I remember vividly January 15, 2008, attending a meet-up in the centre of Moscow city. I had a beer, and I was on my own but not alone, surrounded by people who had the same interest in technology and computers. There was a big-screen streaming MacBook Air event. I had a lot of joy in those 2 hours, a lot of excitement, and positive feelings towards technology. Seen Steve on the stage, alive and well. Holding MacBook Air so effortlessly and confident, just in one hand. One could only see the hardware. But it was so much more. It was a statement to the rest of the world. Your computer can be light and thin, you can take it with you more often. And I was hyped because I knew that something cool just happened, and the world has changed at that moment and was never the same since.

There’s this perception that we look at Apple as a saviour and the leader, expectations we have to the people who work for Apple to make the world a better place. I think it’s a short-sighted perception and a misguided one. I will be always grateful to Steve and the people who had the privilege to work with him, not for the products they shipped. But for the things which their products are enabling me and the rest of us to accomplish.