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69650

Suspended
Mar 23, 2006
3,367
1,876
England
part of the genius of Jobs wasn't his knowledge of computers, but his lack thereof. He certainly knew a thing or two about technology but Woz (and modern day Apple engineers) know a whole lot more.

Many people would argue that this is the defining difference between Apple and Microsoft and the very reason so many people love Mac and hate Windows. Steve was a visionary not a engineer.
 

Jaredly

macrumors member
Jan 28, 2010
66
0
Did Anybody see jobs hint at an iPad??
"A new 10lb ipod with 10in display"
Sounds like an ipad to me!!!
 

szw-mapple fan

macrumors 68040
Jul 28, 2012
3,453
4,299
So... if Donald Trump was the guy behind Apple products, would you be a huge fan of him as a person because of his creation of a fantastic product? See, I like Apple products, but I have a hard time liking a guy who is unlikeable. I guess as another analogy, there are bands who I consider to be amazing and put out great album after great album, but who are also incredibly awful people to interact with. So I idolize the product, but can't idolize the person. I would never put their poster on my wall or watch interviews with them because it spoils the experience. In some ways, that's how I think of Steve Jobs and Apple.

What did Donald Trump do that's so great? I like Steve for his focus and attention to details. He's the main guy behind most Apple products. Where did you pick up the stuff about his personality anyways? his biography?

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I might get hung for this; but part of the genius of Jobs wasn't his knowledge of computers, but his lack thereof. He certainly knew a thing or two about technology but Woz (and modern day Apple engineers) know a whole lot more. That lack of in-depth knowledge led him to envision products that were outside the scope of ability. A lot of Apple engineers have mentioned him demanding impossible things, but he somehow drove and led them to do it anyway.

He wasn't a genius because he knew how to build it, he's always had fantastic engineers behind him for that. Really just because he had an idea of what the customer would want (even if it's not what they say they want. If you're an Apple user, surely you've had at least one experience where on-paper, it sounded awful, then you used it and the lightbulb went on and you said 'Oh wait, now it makes sense, this is awesome!"). Apple still has the engineering power that brought us all those great products. But I don't know that it'll ever have the drive or ridiculous scrutiny of a guy like Jobs.


I agree. his strength was his ability to make the whole customer experience great, not his engineering prowess.
 

jm001

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2011
596
123
No one like him since...

It was painful watching Thorsten Heins introduce the new Blackberry several weeks ago or even when HTC unveiled the HTC One. In person both gentlemen probably do have personality, but on stage it was like watching paint dry. Jobs brought charisma to the presentation of technology. He made you want to listen to his every word. It would be interesting to know the numbers for internet traffic when Apple streamed a Job's presentation. There definitely is something lacking in the presentations from any company that we see today...
 

jonnysods

macrumors G3
Sep 20, 2006
8,396
6,837
There & Back Again
I miss Steve's leadership at the helm. The guy was a jerk in real life, but quite the pusher of people to do their best as far as innovation and design. Guy wasn't perfect, but I miss his keynotes.
 

osaga

macrumors 6502
Jun 11, 2012
454
170
But this guy really should have followed Bill Gates' lead in terms of trying to better the world. I have a difficult time understanding why people idolize Steve Jobs... could someone please inform me?

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have done more for the world in their professional careers than they could ever do in their philanthropic careers.
 

Bubba Satori

Suspended
Feb 15, 2008
4,726
3,756
B'ham
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have done more for the world in their professional careers than they could ever do in their philanthropic careers.

Making software, computers, music players and phones is not doing more
for the world than saving hundreds of millions of lives through medical philanthropy.

It's not even close and I find it shocking that someone would think that it was.
 

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,844
Japan
What did Donald Trump do that's so great?

Donald Trump may have a loathsome personality, but you can't dismiss his incredible accomplishments in the field of commercial real-estate development. Trump is properly regarded as a genius and giant in his industry.
 
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szw-mapple fan

macrumors 68040
Jul 28, 2012
3,453
4,299
Donald Trump may have a loathsome personality, but you can't dismiss his incredible accomplishments in the field of commercial real-estate development. Trumps is properly regarded as a genius and giant in his industry.

I see. Thanks. Honestly I haven't heard of him before I saw his name on this forum.
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
The haters can say what they want but it was so much more fun being an Apple customer when Steve was here.

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I miss Steve's leadership at the helm. The guy was a jerk in real life, but quite the pusher of people to do their best as far as innovation and design. Guy wasn't perfect, but I miss his keynotes.

Nobody here knew him in "real life", we as customers only knew him as a professional. He might've been THEE humanitarian with the most humble demeanor in "real life".
 

noiseordinance

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2012
249
8
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have done more for the world in their professional careers than they could ever do in their philanthropic careers.

I don't agree. I believe they are similar in that their contributions to the computing world were primarily capitalistic. (I'm not blaming them for this... hell, I'd do the same thing if I had their intelligence and creativity.) However, beyond that, Gates and Jobs absolutely cannot be compared. What Bill Gates has done is so much more important to the world. Steve Jobs is 100% for-profit. Gates is a strong mixture of for-profit and non-profit. I would have a million Bill Gates posters on my wall before Steve Jobs, even if he is the head of an inferior operating system.
 

jonnysods

macrumors G3
Sep 20, 2006
8,396
6,837
There & Back Again
The haters can say what they want but it was so much more fun being an Apple customer when Steve was here.

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Nobody here knew him in "real life", we as customers only knew him as a professional. He might've been THEE humanitarian with the most humble demeanor in "real life".

There have been enough accounts by ex staff, board members and run ins with Steve to show that he wasn't the nicest guy on earth.
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
There have been enough accounts by ex staff, board members and run ins with Steve to show that he wasn't the nicest guy on earth.

You completely misunderstood my comment. I was saying that in "real life" (As an everyday citizen) nobody here knows what kind of person Steve Jobs was. We (his customers) only know him as a professional such as how we was with board members.

And don't kid yourself, Steve Jobs was right up there with the rest of the CEO's. Bill Gates, Ballmer, Martha Stewart, Mark Zuckerberg, Meg Whitman, etc.... in regards to ruthless jerks. You'd be hard pressed to find a CEO who isn't a harda$$ to his/her underlings. You can't run a major corporation and turn it into a complete success as Jobs did by being an old softee. People here need to recognize that Jobs was no different than any other CEO.
 

iBug2

macrumors 601
Jun 12, 2005
4,530
851
Making software, computers, music players and phones is not doing more
for the world than saving hundreds of millions of lives through medical philanthropy.

It's not even close and I find it shocking that someone would think that it was.

Bill Gates didn't really save hundreds of millions of lives through medical philanthropy. And even if he gets to do it someday, that'll be only because of his success in profit work. Jobs could have done the exact same thing if he had the time. He didn't. Gates did his non profit work after he retired. Jobs never retired. He easily could have. After being diagnosed with a deadly disease he could have said "the hell with it all, I'm gonna retire and spend my remaining years with my family and do some non profit work with all this cash I have". He didn't. He kept working. I think what he did was far more important than what anyone could do with cash. Philanthropy is so trivial compared to inventing new gadgets. It only takes cash and time. Give me 10 billion dollars and I'll become the biggest philanthropist tomorrow if I wanted. But I couldn't become a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs no matter how much money I got.

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I don't agree. I believe they are similar in that their contributions to the computing world were primarily capitalistic. q

What I don't understand is what people think philanthropy is. It's spending money you have for improving the human condition. So it's a capitalistic affair as well. You can't do philanthropy if you are broke. Sure you can help at a soup kitchen on wednesdays but nobody is going to name you as the great philanthropist in that case.

And what is inventing an iPhone if not bettering the human condition? Why are we only supposed to help poor or dying people to be counted as philanthropists? There are always more people not dying at the moment than there are dying ones. Help the healthy and not soon to be dead ones, make their lives better and easier and to me you are as much of a philanthropist as anyone else. Sorry but people need to really check the definition of the word every now and then.

And reasons don't count. Results do. You can never be sure why anyone does anything. People keep saying Jobs did what he did to make money. How can anyone possibly believe that? All these SV CEO's could have retired after they made their first 100 million and live the rest of their lives in wealth if all this was for money only. And you can never be sure why Gates or Zuckerberg spend millions of dollars in non profit causes. Because they care about humanity or because they care about their reputation. But it doesn't matter. Actions count.
 

jonnysods

macrumors G3
Sep 20, 2006
8,396
6,837
There & Back Again
You completely misunderstood my comment. I was saying that in "real life" (As an everyday citizen) nobody here knows what kind of person Steve Jobs was. We (his customers) only know him as a professional such as how we was with board members.

And don't kid yourself, Steve Jobs was right up there with the rest of the CEO's. Bill Gates, Ballmer, Martha Stewart, Mark Zuckerberg, Meg Whitman, etc.... in regards to ruthless jerks. You'd be hard pressed to find a CEO who isn't a harda$$ to his/her underlings. You can't run a major corporation and turn it into a complete success as Jobs did by being an old softee. People here need to recognize that Jobs was no different than any other CEO.

I see your point on the personal life thing. I'm sure he was a great guy to his wife and kids.
 

Hungry&Foolish

Suspended
Mar 29, 2012
461
2
Happy Birthday Steve. My life was made easier through your Mac's and other gadgets. For sure,made me more smarter than i would have been.
I would countdown for your keynotes, not anymore. They are dull and boring without you.
 

laurim

macrumors 68000
Sep 19, 2003
1,985
970
Minnesota USA
There have been enough accounts by ex staff, board members and run ins with Steve to show that he wasn't the nicest guy on earth.

I liken Steve Jobs to the tough teacher you hated in high school but years later you realize they were the one who made you become the best you could be.
 

osaga

macrumors 6502
Jun 11, 2012
454
170
Making software, computers, music players and phones is not doing more
for the world than saving hundreds of millions of lives through medical philanthropy.

It's not even close and I find it shocking that someone would think that it was.

In very broad terms, technological advancement benefits the world as a whole. The civilization we have couldn't have been achieved without innovation that occurs because of ones individual profit motive. Lives are saved on a huge scale every day because of the modern world we live in, all due to capitalism.

More directly, Apple and Microsoft feed the mouths of hundreds of thousands of people and their families.

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is probably one of the smartest philanthropic organizations out there, with a focus on making lasting sustainable changes. But the organization is finite, eventually all the money will be gone.
 

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Nov 29, 2010
1,588
766
Missouri
Many people would argue that this is the defining difference between Apple and Microsoft and the very reason so many people love Mac and hate Windows. Steve was a visionary not a engineer.

I agree. Jony Ive, Woz, et al have all said in interviews that Steve demanded they do impossible things. Sometimes it took a decade, but eventually they DID. Companies like Microsoft, Samsung, etc., will look at a product like an iPad or a MacBook Air ('ultrabook' now in the PC world) and think about how they can develop a competitive product. And maybe they will, maybe it'll even be better, who knows? BUT, the fact still remains, that years prior Apple and it's engineers were already thinking of something entirely NEW, that engineers at Microsoft, Samsung, HP, etc., would be just dismissing as impossible and will 'revisit it' when the technology becomes available.
 
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