The accolades and tributes continue to pour in for the late SteveJobs, the "visionary" who went on to build a digital products company thatcreated game-changing devices from the Apple computer to iTunes, the iPod,iPhone and iPad.

But here at PAPER we are most grateful to him for the innovationof desktop publishing. We started our magazine in 1984, the same year as the famous"1984" ad that formally introduced the Apple computer to the world. Soon after,we realized that the arcane, laborious and expensive system of producing amagazine were instantly passé. We were now able to write, design, select type,make corrections, size and crop photos, essentially create the entire magazinein one place, the computer. What had once required outsourcing to numerousservice providers could now be done in-house. We could now afford to continuepublishing for less, a lesson that has been embraced by every publisher since.Thank you, Steve Jobs!

Even in the dark days when Apple computers had less than fivepercent of the market share, the creative community -- the art directors,designers, musicians, artists et al. --  were all working on Apple computers,willing to pay the premium in exchange for the intuitive interface, flawlessoperating system and sleek design. Left-brained people couldn't relate to theclunky PC operating system made by Microsoft until it basically copied Apple'sinterface. Even people who have never bought an Apple product benefited fromJob's innovations and obsessive attention to details. The now ubiquitouscomputer touch screen, Samsung's tablet, Android-powered phones are just a fewexamples of how his work has impacted the technology industry. By nurturing anenvironment for app development, he also pioneered what many believe will bethe future of computing, driven by apps a la the iPad as opposed to operatingsystems. When experts questioned his strategy of opening Apple stores, Jobsconfidently predicted that there would be many stores, not just a few. Andthey, too, have set a standard for excellence that is influencing everythingelse coming in its wake.

I remember when we landed Apple as an advertiser and howproud we all were that a company that valued content and excellence in designhad accepted PAPER into its orbit. With news that the publication of WalterIsaacson's biography of Steve Jobs has been pushed up to November and thePublic Theater's The Agony and theEcstasy of Steve Jobs in previews, it's certain that the myth-making willcontinue. In this case, deservedly so.

Above: One of PAPER's first Apple IIs. Kim keeps it on display in her office.