Apple cofounder Steve Jobs is dead at 56 Steve Jobs, Apple's cofounder and former CEO, has died. He was 56 years old. His death was reported late Wednesday in a brief statement on Apple's website. Apple's homepage featured a black-and-white photo of Jobs with a closely trimmed beard bearing his name and the years 1955-2011. "Apple has lost a visionary and creative …
"Not a fan of Apple products/ethos, but massive respect for what Steve did with the company and what he helped do to the consumer tech market.
56 is far too young, and he clearly was very passionate about what he did."
Love or hate him and/or share-and-enjoy Gates, they made something available to us that was formerly in the hands only of large corporations, governments and the like, something that has empowered and entertained us so very much that it is almost arterial. I actually liked the NextStep computer, and found myself wishing he'd stay on his own. That's an irony, because I was already deeply embedded in the IBM compatible culture. SPSS in DOS and, later, Windows was one of the reasons. I will one day own a Mac and, oddly enough, last month I nearly bought an iPhone. (I got better though.)
In order to be "One of the greatest minds, businessmen of the era" you have to be "controversial at times". Non-controversial people can never attain the "greatest minds" status.
It should be "One of the greatest minds, businessmen of the era, _BECAUSE_ he was controversial at times".
"Often controversial, he was one of the greatest minds, businessmen of the era."
You got it backwards. While great minds are often controversial, just being controversial does not always indicate a great mind. It has made a few people famous, but still not great.
They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown. -- Carl Sagan.
In among all the sycophantic guff being poured out from all directions, I'm still trying to think of one positive innovation you could attribute to him.
Seems to me his greatest achievement was was raising gullible people's expectations about how much money they need spend just to get a cheap, tatty bit of consumer electronics like their mates have.
Sir Cosmo Bonsor:
"In among all the sycophantic guff being poured out from all directions, I'm still trying to think of one positive innovation you could attribute to him."
That's as may be. But sometimes something happens that makes the stark point that there is more to life than whether a particular shiny toy is the world-changing best-ever shiny toy, or an annoyingly disappointing shiny toy.
What people are doing here is holding off on the usual superficial bitching for a moment or two, on account of the fact that a well-known man - quite a personality, by all accounts, whatever you thought of him - has died unreasonably young. This is what people do when they're not sociopathic. Don't get me wrong: I don't generally agree with the current fad for massive outpourings of flamboyant, public grief. Most of us never knew the man, so it's weird, frankly, to act as though we've lost a brother, as some are - but it's human to empathise when someone dies, and to express sympathy, even if the person who's died is someone you didn't like very much.
And to dave 93: I hope that your passing, when it comes - and may that be a very great many years hence - is quick, dignified and without any suffering at all. Even though it seems I disagree with at least one opinion you hold.
"In among all the sycophantic guff being poured out from all directions, I'm still trying to think of one positive innovation you could attribute to him.
Sycophancy? Not possible, SJ would necessarily have to be alive:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sycophantic?q=sycophant
As to innovation, there is nothing new. All 'new' things are merely the product of crossblending different rule sets. That's why people can frequently point to camouflage or communications techniques in 'nature' (other species) and say it happened before we did it. Overall, it began with binary fission.
Neither am I. Just goes to show you that the "faithful" are nothing but a bunch of Lemmings. Jobs tells/told them to buy...and they buy...regardless of need.
And yes...I do own Apple products, and have for many years (have 2 iMacs & 1 Macbook Pro in my home lab for bench testing purposes, and an iPod in my car), but do not think them superior to ANY computer...simply different. Somethings they do "better" than non-Apple machines...and somethings they do not.
He achieved a cheap, affordable and innovative smartphone that was comparatively light and much more user friendly than others available at the time.
At the time, no mobile phone operators in Australia offered smartphones on a $0 up front plan, and I didn't exactly make enough money to afford paying $800 up front for them.
The release of the iPhone did two things:
1. provided a smartphone for the masses that anyone (and i do mean anyone) could pick up and use without much prompting.
2. forced other companies to follow suit, leading to the genesis of the Android platform and its varied host hardware platforms.
I emplore the reader of this to stop for one second, discard all your preconceptions, prejudices and hubris and think what computing was like a mere 25 years ago. Once you have that image firmly in your mind, pull your smartphone out of your pocket and have a good hard look at it.
Like it or not, Steve Jobs influenced its creation in one form or another, so show some god damned respect!
But it'll be interesting to see how Apple gets on with out Steve Jobs as a crutch.
From what I've heard I wouldn't have wanted to work directly with him, but the world needs people like him to drive things, even if they're driving in an odd direction. He'll leave a big hole in the industry that won't be easily filled.
let me say this.
I hate Apple products.
I hate the legions of drooling fanbois who camp for days to get their latest iCrap product.
I hate Apples business practices of trying to stifle the opposition with patent lawsuits.
Having said all that.
RIP Steve, although I didn't care for your company or it's products, a lot of other people did and you brought that to them. 56 is a young age to go at and my condolences to your friends and famiy.
Pairs, cos she's sad too.
I agree with the personal sentiments, especially about his age. I sort of think you have a weird advantage if you can see the form of your death coming...
However, philosophically, I think the Jobs put profits ahead of freedom. The Apple II started with the philosophy of empowering people, but once the box was closed for the early Mac, the philosophy changed to 'inside is none of your business'. Microsoft adopted the same philosophy with Windows 95, and once again, I disagree with the philosophy but I can't deny that the business model makes sense...
"my sentiments exactly, it's uncouth to qualify condolences." at no point did he qualify his condolences, I'm not sure how you even would.
He stated he was a fan of Apple or the way it was run, but then offered condolences to Steve's family and friends. That to me speaks of giving more respect, I'm sure there will be some very mean comments coming from some quaters of this world.
I have to agree, I'm not a fan of Apple, or the blind following it seems to bring out in some people (some of my friends included). But that does not mean I can't sympathise with Steve Jobs family at this very tough time for them, knowing someone is goign to die in no way makes it any easier when they do.
sweeping statement there, are you somehow taking the moral highground by calling someone you don't know a fucking dork......
Just because you say you hate something doesn't mean you are hateful.
I hate cancer and many other nasty things, does that make me hateful?
Anyway, have a nice day on your high horse. Just be careful you don't fall off....
where am I? I guess you are not asking geographically, but rather trying to say I'm trying to be morally superior? Well I suppose I am, I was trying to make a point without resorting to childish name calling.....
As I said above, I feel it is perfectly fine to dislike the way someone went about their business and still offer condolence at that persons untimely death.
Oh, and nice joke on my handle there. Very funny.
is that a tumbleweed I see....
is all I can say.
Love him or loathe him (I sat in between, I have an iphone and had 2 macbook airs, but also have had probably 3 dozen PCs in my time and 20 nokia phones) you've gotta give the guy credit for literally shaping the world in his image in the past decade.
I really do wonder what Apple will do over the coming years. I simply can't see them staying at this level without Jobs at the keel.
No other company has successfully changed from "committee corporate" culture to "Steve's way".
Steve's way was "No committees, my way or the highway" where the word of the person _RESPONSIBLE_ for a particular item was final and mandatory down the command chain.
In your average corporate you have the headless beast known as the committee "responsible" for every decision at every step. Other companies look at Apple, have a committee driven reorganisation to attempt to imitate it and perform a musical chairs committee rehash to result in another committee structure which is not any closer to Apple's.
The only other big company with top-bottom "my way or the highway" culture out there is Oracle where it predates Steve's second reign at Apple.
Apple did not shape the world in its image. It has shown the world a shape it can attain. The world however is nowhere near attaining it. Also, the bets are still off if Cook possesses the Cenghiz Khan syndrome necessary to continue to run Apple the same way. If he does not, Apple will descend back to where it was in the interregnum when the MBA committee's ruled the way it was run.
I think he was at the helm, rather than the keel, as the latter is the structural element upon which the hull is built.
Never liked Apple products, but that's a matter of personal taste and in no way detracts from a completely non-grudging admission that they're very good pieces of kit. Jobs changed the entire market, and will be greatly missed.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
