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   RIP: Robin Williams, One of Us

   Josh Centers

   On 12 August 2014, Oscar-winning actor and comedian [1]Robin Williams
   died, of an apparent suicide. Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a [2]rare tweet
   with his condolences, but maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise,
   since Williams's voiceover from the 1989 'Dead Poets Society' kicked
   off [3]Apple's Your Verse ad campaign.

   IFRAME: [4]http://www.youtube.com/embed/jiyIcz7wUH0

   But we also know that Williams was something of an Apple fan,
   [5]attending at least one Macworld Expo, in 2005. In fact, our own Jeff
   Carlson nearly bumped into him ' literally.

     Back when Macworld Expo was a much bigger event (when that was the
     way Apple revealed all of its important new products), you'd
     occasionally see celebrities who were just as geeky as us. One year
     as I was walking the crowded aisles, I nearly collided with a man in
     a hurry. In a split second I recognized Robin Williams, loaded with
     tchotchkes and smiling his wide grin. I could tell this was the
     speed he needed to use to see the show floor without becoming
     trapped by dozens of fans. As he rushed by, a woman behind me
     yelled, 'We love you Robin!' He smiled even more broadly, but kept
     on moving.

   Robin Williams was one of the funniest comedians and best actors of our
   time, and it makes this sad news all the more poignant to know that in
   some ways, he was just like the rest of us.

   (Of course, the Mac world has another Robin Williams, the woman best
   known for penning 'The Little Mac Book,' 'The Mac is not a typewriter,'
   and numerous other books on the Mac, desktop publishing, Web design,
   and Shakespeare. Last we heard from her, she's alive and well.)

References

   1. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/movies/robin-williams-oscar-winning-comedian-dies-at-63.html
   2. https://twitter.com/tim_cook/statuses/498984385610129409
   3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiyIcz7wUH0
   4. http://www.youtube.com/embed/jiyIcz7wUH0
   5. http://benguild.com/2005/01/20/robin-williams-at-macworld-san-francisco/

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