Steve Jobs legacy - not aging well
Back when Steve Jobs died, you could be mistaken for thinking he was some kind of royalty or deity. People cried, left flowers at the Apple Store, wrote books and movies about his life, etc.
Over the past few years it seems his legacy has unraveled a bit as it's become clearer that he was a cutthroat (perhaps sociopathic) businessman with dubious tech credentials. He was a salesman, a very good one, but ultimately a salesman. Woz was the brains behind it all. Jobs was a bully, albeit an effective one.
It is ironic that he is dead. I only realised a few months ago that Steve Jobs invented the iphone and he is literally dead. I was making a compliant in an iphone store over the summer and told the staff that whoever invented the iphone should be shot. They won't let me back in the shop now but I don't care. Anytime I walk past the shop I hold up and wave my Samsung Galaxy android phone at the entrance. Bunch of dorks.
I don't think anyone was a saint, but I hated how limited he made everything, a one size fits all approach to all their tech was cost and user experience effective, but not perfect for everyone.
Actually just bought my first Apple product in a decade or so the other day, so we'll see if I trade teams now that they're actually offering a few different options for what they sell.
Apple products are so expensive whilst providing only marginal value over much cheaper tech products. It reminds me of dr seuss' sneetches story. Why is a sneetch with a star on his belly any better than a bare-bellied sneetch? In the same manner, why is a phone with an apple on its case any better than a bare-cased phone?
I mean, it's just a phone/ piece of technology, who gives a shit?
Woz was a master techie but would arguably be a nobody without Jobs. What has he done since he left Apple in 1985?
Jobs was a master salesman and product manager. His environment was a product of him. The mere fact that he was kicked out of his company, fought 12 years to get back then immediately proceeded to bring Apple back from the dead will forever be one of the greatest business stories of all time.
Trying to argue against his legacy because he wasn't as technologically advanced as Woz and that he was also a sociopath are weak beta arguments. The entire 2000's decade culture was defined by him (itunes, ipod, iphone, macbooks). Jobs is a legend and will never be forgotten.
And't don't call me an Apple fanboy because since Jobs died, I have liked Microsoft way more primarily dude to Nadella and his vision.
I bought my first Apple product in 2001/2002 (iPod) and have been very loyal to the brand ever since. Part of it is because of the way that they package their music in their products. They always aim to keep the customer brand-loyal. I think it has worked very well.
I got my first iPhone in 2008 after ditching the BlackBerry and it was a ton better than the BlackBerry's nub and non-touch screen. For Apple to make the jump from being a computer maker and iPod inventor to the iPhone was a bigger one than most people realize. It seems logical now, but that company was taking a lot of risks in the development of that product, in an industry with increasing demands for data and also the limits of what a mobile phone could do were being tested. Plus, they had to apply for all the permits for the device to operate in the wireless industry. There were many ways that this could have gone wrong.
But, Jobs pulled it off. And the best thing about Jobs in my opinion is his flawless designs. If I am going to spend all day with a device, you're damn right I'm going to spend a few hundred more if needed for looks and ease of use. If that's what it takes. I've had the 2, 4, 6s and kind of had a system where I would just get the even number phones, but recently got the Xs and am impressed with this phone greatly. His legacy has carried on, this phone is a very good product. I'm rough as shit with all of my gear and it seems to be very durable.
It all started with Jobs. The iPhone design was just ... elegant / classy. But, think of how it looked to the consumer who had never seen a phone like this. Only one button? Touch screen letters? They had to educate the consumer about the use and it was largely foreign at the start. If their touch screen was a little shittier and it missed letters and stuff and wasn't precise, the whole phone would have been a flop. But, Jobs and Apple knew that certain parts of the phone had to be very well designed/executed and they fucking pulled it off.
Jobs went through some really tough times and got through it. Especially in the 80s and 90s. All of that led up to the iPhone and that is probably what Job's legacy will be. We thought it would be the iPod before the iPhone came out, but the iPhone was so much more technologically advanced than the iPod, that it really set the standard for the wireless industry. Jobs and Apple basically set the standard - that tech companies could move into the wireless space. Maybe it was inevitable, but Jobs did it and he did it with elegance.
I wish I could have met the man. I never got to meet him. I heard he had a weird diet of apples and carrots. Like, only apples and carrots. Something odd like that. Also heard he was a madman. But, I guess all innovators are.
Think of how bad Falcone got fucked with telecommunications. It doesn't always work in that industry. He lost a lot of money.
"A significant focus on Phil Falcone's investment activities has been the telecommunications company Lightsquared, which attempted to build a multibillion-dollar satellite-based network that would have supplied 4G wireless broadband in competition with AT&T and Verizon Wireless."
"On 15 February 2012, the Federal Communications Commission revoked the 2011 conditional approval for further development of the LightSquared network, stating it would interfere with GPS signals."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Falcone
A design and branding visionary died and handed the ship over to an effective manager with dick vision. The company has performed as you’d expect.
I like my IPhone and older MacBook Air, but have zero interest in apple going forward. Others have caught up. Apple is too closed loop, two style over function and too high priced. They have a loyal following which is to be respected, but the gap has been closed.
God bless him and RIP, but he was a dick...like so many others. 1 big product...he should not be confused with industrial titans of the past like Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, etc...
My view is that almost everything to do with the internet and associated technology has been a net negative for society. 50 years ago we envisioned a future of flying cars and spacefaring; instead, we got computer games, Netflix, and obesity.
Steve Jobs was a phenomenal businessman (arguably the greatest of all time) but he was also a horrible human being and his legacy is the iPhone, which has created a society of zombies.
did you read the unabomber manifesto or something?
I’m not against technology; I just don’t see the internet age being a net benefit to society. I think the builders of autonomous cars, cell cultured meat, and nuclear fusion reactors will be true heroes. The creators of Warcraft, iPhones, and another stupid phone app are villains as they’ve used their immense talents to create a society of lazy and stupid people.
It's an open question as to why the progress that you described hasn't come to be. But considering most breakthroughs are done by a tiny minority of radical thinkers, I think it is unfair to blame a consumer technology aimed at the mass market.
I blame people gifted with rare talent who use their talents for the most worthless businesses (some that even turn into highly profitable businesses). Every moronic business idea that comes from a Stanford MBA kills me a little bit inside. Every MIT grad wasting his talents on some shitty Silicon Valley business is a waste of humanity.
I love technologies like the iPhone because they're powerful tools, in which the people decide if it's a benefit or loss for them. The amount of productivity increase that comes from holding a powerful computer in your hand is enormous! If you decide to use it to jack off to hentai or obsessively follow social media accounts then sure, it'll make you a waste of space.
Did theaccountingmajor make a new account?
I've thought the same thing so many times. +1 SB mate Steve Jobs will forever be a visionary, and a master of the art of finesse. OP can suck Jobs' dick.
Est nulla non nihil nisi ipsa reprehenderit. Quidem mollitia et facilis assumenda ea fugit.
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