I may drive a Jeep because I’m a Colorado boy at heart, and I may own a charcoal grill because I like things “pure”, and I may own Apple gadgets because I have an affinity for fine software. So yes, you can tell a lot about me by the things I own. But they are just that — things. They can be stolen, broken, taken, and lost. They should never become distractions to the things that matter most, nor should I ever allow them to define my character, my relationships, and my beliefs.

A single paragraph that you need to read today.

Always a nerd, I started looking at what software was out there for my new Mac. I became enamored of apps like NetNewsWire, Delicious Library and Transmit. Maybe I’m coloring the past, but I feel like the sense came early of these not being just made, but crafted — the same way a great song or album was. Small groups of people — maybe one — had put time into thinking things through to make something great. It was the first time I knew software could be that way, that it could be made by one person who really cared — and that if I worked really hard, I could probably do it too.

For Steve and for Apple, software is not just about the feature set. It’s about the entire user experience. The fact that the original iPhone didn’t have copy and paste is a testament to how Apple sees the user experience as more important than the feature set. In that regard, 5 years later, iOS is still ahead.

You can use their ideas and you can copy their products, but you cannot copy the time and energy they put into those products, and you cannot copy their attention to detail. Those you have to do on your own. Five years later, some companies still haven’t figured that out.

Well said.