R.I.P. Steve Jobs

[Christopher Cozad]

While this topic is 'definitely NOT Guild', I must express my condolences for an icon of our era, Steve Jobs, who died today.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/us/obit-steve-jobs/

My condolences to his family... and to all those who cared for him.

Christopher

 

[twocorgis]

As an ex-IT guy who got out of the arena because he couldn't take another virus-ridden Windows box (and a long-time Mac user), Steve was a real hero of mine. No doubt he had a huge ego, but his genius far surpassed that. RIP indeed.

 

[silverfox103]

It's hard to see when you are in the same era, but I would consider him in the same class as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Tom C.

 

[dreadnut]

One of the great innovators of the 20th century, he truly ushered in a new era. His invention impacted our lives more than radio or TV.

 

[CA-35]

Truly a worthy post Christopher

One of the great innovators of the 20th century, he truly ushered in a new era. His invention impacted our lives more than radio or TV.

It's hard to see when you are in the same era, but I would consider him in the same class as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.Tom C.

Well said gentlemen. In 500 years he will be talked about with the likes of Einstein and Beethoven, among others that I can't recall at this moment. The world is a different place because of that man. RIP Steve.

 

[chazmo]

RIP, Steve Jobs. Perhaps the prototype of a modern renaissance man.

 

[tjmangum]

I'm sure it will be hashed over a lot in days to come, but Jobs IMHO should be remembered for his marketing skills and presence. He created and then years later reinvented a brand that was based on innovation and "coolness".
T

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

.....but Jobs IMHO should be remembered for his marketing skills and presence. .....
T

+1.

Along with his mastery of the Supply Chain. His skill in those areas far exceeded his technical accomplishments.

~nw

 

[Frosty]

The only Apple product I have ever owned is an iPod and even though
it is several years old and "outdated" now, I am still in touch with how
it changed my life.

Likely many have already seen this from the 2005 commencement address
given by Jobs to Stanford graduates... but it's worth repeating:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be
trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's
thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary."

 

[frailer5]

I run a digital prepress dept. Well, it's me now :lol: Cannot imagine wrestling with Windows boxes on a daily basis. As well as all the 'i' products, one of the forward-thinking things he did was recognise that OS9's time had come, even though it must have felt like his own. Whilst at NeXT, when he'd been frozen out, he laid the basis for OSX. So Macs now have a robust Unix-based operating system. Which is the yawning chasm between it and MS Windows. Quite a guy, to pull a Phoenix return like that, by making a motzah at Pixar. Guess he was a Type A+++

I highly recommend Andy Hertzfeld's "Revolution in the Valley", the story of the birth of the Mac. Andy was one of the original team, and probably one of the more 'grounded' ones. Beautifully illustrated, and well told; can be had for a song at powells.com, though there'll probably be a run on them now.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780596007195-7

Vale Steve.

 

[adorshki]

Well said gentlemen. In 500 years he will be talked about with the likes of Einstein and Beethoven, among others that I can't recall at this moment. The world is a different place because of that man. RIP Steve.

.....but Jobs IMHO should be remembered for his marketing skills and presence. .....
T

+1.
Along with his mastery of the Supply Chain. His skill in those areas far exceeded his technical accomplishments.
~nw

It's hard to see when you are in the same era, but I would consider him in the same class as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
Tom C.

Uhhh, Henry Ford, yes. Einstein, Beethoven and Edison? No. I'm sure even Mr. Jobs himself would have denied those comparisons.
The two most important elements of the MAC mystique and OS, the mouse and the Graphic User Interface, were developed by Xerox at their now-fabled Palo Alto Research Center in the '70's.
I DON'T deny his genius in applying them in a masterful way. And please don't forget he and Wozniak were partners. It was absolutely a symbiotic and synergistic relationship.
Supply Chain? I was working at an electronics distributor in Sunnyvale CA in 1979 when they used to come down and pick up their components orders, for the kit they used to sell via mail order.
They were on permanent COD after a couple of bounced checks. Just like Dan Healy and the Greatful Dead. :lol:
IBM's PC was still an unknown concept.
Star Trek was a computer game that needed a couple of hours to respond to your command line inputs. It was just like flying around the galaxy in real time! :lol:

 

[frailer5]

And please don't forget he and Wozniak were partners. It was absolutely a symbiotic and synergistic relationship.

Yes, at that stage, either would have been dead in the water without the other.
PARC... I remember reading a description of Jobs' face when he saw the early GUI. Along the lines of a small kid, pacing the room. Had the marketing mapped in his mind already, most likely.

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

.......
Supply Chain? I was working at an electronics distributor in Sunnyvale CA in 1979 when they used to come down and pick up their components orders, for the kit they used to sell via mail order.
They were on permanent COD after a couple of bounced checks. Just like Dan Healy and the Greatful Dead. :lol:
.....

Hi Al. My remark was inspired by this article:

Link here

Apparently, some noteworthy stuff happened at Apple, after 1979.... :wink:

~nw

 

[adorshki]

Apparently, some noteworthy stuff happened at Apple, after 1979.... :wink:
~nw

Oh yeah, didn't mean to dispute your point, actually meant to agree. I was just tossing out a tidbit of humorous history.

 

[Scratch]

No more than a high school education, yet accomplished and lived the American capitalistic dream. Although his CEO annual salary was just $1.00 per year, his personal wealth is estimated between $2B & $5B. I reserve the term 'hero' for the selfless few, but he was worthy of recognition as a 'visionary genius' in his profession and IMO on innovative par with Edison and Henry Ford. Two years ago, expedited the usual 306-day liver transplant waiting process to 48 hours. Money talks...

 

[jmac]

Well said gentlemen. In 500 years he will be talked about with the likes of Einstein and Beethoven, among others that I can't recall at this moment. The world is a different place because of that man. RIP Steve.

Can I suggest that some of us are a bit too laudatory concerning the recently deceased?

 

[Triangle Going Sick]

innovative par with Edison

Well they both believed in DC devices :wink:

 

[CA-35]

Well said gentlemen. In 500 years he will be talked about with the likes of Einstein and Beethoven, among others that I can't recall at this moment. The world is a different place because of that man. RIP Steve.

Uhhh, Henry Ford, yes. Einstein, Beethoven and Edison? No. I'm sure even Mr. Jobs himself would have denied those comparisons.
:lol:

In my opinion Henry Ford was a cheap SOB with a good idea about an assembly line approach to manufacturing at best. He could have manufactured widgets, his fortune came from how it was made, not what he made. :wink:
Beethoven developed a style of music, he was a composer, he wasn't selling piano lessons. Einstein changed the way we look at the universe, he wasn't selling slide rules. Jobs changed the electronic culture in this world, along with being an astute business man.

 

[adorshki]

Uhhh, Henry Ford, yes. Einstein, Beethoven and Edison? No. I'm sure even Mr. Jobs himself would have denied those comparisons.
:lol:

He could have manufactured widgets, his fortune came from how it was made, not what he made. :wink:
[/quote]
My point exactly. And in fact with Ford, what he made was just as important as how.
Woz was the hardware guy, and Steve didn't write no software. He just recognized a good thing and knew how to get it to market. Like Henry.
And was probably a lot more inspirational than Woz when it came to fostering the special "mission to change the world" mentality in Apple's early years. (Unlike Henry).
He may have come up with some good concepts, but like I said before, I don't think even he would have been so arrogant as to put himself on a par with the actual creative genius of an Einstein or Edison or Beethoven. Or Mozart. Or Hendrix.

 

[CA-35]

He may have come up with some good concepts, but like I said before, I don't think even he would have been so arrogant as to put himself on a par with the actual creative genius of an Einstein or Edison or Beethoven. Or Mozart. Or Hendrix.

Your statement was semi-valid until the Hendrix addition. Let's agree to disagree. Time will tell.

Imagine that.....Hendrix and Jobs on the same creative playing field. A drug addict guitar player on par with Steve Jobs. That one will keep me laughing for days. Your comedy is not bad. :lol: :lol: