As an Apple consumer (both work and home), I have come to admire and respect much of their products - for their amazing quality, design and service. I have to believe that a lot of that can be attributed to someone like Steve Jobs who co-founded but also managed the company until recently. Now that he has passed away, I want to commemorate his live by understand how others feel about his contributions to our world.

Some of his greatest accomplishments for me, was how personalized the computing experience. Prior to Apple, computers were simply work horses, Apple turned your computer into a pet that you cared for and loved - you anthropomorphized them to a certain degree. To me, this was his greatest achievement.

What are your?

I liked how he could always bounce back and reinvent himself and his inventions. I love people who positively reframe!

Very innovative although his early products lacked the concept of real people, I would say the Ipad

Well this completes a pretty lousy day.

I think he was a throwback to the days when you could be a start up innovator working from a garage . I admire his spirt. He worked to the end.

Here is an Apple ad that could very well be his eulogy.
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. - Apple Inc.

Forgot to add his best product

Macbookpro

Let me start by saying I have great respect for Mr Jobs.

There is no denying the impact he has had on the world. For me, however, his genius came with gauging his market and timing things right.

His so-called innovations are not as innovative when one looks behind the scenes. The first Apple for example was simply a kit computer that that was sold assembled. But it hit the market at just the time when people were ready for it. The first Mac was mostly copied from things he learned at visits to Xerox's near legendary Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Xerox, pioneered much of what we use in computing today and they just gave it away to Jobs. Even the iPhone wasn't the first SmartPhone, Apple just made improvements on the concept.

But that is where his genius comes into play. He understood what people wanted and what would sell.

He will be missed and he will go down in history as one of the most influential people at least in the 20th and 21st centuries.

He was a good man. But his greatest achievement was actually his greatest loss. If it wasn't for him losing in court (apple) then we wouldn't have windows. Strange the trails left behind by actions we do.

I don't own any Apple products and I have no desire to get any. But I also have a lot of respect for Steve Jobs, for what he accomplished. Step back for a sec and just think about how many people received the news of his death via one of his products.

He was a good man. But his greatest achievement was actually his greatest loss. If it wasnt for him losing in court (apple) then we wouldnt have windows. Strange the trails left behind by actions we do.

Particularly since Xerox invented the mouse and object oriented navigation nearly a decade earlier.

The only Apple product I have is an Ipod. (if you don't count a Hackintoshn where only the OS is Apple).. but being a Degreed electronic Engineer I have been a technology geek for most of my life. And I can appreciate and understand his vision better than many. And the man did have vision. Apple wouldn't be the company it is today had he not returned to it.

Yeah but he helped make the computer a consumer friendly devise. Lets face it... he was an innovator like Edison . No one said he invented it.

He wrote a program that changed the capital E to a lower case e. It's something we can't seem to do here.

Steve Jobs greatest accomplishment was fooling everyone into thinking mediocre devices are magical. Brilliant marketing much like PT Barnum. My Nokia N96 from 2006 is better then the Iphone that isn't even out yet.

Yeah that's it... he fooled everyone into making his brand the most popular in consumer computing products. What a gullible group of people we are !

Dummies walking around with iphones instead of Nokia... with ipods instead of Walkmans with ipads instead of Gateway notebooks .
Here's what he did... he made these products fun. You know why there are lines at the Apple store when new Apple products are introduced ? Obviously because it's an inferior product.

He made everyone else look like followers instead of leaders. I've never owned an Apple product, but I've owned some of imitators. With a Macbook starting at $999 when I can buy a Windows 7 laptop for about $300, or buy an iPhone and a limited plan as opposed to a free Android device and an unlimited plan, the choice is easy for me.

In the Iphone the antenna's suck and the batteries. He let you see what he wanted you to see. How come in 2006 I could make video calls on my Nokia? When did the Iphone start to do that?

I had a MP3 player in 1999 called the RIO PMP300. What the Ipod shuffle come out in 2001.

He was a greater marketing no BRILLIANT marketing guy. He knew how to take an existing product and make it seem so revolutionary when really it wasn't anything new.

yeah that's it ... he fooled everyone into making his brand the most popular in consumer computing products. What a gullible group of people we are !

Dummies walking around with iphones instead of Nokia... with ipods instead of Walkmans with ipads instead of Gateway notebooks .
Here's what he did .... he made these products fun. You know why there are lines at the Apple store when new Apple products are introduced ? Obviously because it's an inferior product.

Actually, to a certain extent that's true, at least In my opinion. Apple was never about market share. It was about having a boutique product with snob appeal. At least that was true about Apple computers. The thing is, that with iPods, iPhones and iPads, Apples came up with a boutique product that had mass appeal.

[QUOTE]He was a greater marketing no BRILLIANT marketing guy. He knew how to take an existing product and make it seem so revolutionary when really it wasn't anything new.

He had his ups and downs in the innovation area, but he really was good at taking a product and making it better. Music players were around for a long time before the iPod, PDAs long before the iPhone, etc. But his products do work and they've developed a loyal following. I call them "Apple bigots" because of the way they tend look down at the rest of us. :D

[QUOTE=spitvenom;2909010]
I call them "Apple bigots" because of the way they tend look down at the rest of us. :D

Let them look down on you. Cause you know they have been suckered. Tal is right the ONLY reason people buy Apple is because of the name. Do you know how pissed these fan boys get when the hot new icrap comes out and it looks just like the last icrap, How oh how will anyone know I have the new expensive one when it looks like the old one.

There was also brilliant strategery in getting the Apple computer into the school room.
There is a whole millennial generation that is loyal to the brand because that is what they learned on (playing Oregon Trail) . Now they are the consumer class (they are even taking pix of themselves at these anti-capitalist protests with their iphones.)

This is the commencement address some of them listened to

Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement address (2005) (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html)

Yeah I learned on mac's in school and I learned then they were crap at an early age.

there was also brilliant strategery in getting the Apple computer into the school room.


The problem is that Apples never made inroads in the "real" (corporate) world, because the business community wasn't suckered. So all those kids who learned on a MAC then got a job and found they had to learn Windows and Office. Plus many found themselves at a disadvantage because they didn't know Windows or Office.

The problem is that Apples never made inroads in the "real" (corporate) world, because the business community wasn't suckered. So all those kids who learned on a MAC then got a job and found they had to learn Windows and Office. Plus many found themselves at a disadvantage because they didn't know Windows or Office.

Exactly... part of why I've always stuck with Microsoft stuff. Because I have been dealing with computers since Bill Gates was still in college before MS-DOS was released. Yeah, the First IBM PC wasn't even an MS-DOS machine... it ran on BASICA. A IBM flavor of Basic in firmware. I actually acquired a very early one in 1992 that still worked and had the original green monitor. But it got stolen out of a storage area not long after that.

I learned computers on the Commodore CBM. Which were displaced when the IBM PC's came out. My first personal Computer was an Ohio Scientific, so yea, I remember CP/M and a few others... I remember the Altair and others you have only seen in Museums for decades.

I worked on Digital Equipment Corporation VAX 11-780 and PDP series computers with VMS back before I even got my first IBM compatible in 1988. But since then its been Microsoft all the way except for piddling around with Linux on and off. And recently building a Hackintosh.

I'm awesome too.

I'm awesome too.

Then don't die or we will all be saying negative things about you before you can be buried.

Then dont die or we will all be saying negative things about you before you can be buried.

Don't worry Calif I've been saying the truth about apple long before Jobs died. The biggest day I felt like a failure is when my wife came home with an Iphone. Three months later I was justified when she smashed it on the ground and called it a useless P.O.S

Don't worry Calif I've been saying the truth about apple long before Jobs died. The biggest day I felt like a failure is when my wife came home with an Iphone. Three months later I was justified when she smashed it on the ground and called it a useless P.O.S

Ive been spreading the truth also for many many moons. But I try not to say bad things about persons that have passed at least until they are buried. That's just me.

Yeah we keep a whole staff of IT people to keep our Microsoft and other networks functioning . I keep on telling them all we need to do is get the right ap or 2 and they'd be unemployed .

So Jobs is gone but there has been just a little too much coverage, it is as though all innovation will now stop, a big bite taken out of the Apple which had a hard time surviving without Jobs

Now back to more important things, the bees have begun to buzz on the mountain

Then dont die or we will all be saying negative things about you before you can be buried.

Or do bad things with lipstick and sharpies when the undertaker isn't looking.:eek:

My first personal Computer was an Ohio Scientific,

You too? I had one with dual 5.25" floppies and an X-10 interface with dreams of creating a "smart home".

While Apple are not utterly ground breaking when it comes to product, where they have succeeded is in making the mundane COOL.
A lot of FORM over FUNCTION.
Yes the iPhone isn't all that great, there are better smart phones available.
The iPad is good, but tablet PCs have been around longer than the iPad
The Mac and Macbooks look awesome, but are priced as a fashion item rather than mere commodity.
The Style of Cool is what Steve Jobs promoted and marketed and he did it very well indeed.
The number of fan's of Apple will bear testament to that.
The long queues waiting for shops to open when a new iPhone is launched confirm Steve's vision of Cool.

I think this piece from the BBC sums it up well: BBC News - The cult of Steve Jobs (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15194365)

Steve Jobs managed to bring Cool to the masses..

I'm by no means an expert in judging one operating system over another .

Marketing cool will only take you so far... If the product is garbage the word spreads quickly.

My own view is that the so called cult of Apple grew over the premise that it's user friendly.. I can confirm that on testimonial from the very loyal Apple users I know. I also have some experience using a Macbook pro and it is a good product for the users. I don't say it is the best... but the users love it and swear by it.

You too? I had one with dual 5.25" floppies and an X-10 interface with dreams of creating a "smart home".

You had Floppies with yours? You had one of the later models then (way out of my price range then)... I had a Cassette interface... This was in 1982. It was an Ohio Scientific Superboard. With a whopping 2k of static ram. I kept it for a lot of years until I finally got tired of moving it around and threw it out. Kind of wish I kept it to show some of the younger people what one of the earlier personal computers were like.

Of course the one I had was almost as useful as a Tickle me Elmo doll.

I'm by no means an expert in judging one operating system over another .

Marketting cool will only take you so far ... If the product is garbage the word spreads quickly.

My own view is that the so called cult of Apple grew over the premise that it's user friendly .. I can confirm that on testimonial from the very loyal Apple users I know. I also have some experience using a Macbook pro and it is a good product for the users. I don't say it is the best ... but the users love it and swear by it.

Here's the thing when I heard the Iphone was first coming out my IT director and I would get into screaming matches about who was going to get it first. Then we read what it did or rather what it couldn't do. We both looked at our phones and said these are better then the iPhone. A lot of people swear that the Jersey Shore is great entertainment that doesn't mean it is true.

The 4S is scheduled to start sales tonight. Preorders were swamping demand before Jobs ' death. It will probably dominate 4th Q sales this year.

Bunch of dummies!

Sorry Tom all that says to me is there are millions of stupid people who believe that since they were told this is the best it must be the best. And even if it is a POS no one will ever admit it because of how much money they spent on it.

At what point do the consumers conclude a product is a pos and stop buying ? Sooner or later they'd have to realize they aren't getting a quality product... no ?

Never underestimate the stupidity or gullibility of the average consumer.

Hollywood, NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC all make their livings off that. Not to mention more than a few retailers.

Hell look at the 2008 election. And the fact truth in advertising laws don't apply to politicians.

The problem is they don't know what quality should be in a device. They have been told this is the best nothing is better. But hey the iPhone 4S can almost do everything my phone in 2006 could do.

But no it isn't a quality product my wife when she HAD an Iphone would say I hate AT&T I never have an bars. I would be standing right next to her same AT&T service and have full bars. So is that quality?

She would have to charge her battery every night I would charge my N95 every two days. IS that quality.

Battery dies in the iPhone you have to send it back to apple to get the battery changed. I still have the original battery in my N95 and it still holds a charge event though I haven't used it in years. Is that quality?

You can only do video chat on wifi my N95 could do video on 3g or wifi. Is that quality?

Never underestimate the stupidity or gullibility of the average consumer.

Hollywood, NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC all make their livings off that. Not to mention more than a few retailers.

Don't forget Fox. Cause they ALL do it.

I'm not making judgement on the products... I'm not qualified . I'm a consumer. I know if I buy cr@p I don't come back for an updated model . That's why when I purchase cars I go to Toyota or Subaru dealers. I've had good experiences as a consumer with both.

I think I am acting as a typical consumer . Thus my premise that if the iPhone was indeed cr@p ,it would not sell out for multiple models over many years . Word would spread that it isn't worth it and that Nokia was the product to buy.
Maybe some Volvo owner will tell me that is the superior brand of auto to own ;that I'm stupid for wasting my money on my new Rav4 ,and maybe it is . But if that were so then they would own the market share.

Love this line in the WSJ editorial :


It would be impossible to calculate the number of jobs and economic wealth Steve Jobs created both directly and indirectly. He was a winner, and he worked his wonders before government, this government, took upon itself the job of picking winners and losers. He didn't need a bailout or a $535 million stimulus loan guarantee. Steve Jobs created Apple; President Obama picked Solyndra.
The Death Of Entrepreneurship - Investors.com (http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/587340/201110061850/The-Death-Of-Entrepreneurship.htm)

To me the iPhone is like living in a gated community where you must play by the community rules and if you break those rules you will be punsihed (ahem when jobs wanted to spy on people who jail broke their iphones aka traitorware)

It's funny but I remember there was this company that put out a commercial where everyone was brainwashed and thought the same way. Until one woman smashed the overlords screen. Ironic that Apple is now the overlord. Play by our rules or else!!

Ironic that Apple is now the overlord. Play by our rules or else!!!!
That's why I'll never buy an Apple mp3 player, I couldn't believe people had to enter all that info in iTunes just to get their hardware to function - big deal breaker for me.

Don't forget Fox. Cause they ALL do it.

Fox didn't portray Obama as the smartest man to ever run for office, absent any proof he even did well in school.

Which by the way apparently is still a greater national secret than everything Wikileaks got a hold of for some reason.

That's why I'll never buy an Apple mp3 player, I couldn't believe people had to enter all that info in iTunes just to get their hardware to function - big deal breaker for me.

You don't "HAVE" to. Between me and my wife we have two Ipod Classics 160 gig. Neither are registered nor does apple even know who we are, we don't have actual accounts with Itunes and get all our music through... cough... cough... "other" sources.

Sure using the iTunes app is a PITA to load the player from your computer I agree compared to other non-apple products...but there are third party apps to do that.

I also have a Zune....(don't laugh, I got a refurb 120 gig for $120 on ebay). There are things the Zune does better, there are some the iPod does better.

But they both work better than the couple cheap Chinese knockoffs I've used in the past.

Actually one of the Ipods we found inthe middle of the street...had a few scratches, and I found the HD to have a bit of bad sectors, got a new front cover, and new 160gig 1.8" HD on eBay and for $90 I had a like new player I have hooked up to my Kenwood HD car stereo that will tune an IPod directy. The other Ipod I got for $150 as an Apple manufacturer refurb that looked brand new.

My daughter received as a present the cheapest one you can, a little nano. I have tons of mp3's I wanted to load onto it for her. The ONLY way to get the nano to "unlock" to allow us to use it was to enter your registration info in iTunes, which, if you don't know the work around, includes giving a credit card number. Never again.

I use an old Sony Walkman 2GB mp3 player which everything I need it to do: it's robust, I load the songs directly onto the player by dropping songs in a folder, no intermediary programs at all unless I choose one to manage my music.
It looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415dqcbfFoL.jpg

My daughter received as a present the cheapest one you can, a little nano. I have tons of mp3's I wanted to load onto it for her. The ONLY way to get the nano to "unlock" to allow us to use it was to enter your registration info in iTunes, which, if you don't know the work around, includes giving a credit card number. Never again.

I use an old Sony Walkman 2GB mp3 player which everything I need it to do: it's robust, I load the songs directly onto the player by dropping songs in a folder, no intermediary programs at all unless I choose one to manage my music.
It looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415dqcbfFoL.jpg

Never did that model... but I agree... I definitely would have an issue with having to give a CC# just to use something you bought and paid for.

Because my #1 use is for a music library when I'm driving... the Sony and most of the other ones didn't have enough storage capacity to suit me. I want to listen to whatever the mood may call for, and I do have varied tastes in music making that hard to fill on a tiny player.

500 to 600 songs at a time are plenty for me.

500 to 600 songs at a time are plenty for me.

Yeah that's a lot.. but if I felt a desire to listen to a different Genre... or different artist... not like I use it on the Bus or short trips.

Lot depends on how you use it...

I just use my droid for listening to music. I think me smoothy and NK all use cough cough other sources.

:D

I tried using my HTC Magic (MyTouch in the US) but it's not handy in the back on my cycling jersey to skip a song, with this one I reach back and do it by touch; same when I go on long*ish geocaching hikes.

at what point do the consumers conclude a product is a pos and stop buying ? sooner or later they'd have to realize they aren't getting a quality product ..... no ?

Its when they realize what they are missing. Until then they don't know so their blindness causes them to follow others. It works the same way through most of the consumer world. Now we have a generation that has grown up and gotten used to Wally world. Before when many of us were younger there was an expectation of quality and it showed in the products. In today's times everything is approaching a throw away status.

Its when they realize what they are missing. Until then they dont know so thier blindness causes them to follow others. It works the same way through most of the consumer world. Now we have a generation that has grown up and gotten used to Wally world. Before when many of us were younger there was an expectation of quality and it showed in the products. In todays times everything is approaching a throw away status.

But its pretty and shiny and it's the "IN" thing... :D

But its pretty and shiny and its the "IN" thing......:D

Exactly. That's why Im glad I don't have to roll with the hype. I built my own computer years ago and it will still outrun all the newer "shiney" ones on the market today.

Its just amazing how far some consumers will go.

Its when they realize what they are missing. Until then they dont know so thier blindness causes them to follow others. It works the same way through most of the consumer world. Now we have a generation that has grown up and gotten used to Wally world. Before when many of us were younger there was an expectation of quality and it showed in the products. In todays times everything is approaching a throw away status.

But its pretty and shiny and it's the "IN" thing... :D
And it's ultimately COOL..

Exactly. Thats why Im glad I dont have to roll with the hype. I built my own computer years ago and it will still outrun all the newer "shiney" ones on the market today.

Its just amazing how far some consumers will go.
I've bought a total of TWO pre assembled computers in my life.

One was a used Ohio Scientific Superboard in 1981 or 1982. The other was a Packard Bell, 286 in 1988. Because I couldn't upgrade crap on that due to special cables etc... I swore I'd forever build my own from scratch so I can upgrade any piece I want. And I have. Dozens over the years.

And it's ultimately COOL..

I don't worry about impressing anyone... I learned a long time ago... trying to be cool with stuff is like trying to chase a rainbow, you spend all your time (and money) trying, and in the end you still never get there. The gadget is never the cool thing very long, and there is always a newer, faster, cooler one coming out. You always will be cool to some people, and will never be to others, so why spend time and money trying.

My cell phone is company provided, has no data plan, and its since I pay nothing... its cheap.

What I don't spend to impress others... I can put in the bank for retirement. That's a lot of money over the years. I'd rather have a higher standard of living in my senior years than to impress anyone right now in my younger years.

I've bought a total of TWO pre assembled computers in my life.

One was a used Ohio Scientific Superboard in 1981 or 1982. The other was a Packard Bell, 286 in 1988. Because I couldn't upgrade crap on that due to special cables etc...I swore I'd forever build my own from scratch so I can upgrade any piece I want. And I have. Dozens over the years.

My first computers were Atari's and IBM PC's at work. The first ones I programed were 6502 and 8086. Those were the days. Lol

Im not including the "others" I had access to through U.C. Berkeley.

This may take some down memory lane. Green or orange :)

OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/default.asp)

My first computers were Atari's and IBM PC's at work. The first ones I programed were 6502 and 8086. Those were the days. lol

Im not including the "others" I had access to through U.C. Berkeley.

In college we had Commodore CBM's in the Computer lab. IBM released the First IBM PC after I graduated. These were the "PC'S" many businesses had if they didn't use a mini-computer and terminals back before the IBM PC and its future clones..

Thanks for the nostalgia!

I learnt my first language, BASIC on a Commodore VIC20 - it came with all of 4KB which I wrote a program that used up all its memory so I begged my parents to buy me more - they did - and got me a 16KB cartridge. This was a computer that you plugged into a CRT for the monitor and it had a tape-deck that you used to get programs on. I tried playing back the tape on a regular cassette deck and it was just a high frequency tone - oh well. I have to give it to my parents for even getting me this thing for a 10-year old.

Fun times!

Now I know how old you are, Ram. :D