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As far back as I can remember, I was a Microsoft man. It was MS-DOS, then Windows 3.1, then 95 through XP. I wouldn’t own an iPod. I wouldn’t dare put Quicktime on a computer. If you sent me an .MOV it wouldn’t get watched. I was an Apple hater in every sense of the word. I wasn’t a legitimate hater based on anything. It was blind. Truthfully, I wasn’t even a Microsoft fanboy. I didn’t like them either in later years, but I’ll be damned if I go to a Mac. Pfft.

Then came Windows Vista. My media center PC that was purchased from Dell didn’t work right and Vista told me that most of my internal components weren’t authorized even though they shipped in the PC. That was early 2007. What to do? I clung to XP with all my might and shelved the Vista system.

Enter the iPhone. I didn’t want it and nearly got a Blackberry to replace my Palm Treo 650. I was legitimately torn. One seemed cool (iPhone) and one was not Apple (Blackberry). So that was the dividing line. In the end I felt something revolutionary in the iPhone and waited in line for hours upon hours at one store while calling other stores in the area, trying to ensure I got one. As it turns out I did and drove 45 minutes back home with a phone that did nothing while waiting to be activated via iTunes on my Windows XP machine. I fell in love immediately. It was sleek and sexy and totally new. There was nothing like it. Everywhere I went, people stopped in their tracks and said, “Is that? Can it be? Do you have an…. iPhone?”

Like many other users, the success of the iPhone got me wondering. What else has Apple been up to while I was busy hating them? WOAH. Their computers are sharp looking. What’s that? Microsoft is stopping support for XP? Now what? I decided it was time to buy a MacBook Pro while I had a healthy XP desktop and XP laptop. That should make the transition to OS X Leopard easy enough.

I never looked back. Since then I’ve gotten a Time Capsule, the iPhone 3G/3GS/4, 27” iMac, iPad, iPad 2, and other assorted peripherals. Now people tell me that I’m a fanboy for Apple. Untrue. I’ve been swung to that side and if another company makes better products, I’ll go to them. For now, Apple products fit my life.

There are many keys to Apple’s gigantic success and their comeback from the brink of death to be the world’s most valuable technology company. Follow the ideas, creativity, innovation and startup mentality right to the top – Steve Jobs. From a young kid in a garage to the iPad 2 (and soon to be iPhone 5) Steve has shaped that company and changed the way we interact with those machines. His vision is second to none.

Bill Gates’ edict was a PC on every desktop. The Microsoft behemoth was, admittedly, about quantity and ubiquity. When Walt Mossberg of the WSJ’s All Things Digital asked Steve Jobs, at the D8 conference, how he felt about losing the desktop war to Microsoft, Steve did his clenched hands, index fingers to his lip formatting the most poignant response pause that we’ve all come accustomed to. Finally he said, “We never saw it as a war, that’s probably why we lost. We just want to make great products for people.” Nothing against Microsoft, or even for Apple, in response to that. Different mentalities. Different approaches. Clearly it worked well for both for many years.

Whether you love or hate Apple, you have to respect what Jobs has done. Apple borrowed $150 million from Microsoft to stay afloat and not file for bankruptcy just about 10 years ago and look at them now. Granted Steve was not at the helm for a portion of that, but he grew them from nothing and brought them back from the brink of death to where they are today. The explosion started with the iPod.

I can tell you stories about Steve and his attention to detail, his need for perfection, his inability to put something out that he didn’t believe in 10000%. I can make you love and hate him at the same time, but always respect him for his dedication and work ethic. He’s claimed to have been a monster by some and a god by others.

Whatever he was, he had vision. He innovated. Today he resigned. The shape of the computer industry is changed forever by his presence and will change again by his exit. I can cry all day long, but despite rumor, Steve is human and this day was to come sooner or later. He battled back from a liver transplant and pancreatic cancer. He showed up on stage looking frail for the iPad 2 announcement. The crowd went berserk and people cried. He is a hero to many. He always put that company first, at times, to the detriment of his own health.

I can only imagine that today’s announcement of his resignation has to do with his health and I hope this does not mean the worst for him. He always said that when the day came that he could no longer fulfill his obligations to the company, he would resign and that day has come. He plans to, if Apple will have him (yeah right who wouldn’t?) stay on as the chairman of the board of directors and an Apple employee. I think this means many people will still look to him for direction and guidance and ideas without the full weight of the company on his shoulders. Maybe he will get healthy again that way while still being engaged in Apple’s future and success.

Fear not about the future of the company. Everyone knew it would be rocky immediately after he left, but we are also confident in his replacement. Former COO, now CEO, Tim Cook is in the big chair. He’s been Steve’s right hand in many ways for a long time and he is the right man for the job in Steve’s absence and filled in during the medical absences. Make no mistake; Tim Cook is not going to forget where he came from or the man that helped him get to where he is today. I am sure Steve will be in the loop, even if informally between colleagues and friends. Be that as it may, it just won’t be the same. There is no replacing Steve, but there is life after Steve.

I have to say that I am very proud of the social media community at this moment. With all the news and tweets and updates about this momentous occasion, not one person has made a crass, celebratory remark. Nobody is wishing ill will on the man. Even the haters are showing respect for accomplishment of Steve Jobs if not for the brand as a whole.

Congratulations to Steve on a lifetime of wondrous achievement and good luck in the future wherever it may take you. I know you won’t sit idly by at home, that’s for sure. And finally, thank you for all you’ve done. You are a Beatles fan and your shared influence among your peers and the future makes you the technological Beatles of our generation. Good luck to Tim Cook. Remember the vision, continue the culture, see you on September 7^th.