Steve Jobs Dies: Apple Chief Created Personal Computer, iPad, iPod

Here's some interesting perspective, of a different type, from Matt Bai of the New York Times:
What Steve Jobs Understood That Our Politicians Don’t

After all, if you wanted to really get a picture of how the national culture has evolved in the last few decades, particularly in the urban areas that drive economic growth, you could do a lot worse than to study Apple’s string of innovations. Mr. Jobs understood, intuitively, that Americans were breaking away from the last era’s large institutions and centralized decision-making, that technology would free them from traditional workplaces and the limits of a physical marketplace.

This was the underlying point of “think different” — that our choices were no longer dictated by the whims of huge companies or the offerings at the local mall. This was the point of a computer that enabled you to customize virtually every setting, no matter how inconsequential, so that no two users had the exact same experience. This was the essential insight behind devices driven by a universe of new apps, downloaded in seconds depending on your lifestyle and interests.

Some sage observations in the rest of the piece. Well-worth the read.

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


Well i believe it can be both.
The question i have is will his contributions to technology
be seen as a good thing in the long run.
Another way to put it is will there be iphones in heaven?

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


I do believe in karma. You get what you give in this world. Though to be fair, with all his money, giving to charities could be a massive tax write-off for a billionaire such as Steve Jobs. This begs the question, why didn't he at least do it to further extend his wealth?

I find highly odd he didn't contribute for that reason alone, so at this stage I'd like to see proof he didn't participate financially in charitable work. So, whoever called it out on the last page, let's see what you got?

reply to post by AngryAlien

Actually, I mainly meant your posts, not whoever you are talking about.

I'm talking about the guy you were responding to when you said what you did :WOW: ... I'm in no way claiming to have accomplished as much as the man. I just don't think he should be worshiped.

reply to post by AngryAlien


I have the funny feeling you're one of those guys who gives Polanski a pass because you like his movies.

Anal rape of a 13 year old after giving her drugs and alcohol? Wellllllllll, but did you see Rosemary's Baby?

Seriously some of you disgust me, doesn't matter whether you liked or hated him. Bottom line is he is gone and he was somebody's father, brother, and husband. To a few people on this world, he was their everything. Forget his contributions, forget his alleged "wrong doings" as far as his business goes. This was a human being, the vitriol some of you display in your posts really shows me how empty some of your lives must be. Honestly, how terrible and bitter your life must be for you to come and post negative comments about somebody who has just passed.

It's fine to think whatever you want but when you actually take the effort to display your bitterness, that speaks loads about the type of person you are. If you want to get into the whole "poor oppressed chinese laborer" debate, please, spare me. If any of you making this argument had any clue of how a large corporation was ran you'd shut your mouths. Those jobs are still JOBS for those people, they are still putting food on the table for their families with these jobs. At the end of the day that is how business is ran, it is nothing new and Apple isn't the first to do it and they won't be the last. If you really want to put an end to that kind of thing (and take away the dinner of the worker and his family), how about you get off your computer and try to make a difference instead of insulting a man who helped contribute more to the world than many of you "haters" ever will.

/rant

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by gimme_some_truth

 

What if I told you I have never given to charity?

You're not one of the richest men in the World.

AND where does it say he has to donate? HOW do you know he hasn't donated anonymously? Not everyone wants the world to know they donate millions or billions like say Brangelina or Bill Gates...Some people like to do it privately. Some want to donate without the media hype and others want the recognition because they have donated.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


To be honest the more I research him the more respect I have for him as a business man. I'm going to have to say he really saw where things were headed, and was a genius at marketing. I just think he was a bad head in his personal life, and stole a lot of ideas. Good article, still reading it.

I think some people here have misconstrued my point and think that I'm happy the man died which is not at all the case. I think it's a real tragedy for his family and friends and that picture of him looking so ill bothered me. I also think he was a genius, just not the guy who deserves all the credit.

Originally posted by gimme_some_truth
Yeah, I hear you on that one... Maybe a bad example.. But you know. Steven Hawkings work is based on Einsteins work...Steven Hawking would not have had the achievements he had with out taking Einsteins work and studying it, learning from it and in a sense, making it better, by creating his own theories...

Just as Einstein stole from Lise Meitner, Laurent Lavoisier and Michael Faraday. Not to mention Lorentz and Newton.

What I find interesting about Job's is that with all those billions of dollars he still was not able to beat Cancer. I guess there really isn't a cure as of yet, otherwise he surely could have located it. Unless those bottomfeeding pharmaceutical companies are much better at purchasing and burying patents than originally thought. ~SheopleNation

reply to post by SheopleNation


In the conspiracy part of my mind I thought the same thing too... there really isn't a cure or fix for cancer. One that only the super wealthy can afford.

Originally posted by Jason88
reply to post by gimme_some_truth

 

I do believe in karma. You get what you give in this world. Though to be fair, with all his money, giving to charities could be a massive tax write-off for a billionaire such as Steve Jobs. This begs the question, why didn't he at least do it to further extend his wealth?

I find highly odd he didn't contribute for that reason alone, so at this stage I'd like to see proof he didn't participate financially in charitable work. So, whoever called it out on the last page, let's see what you got?

edit on 6-10-2011 by Jason88 because: (no reason given)

The way I look at it is, it is his money and he can do with it as he pleases. Donate to charity, keep it all for himself.... or hell... burn it all if he wants.

But yeah, I had not heard before that he had never donated... Which does not mean that he has donated... But I would love a legit source stating that...

also as others pointed out. There are people who donate anonymously.

Originally posted by AGWskeptic
reply to post by AngryAlien

 

I have the funny feeling you're one of those guys who gives Polanski a pass because you like his movies.

Anal rape of a 13 year old after giving her drugs and alcohol? Wellllllllll, but did you see Rosemary's Baby?

I have a feeling you're trying to troll now, and just want to resort to nonsense.

Before I answer your question, I need to know how you are equating the rape of a child to the running/business practices of a company. One involves grown adults in an impovershed country who have no jobs, willing to work (not forced by Apple or Steve). The other involves drugging and raping a child... What am I comparing?

Originally posted by Domo1
To be honest the more I research him the more respect I have for him as a business man. I'm going to have to say he really saw where things were headed, and was a genius at marketing. I just think he was a bad head in his personal life, and stole a lot of ideas. Good article, still reading it.

You'd be hard pressed to identify anyone successful who isn't followed by accusations (justified or not) of all manner of less-then honorable actions.

But Steve Jobs' style is the archetype -- taking risks instead of relying on endless research and focus groups is the path to leadership and success.

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by SkepticOverlord

 

To be honest the more I research him the more respect I have for him as a business man. I'm going to have to say he really saw where things were headed, and was a genius at marketing. I just think he was a bad head in his personal life, and stole a lot of ideas. Good article, still reading it.

I think some people here have misconstrued my point and think that I'm happy the man died which is not at all the case. I think it's a real tragedy for his family and friends and that picture of him looking so ill bothered me. I also think he was a genius, just not the guy who deserves all the credit.

I agree with most of that, but...

Our biggest problem as a society is that we keep repeating past mistakes, and part of that is putting pop culture icons on pedestals based soley on their achievements making money and manipulating people.

If you think having your child turn out like Jobs is a good thing your priorities are way out of whack. Money and greed are not things to strive for. Unless you're really shallow then go ahead, knock yourself out.

Originally posted by deadeyedick
reply to post by gimme_some_truth

 

Well i believe it can be both.
The question i have is will his contributions to technology
be seen as a good thing in the long run.
Another way to put it is will there be iphones in heaven?

Well, I don't know about heaven having Iphones... But I guess only time will tell how these technologies are viewed in the long run.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by Domo1
To be honest the more I research him the more respect I have for him as a business man. I'm going to have to say he really saw where things were headed, and was a genius at marketing. I just think he was a bad head in his personal life, and stole a lot of ideas. Good article, still reading it.

You'd be hard pressed to identify anyone successful who isn't followed by accusations (justified or not) of all manner of less-then honorable actions.

But Steve Jobs' style is the archetype -- taking risks instead of relying on endless research and focus groups is the path to leadership and success.

And this is something I have tired to get across a few times in this thread... You would be hard pressed to find a CEO who did not have their fair share of accusations. Who did not step on a few people along the way...

Business is ugly like that sometimes....

I think it is a great tribute to his accomplishments that we are standing here talking about him, love him or hate him, he clearly made an impact on the world and this.... this is amazing, to me.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Thanks for the article, a good read about Apple recognizing and selling in to individuality as a mind-set and ethos. There's no doubt he was a visionary, and took risks in an attempt to carve-out the market he saw with customizable devices. Though this paragraph bothers me in the context of the entire piece:

At the same time, while Mr. Jobs saw a society moving inexorably toward individual choice, he also seemed to understand that such individuality breeds detachment and confusion. And so Apple sought to fill that vacuum by making itself into more than a manufacturer; it became a kind of community, too, with storefronts and stickers and a membership that enabled you to get your e-mail, or video-conference with your friends, or post a Web page of your vacation photos.

It paints his vision of "community" as filling the void of detachment and confusion brought on by an always-connected world, when in fact he's building an eco-system to sell more Apple related products (like the Kindle Fire will do). That paragraph seems disingenuous to the true motivations of appeasing stock holders and investors and is misplaced in the Times piece.

Another example of the type of "great man" steve jobs was. www.reddit.com...

Keep blindly worshiping the rich and famous though, that's what got us in this screwed up materialistic world where the rich and powerful own everything in the first place. Gods have no power if you don't worship them. Absolutely sickening to see greedy billionaires worshiped here on ATS of all places, a place that supposedly speaks out against the greedy rich running the world. We got ourselves in this mess.

Steve Jobs is a Hero, a great American and a true business revolutionary. He made the right decision to Quit as a CEO of Apple few months ago, and I know that he will continue to be an inspiration to the science and tech world that is needed in our time.

Originally posted by darkest4
Another example of the type of "great man" steve jobs was. www.reddit.com...

Keep blindly worshiping the rich and famous though, that's what got us in this screwed up materialistic world where the rich and powerful own everything in the first place. Gods have no power if you don't worship them. We got ourselves in this mess.

edit on 6-10-2011 by darkest4 because: (no reason given)

If you think anyone in this thread is worshiping anyone... Well, you might want to read the thread..... I would actually say the majority of people here have not had much of anything good to say about him.