that worked in isolation. Blogs were updated with stories of how This, despite the fact that there is so much Jobs, Apple or both have impacted their focus on digital industries at the moment lives. and the communication revolution the Then there were the other stuff old world is going through. YouTube videos featuring Jobs speeches Those who have watched the YouTube became popular, links to web pages feavideo of his speech at the Standford turing his famous quotes were shared University commencement ceremony in and images people had created in tribute 2004 (which has since gone viral after of him and his work went viral. One of his death) would know that it wasnt the those images is a silhouette of Jobs with potential of technology that made Apple the Apple logo designed by Hong Kong what it is today. graphic design student Jonathan Mak. In that speech, Jobs talked about how It goes without saying that Jobs was sitting in on a calligraphy class during his one of the catalysts for all that to be possible, thanks to the technology he introduced to the world. By extension, it was these technologies that contributed to the success of social media, which enabled the news of his death to spread quickly, and made it easy for all those other elements to go viral. US President Barack Obama probably explained it best when

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A passerby taking a photograph with an iPhone of a signboard which pays tribute to Steve Jobs in Kuala Lumpur. college years led to the introduction of typography into the Macintosh system (which, he alluded, Windows copied). It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way science cant capture, he said of calligraphy during the speech. For someone who is so associated with technology and is a pioneer in the field (he also the person behind the success of animation studio Pixar), Jobs also appreciated the humanities. He was also known for saying that Apple (and by default, himself) existed at the intersection of technology and liberal arts. It was not enough that the company was producing the more advanced technologies, but these products had to be intuitive, easy to use, fun to use, so that they really fit the users ... As someone who has long admired Jobs, I feel that the biggest legacy he has left behind is not the Mac, or the iPhone or the iPad. It is the understanding and belief that technology cannot be seen in isolation of everything else in the world. It is equally important to appreciate what has come before it. Social media may have helped many of the media featuring Jobs go viral, but without the original mediums whether it was the video recording of the speeches, the transcription of his interviews for the quotes or even that logo that Jonathan Mak created there would be nothing to share and spread. With the current obsession with technology and social media, it is easy to overlook this. Who can blame anyone? After all, this is an exciting time were living in and its already hard enough keeping up with technology, let alone worry about everything else. Which is why it is important that moments like these when we are in the mood to look back and reflect (on Jobs life and legacy, for example), even if it is caused by something as sad as death, that we remind ourselves of the wise words of someone like him. In one of his final public appearances on stage, Jobs said that technology alone is not enough ... its technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that make our hearts sing. Rest in peace, Steve. Niki is currently reading for his MA Digital Culture and Society in Kings College London. You can connect with him at www.nikicheong.com or www.twitter.com/nikicheong.

A placard and two apples were left outside an Apple store in Londons Oxford Street. People all over the world mourned Jobs untimely passing.

#RAGEchat
LAST week we highlighted the importance of breast self-examination (BSE) in the early detection of breast cancer, and we also spoke to young women about the topic. We found out that while there are numerous awareness campaigns on breast cancer out there (especially during breast cancer awareness month, October), many young women do not realise the importance of getting checked. During #RAGEchat we asked our followers to tell us if they conduct BSEs, or if their friends do, and if they think awareness campaigns are working. Also, we asked them for suggestions on spreading breast cancer awareness. Heres what some of our followers had to say:

Last weeks tag: #BSE

@andrewjee: This topic is like a taboo is Malaysia. No one speaks of it openly. Are you aware of the #dontduckit campaign? @Emily_crazybabe: YES! Not regular though @aimansjaafar: I know ppl who dont go for checkup for fear they may in fact find something. another is belief in cheaper tradtional practices. @Emily_crazybabe: since I was in F3! we have some kinda women talks in school. @miss_michy: i do, but nt sure if my friends do. not really something we talk about to be hoenst, but its something worth discussing. @duchessdiyanaJ: definitely bt I had my clinical check up annually since Im 21 @peitzeKristin: yesss! Its really important to do so. So well et precautions before its too late you know:) safety first @syahirasharif: too shy n self-conscious to check it for themselves n most of all, they think they wont get it @azianikucikuci: inconsistency. packed schedule.or simply malas. @Amberydwi: even it is painful it should get checked @DrS94: I think people are becoming more aware n open abt it. @tira_blurb: we can have ads and awareness for no-smoking, why cant we hav some awareness for BC?:) @syahirasharif: putting BC awareness in KTMs female coaches is a good start.. n the ads in LRT train. its a serious matter too. @YiPeng22: school visits, an ad tht airs all the time dring good shows, hv a person wt experience talk about it. @syahirasharif: public champaign isnt enough. these things need to be teached from pubety and even male themselves can get BC