Steve Jobs Death & Greater Purpose

Steve Jobs died today.

A visionary, a legend, an inventor, a father, and a husband.

It is a sad day for Apple and Apple fans, of which I am one. 

There are few people who have inspired others to think differently about technology and business than Steve Jobs. He shaped, and reshaped, industries and inspired others to do the same.

He leaves this earth at the young age of just 56.

Steve had the gift of being a talented artist and a precise engineer all at the same time. Not to mention he could give a keynote like no other.

What strikes me the most about his passing is not the magnitude of his accomplishments, his incredible genius, or the company he has left behind. What strikes me the most is that 100% of us will also die. Regardless of how great or how worthless we are, or think we are.

What his life, and death, inspire me to seek something greater than profits or earthly achievements. Billions of dollars and millions of fans cannot add years to your life, so live it well. As Steve once said: “Your time on this earth is limited, don’t live someone else’s life, live by your vision.”

One thing we all have in common, is that one day, we will die. It might no be pleasant to think about, but it’s reality. So, what’s next?

Are we just dust? Or is there something more?

I believe this life is nothing more than a pin point on the timeline of eternity. Moments like these put things into perspective. Moments like these remind me to put more focus on the eternity and less focus on this life.

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the ones who see things differently.”

Where is the iPhone 5?

This is the question of the day.

The answer is simple, it’s called the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S has a new processor inside which makes it 2x as fast at most tasks and 7x as fast for graphics (think incredible games). It also has a significantly upgraded camera, video camera, AND most importantly “Siri,” the new personal assistant from Apple.

More on Siri soon (this is BIG news), but rest assured, the iPhone 4S is a major upgrade just in the same body as the iPhone 4.

Question 2: will I be upgrading. Answer 2: Yes.

Discounted AppleCare Protection Plans

Discounted AppleCare Protection Plans

New AT&T Plans for iPhone & iPad

This week, AT&T announced new data plans for iPhone and iPad users starting June 7th. The biggest change is that AT&T will no longer be offering unlimited data plans for iPhone or iPad users. What they will be offering, are two lower cost options with capped bandwidth.

There are basically 2 options now for data usage.

  1. DataPlus: $15/mo for up to 200MB of data ($15 for each additional 200MB after limit is met)
  2. DataPro: $25/mo for up to 2GB of data ($10 for each additional 1GB after limit is met)

In addition to the above two plans, AT&T is also now allowing “tethering” on the iPhone for $20/mo. Unfortunately this does not include any additional data and seems to be a mear convenience charge. In my opinion, this would be fine with an unlimited plan, but the $20/mo should include some amount of additional data since it will be using data already paid for in the DataPro plan.

Note to current iPhone and iPad users, if you already have the unlimited plan, you can keep it at the current price but if you ever downgrade or change the plan, you will never be able to get the unlimited plan again.

Overall, I am happy with the new options AT&T has to offer and will be taking advantage of some of the savings.

Currently in our home, we have 2 iPhones (mine and my wife’s) and 1 iPad 3G. We currently pay a total of $90/month for data with AT&T ($30 for each iPhone and $30 for the iPad 3G), this includes unlimited data on all 3 devices. My wife uses less than 200mb/mo, so she can downgrade to the $15/mo plan (savings of $15/mo), I never go over 500mb, so I can downgrade to the $25/mo plan (savings of $5/mo). We can add tethering to my iPhone and remove the 3G from the iPad (savings of $10/mo).

Total savings with new setup, $30/mo (or $360/year). Not to mention the fact that I could potentially sell the iPad 3G and switch back to an iPad WiFi since the iPhone will now act as the WiFi hub.

Not a bad deal at all.

UPDATE: A recent post on TUAW seems to indicate that it will not be possible to tether an iPad to an iPhone. As a result, I will be keeping my unlimited 3G plan on the iPad but still downgrading my iPhone plans to save a few bucks come Monday. Overall savings is now $20/mo (or $240/year). Still not too bad.