Wow, I was shocked to hear that Steve Jobs has passed away. I wish him to be well remembered. It's a great loss to everyone. What's amazing is how he worked so hard right up to the very end.
Great post, Brian. We can all say with absolute certainty that at the very least, Steve Jobs kept us all on our toes. We owe a lot to him for how far we've come as a society through technology.
I have, and will always, talk a lot of smack about Apple products, but regardless of all that, Steve Jobs was a very intelligent man who died far too young. He was great in so many different ways.
I owe Steve Jobs for Pixar. Pixar is the reason I got into computer graphics, why I moved to California, and why I'm working for AMD. If it wasn't for Steve Jobs and his nuturing of Pixar, my life would be completely different.
Cancer is a truly terrible thing. For the loved ones he leaves behind, I hope they take some comfort in knowing how much the world appreciated his genius.
Regardless of who you are or what you've done, 56 is too young for modern times and I'm sad to hear cancer has claimed another.
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KwitkoSheriff of Banning (Retired)By the thing near the stuffIcrontian
edited October 2011
Without Steve Jobs, I don't think we would have the phones and tablets we have today. He raised the bar for everyone, and his vision and passion will be missed. Today the whole electronics world is giving their respects to the man who changed everything.
I know he stepped down as CEO due to health reasons and everything, but... wow... I didn't expect it to come to this so soon.
Regardless of the copious arrogance that man possessed, he has achieved greatness for both the USA and mankind.
I'll still poke fun at the iPhone and Apple products till the end of time, but I do have respect for Mr. Jobs. He may have Command+Q'd, but his legacy will live on.
Perhaps it's crass to say, but I'm just not buying all this "Steve Jobs changed the world" business. When people die, we're all too willing to ignore everything but their brightest moments. I'm not playing that game.
Yes, Steve Jobs helped make Apple what it is today. His guidance is surely part of the company's success. But his guidance was basically that of a workaholic, perfectionist tyrant with a big ego. The dude was known to be a shitty boss. We've heard the stories for years of how employees dreaded meeting him in elevators. The guy was a micromanager to the core.
Did he change the world? People sure are throwing that phrase around a lot. I don't think so. Not with computers. He didn't make them any more accessible or affordable. Just pretty. He proved that pretty will sell, even when you jack up the price and use last-generation hardware. And I won't say Apple changed the way we communicate. Yes, the first iPhone was a novel device that set a benchmark for mobile phones. GG in 2007 Steve.
The guy's name was on 300 something patents. That's like a professor whose name is on 300 papers written by grad students. They get their name on there because they're the boss; not because they did the work. Jobs stood on the shoulders of giants like a boss.
He sucked at philanthropy. As far as anyone knows, he didn't even make an effort to give anonymously despite his amassed personal fortune. This niggardly attitude is even more prevalent when you look at Apple's stocks. Despite their great value, the company's growing profits, etc. Apple does not pay dividends to shareholders. Those who've invested in making the company great get little in return. (PS i love how the #OccupyWallstreet fans are also the biggest Jobs worshipers) Nothing like a guy who drives an unplated car and parks in handicapped spots because he has enough money to just pay the fine.
If anything, Jobs was a master of marketing. He knew how to position a product and sell it. He didn't change the world. But he convinced millions of people to buy his products.
I'm glad someone else pointed this out before I did. I don't want to stomp on the guy's grave, but he could have learned a lot from Bill Gates' example, of all people.
[...]The dude was known to be a shitty boss. We've heard the stories for years of how employees dreaded meeting him in elevators. The guy was a micromanager to the core.
[...]
He proved that pretty will sell, even when you jack up the price and use last-generation hardware
[...]
He sucked at philanthropy.
[...]
If anything, Jobs was a master of marketing. He knew how to position a product and sell it. He didn't change the world. But he convinced millions of people to buy his products.
While that may be true, I agree with others in that I think it is much more important to emphasize how he, in a way, helped to spur innovations and advances in technology, even if he himself had not done the work. He, together with Bill Gates and plenty of other people whom I do not know the names of, as well as the people that worked closely with and for them, helped to usher in the era of technology that we currently live in, and their successors in today's era continue to innovate the way we interact with technology.
Today is not the appropriate time for a debate on Mr. Jobs management style or the social responsibilities of billionaires. A man was overcome by cancer, it's a terrible affliction that impacts so many of us rich or poor, cancer does not discriminate. My father has battled it, my wife currently. I'm fairly certain we have all been impacted by cancer in some way or another. That's the human story here, it is the only thing that matters today.
Buddy J is just pointing out the irony of protesters concerned with the excesses of unchecked capitalism tweeting their angst on their iPhones, which are made by abused Foxconn workers. In that case, it's much more an instance of ignorance bordering on hypocrisy than it is reappropriation of technology.
Buddy J is just pointing out the irony of protesters concerned with the excesses of unchecked capitalism tweeting their angst on their iPhones, which are made by abused Foxconn workers. In that case, it's much more an instance of ignorance bordering on hypocrisy than it is reappropriation of technology.
But yes, cancer sucks.
So you agree with Buddy J's asinine assumption that all the protesters are Apple fanboys?
I support Occupy Wall Street, and I'm a PC. Furthermore I have always spoken out against Apple's anti-competitive business practices and closed architecture.
Most of us here at Icrontic have plenty of criticisms of Apple, but we recognize that Steve Jobs did a lot for our industry, despite our differences. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, Buddy J. In my opinion, that's the most ignorant post I've ever read on this forum.
Cliff, I don't want to make light of cancer at all. It's terrible and I don't wish it on anyone. Certainly, I don't revel in the death of the man. I feel for his family, friends, and co-workers. Loss of a friend and colleague to such circumstances especially makes his passing hard for them. That said, I do not want to lie either and make him out to be someone he wasn't.
djmeph, I'm not trolling. Just making the observation that the people in my twitter stream who are in the most support of the protests are also those who have been extremely vocal about the greatness of Jobs. I'm of the opinion that supporting the protests while simultaneously extolling the virtues of Apple/Jobs are two ideas that are diametrically opposed, hence lolz.
//edit// If you want ignorant posts, I'll gladly refer you to some gems
I'm not informed enough to comment on Jobs personally, his innovations, or his business practices. I don't own any Apple products, but acknowledge Apple's effect on the industry, which has already been well-covered. I do think that he died too young, and that's a tragedy. My dad is the same age, and has had his own close calls with his health.
The Woz knew him well, and reminds us of the humanity involved here:
Cliff, I don't want to make light of cancer at all. It's terrible and I don't wish it on anyone. Certainly, I don't revel in the death of the man. I feel for his family, friends, and co-workers. Loss of a friend and colleague to such circumstances especially makes his passing hard for them. That said, I do not want to lie either and make him out to be someone he wasn't.
djmeph, I'm not trolling. Just making the observation that the people in my twitter stream who are in the most support of the protests are also those who have been extremely vocal about the greatness of Jobs. I'm of the opinion that supporting the protests while simultaneously extolling the virtues of Apple/Jobs are two ideas that are diametrically opposed, hence lolz.
//edit// If you want ignorant posts, I'll gladly refer you to some gems
Fair enough, it sounded like you were painting a very broad brush with that statement, but I would say that Occupy Wall Street is a very diverse movement with a broad variety of supporters.
I also agree that he's not the most charitable person, but I think we should hold out judgement on that for now. We don't know how his estate will be broken up, and we don't know if he has been giving anonymously. I would say, however, that Apple products have done a lot for the charity and health care industries respectively.
I'd have to agree with BuddyJ on the change the world front. As mentioned, he changed my world personally because of Pixar, but I don't believe he was key to the majority of innovation that people credit him for.
A lot of the things Apple have done in technology get copied not because they're innovative, but because the world is shown that they make absurd amounts of money. Facetime, for instance, is not something I believe has shaped technology because it's useful and innovative, but it has caused nearly all major smartphones to have forward facing cameras because there has been a created interest, which means money.
Innovation comes from many giants in this industry, and it's unfortunate that many of them don't get proper credit.
I think Lynx made a great point about creating a market. Being successful in marketing and influencing the competition is laudable, but isn't the same as world-changing or innovation.
Innovation can mean a lot of things, but I think we usually assume it means being the first to invent something or get it substantially right. Facetime wasn't the first cell phone video chat. iPods weren't the first portable music players. What Apple did a lot of the time is what companies like Microsoft get accused of - taking something that exists already and putting their own spin on it. And that's okay. That's what the most successful companies do most of the time.
I could Wall Of Text. I could blah blah Apple sucks. I could do a lot of stuff.
Instead, I'm just gonna link to my blog posting. Because whether or not I agreed with some of the things he did, I still have a tremendous amount of respect for the man. And he earned it.
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
Comments
I owe Steve Jobs for Pixar. Pixar is the reason I got into computer graphics, why I moved to California, and why I'm working for AMD. If it wasn't for Steve Jobs and his nuturing of Pixar, my life would be completely different.
Thank you, Steve. Rest in peace.
Regardless of the copious arrogance that man possessed, he has achieved greatness for both the USA and mankind.
I'll still poke fun at the iPhone and Apple products till the end of time, but I do have respect for Mr. Jobs. He may have Command+Q'd, but his legacy will live on.
Yes, Steve Jobs helped make Apple what it is today. His guidance is surely part of the company's success. But his guidance was basically that of a workaholic, perfectionist tyrant with a big ego. The dude was known to be a shitty boss. We've heard the stories for years of how employees dreaded meeting him in elevators. The guy was a micromanager to the core.
Did he change the world? People sure are throwing that phrase around a lot. I don't think so. Not with computers. He didn't make them any more accessible or affordable. Just pretty. He proved that pretty will sell, even when you jack up the price and use last-generation hardware. And I won't say Apple changed the way we communicate. Yes, the first iPhone was a novel device that set a benchmark for mobile phones. GG in 2007 Steve.
The guy's name was on 300 something patents. That's like a professor whose name is on 300 papers written by grad students. They get their name on there because they're the boss; not because they did the work. Jobs stood on the shoulders of giants like a boss.
He sucked at philanthropy. As far as anyone knows, he didn't even make an effort to give anonymously despite his amassed personal fortune. This niggardly attitude is even more prevalent when you look at Apple's stocks. Despite their great value, the company's growing profits, etc. Apple does not pay dividends to shareholders. Those who've invested in making the company great get little in return. (PS i love how the #OccupyWallstreet fans are also the biggest Jobs worshipers) Nothing like a guy who drives an unplated car and parks in handicapped spots because he has enough money to just pay the fine.
If anything, Jobs was a master of marketing. He knew how to position a product and sell it. He didn't change the world. But he convinced millions of people to buy his products.
I'm glad someone else pointed this out before I did. I don't want to stomp on the guy's grave, but he could have learned a lot from Bill Gates' example, of all people.
While that may be true, I agree with others in that I think it is much more important to emphasize how he, in a way, helped to spur innovations and advances in technology, even if he himself had not done the work. He, together with Bill Gates and plenty of other people whom I do not know the names of, as well as the people that worked closely with and for them, helped to usher in the era of technology that we currently live in, and their successors in today's era continue to innovate the way we interact with technology.
Buddy J is just pointing out the irony of protesters concerned with the excesses of unchecked capitalism tweeting their angst on their iPhones, which are made by abused Foxconn workers. In that case, it's much more an instance of ignorance bordering on hypocrisy than it is reappropriation of technology.
But yes, cancer sucks.
So you agree with Buddy J's asinine assumption that all the protesters are Apple fanboys?
I support Occupy Wall Street, and I'm a PC. Furthermore I have always spoken out against Apple's anti-competitive business practices and closed architecture.
Most of us here at Icrontic have plenty of criticisms of Apple, but we recognize that Steve Jobs did a lot for our industry, despite our differences. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, Buddy J. In my opinion, that's the most ignorant post I've ever read on this forum.
djmeph, I'm not trolling. Just making the observation that the people in my twitter stream who are in the most support of the protests are also those who have been extremely vocal about the greatness of Jobs. I'm of the opinion that supporting the protests while simultaneously extolling the virtues of Apple/Jobs are two ideas that are diametrically opposed, hence lolz.
//edit// If you want ignorant posts, I'll gladly refer you to some gems
The Woz knew him well, and reminds us of the humanity involved here:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dK_XEGrzHUo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I also agree that he's not the most charitable person, but I think we should hold out judgement on that for now. We don't know how his estate will be broken up, and we don't know if he has been giving anonymously. I would say, however, that Apple products have done a lot for the charity and health care industries respectively.
A lot of the things Apple have done in technology get copied not because they're innovative, but because the world is shown that they make absurd amounts of money. Facetime, for instance, is not something I believe has shaped technology because it's useful and innovative, but it has caused nearly all major smartphones to have forward facing cameras because there has been a created interest, which means money.
Innovation comes from many giants in this industry, and it's unfortunate that many of them don't get proper credit.
Innovation can mean a lot of things, but I think we usually assume it means being the first to invent something or get it substantially right. Facetime wasn't the first cell phone video chat. iPods weren't the first portable music players. What Apple did a lot of the time is what companies like Microsoft get accused of - taking something that exists already and putting their own spin on it. And that's okay. That's what the most successful companies do most of the time.
Instead, I'm just gonna link to my blog posting. Because whether or not I agreed with some of the things he did, I still have a tremendous amount of respect for the man. And he earned it.