And so it begins. Or so the press and blogosphere would have us believe. The launch of the Tim Cook era begins with the supposed iPad3 debut. Bull.

Tim Cook has been, for all intents and purposes. manning the helm of the good ship Apple for several years. Steve may have given the green light for the release of products, but Tim Cook has been Apple’s benevolent Mussolini for several years – he made the trains run on time.

Will Cook develop his own Reality Distortion Field? No. He doesn’t need to. It’s not his job to fill Steve’s shoes. His job is to be the best Tim Cook and Apple CEO that he can be.

Don’t forget, Steve mapped out roughly the next five years. He set Apple’s  direction before he shuffled off of this mortal coil. He also spent years, going back to the NExT era, assembling an all-star line up of talented people who were in tune with the direction he was headed.

Now, we’ll see Cook’s stamp on the legacy of this technological juggernaut. So far, it seems like it’s going to be a much friendlier place. Matching employee charity contributions is a prime example.

And he’s not going to be an iconic figurehead like Steve, so accept it.  We now have Ives, Forestall, and company to take care of the creative element. Cook, as I said, will make the train run on time.

I, for one, can’t wait to see what comes from this changeover. You may no longer have the famous “…One Last Thing.” But you’ll still be following the live blog reports religiously and you’ll still be texting all your friends. “Did you see? Did you hear?”