God, that last paragraph got me... So tragic...
I feel the same, that last paragraph just wiped me out.
As someone else noted - as one last act, Steve Jobs will get a huge number of people to read a book.
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Isaacson Shares a Touching Preview of the Steve Jobs Biography
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I feel the same, that last paragraph just wiped me out.
As someone else noted - as one last act, Steve Jobs will get a huge number of people to read a book.
Are people in the military really fighting for something "far greater than you can imagine"? Are iPods/Pads/Phones and great computers "far greater than you can imagine"?
I'd imagine that some people will feel that "fighting" for your company's success, even if that means changing aspects of the way we deal with things, is not worth the price of being an absent dad. I suspect this is particularly true for all those that had dads that worked through all their childhood.
I have no interest in, or reason to, judge Steve. For all we know, Steve has been a great dad, and he may have also focused on truly providing for his family's future. If so, that's his priority to make.
I am a huge fan of Steve, and he has been pivotal in changing how I work (I'm a designer), how I play (I'm also a musician of sorts) and how I spend my time off (with my Macs and i-toys). He has changed all those things for the better.
I still find it impossible to try to weigh him spending time doing that against him spending more time with his children. I'm sure there are many superb minds that are unknown to this world because they chose to be with their families. That's not wrong. Just as choosing another route is not wrong either. It's their choice, and I'll live nicely with the conviction that Steve had enough clarity to chose the balance he found best.
RIP Steve - thank you for making my life a little more fun!
I find myself sitting here reading and crying. Amazing the unexpected emotions for a person I never met.
Extremely sad day!
I will likely go the traditional hardcover route. Mainly because it will likely be around longer than my IPad.
Yes good bye! I hope his kids are doing well, my farther died after a very long and drawn out illness. It is a tough thing to watch that long drawn out slide, the feeling of being helpless is overwhelming.
I will likely go the traditional hardcover route. Mainly because it will likely be around longer than my IPad.
Remember Steve had very high standards. His relationship with his kids might not be what he wanted but I'm left with the impression that he was far more involved than many fathers. Reports of him attending school functions related to his kids come to mind.
Indeed! I've followed Apple, via Byte magazine in those days, since day one. For a long time a magazine was my only contact with the computer world as such novelties back then where out of reach. Eventually I got a Mac Plus which was my first introduction to Apple hardware. But yeah Steve and his visions have been part of my life for as long as Apple existed.
Goodbye Steve.
Yes good bye! I hope his kids are doing well, my farther died after a very long and drawn out illness. It is a tough thing to watch that long drawn out slide, the feeling of being helpless is overwhelming.
That last sentence really speaks volumes, for a man who had all the hardest earned objects in the world, money, power, respect and influence he didn't have one of the simplest of pleasures, that closeness with his children... can't wait to read the book!
I am still sad and dismayed. I have built my professional life around supporting Apple products and services.
I know life will go on.. but how different will things be? How would my life have been different without SJ? Man this is hitting me hard.
I wasn't sure if I would snag the Bio or not.. but surely now I will buy at least 2 copies. I think we're gonna break some sales records.
Do it for Steve, everyone.
I know life will go on.. but how different will things be? How would my life have been different without SJ? Man this is hitting me hard.
I wasn't sure if I would snag the Bio or not.. but surely now I will buy at least 2 copies. I think we're gonna break some sales records.
Do it for Steve, everyone.
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I totally agree -- his loss is tragic on so many levels. I only hope toward the end, in these last few years of illness and success that he was able to find a relationship with his children and a sense of peace. Steve Jobs is an inspiration not just for all that he accomplished, but the fact that he was able to accomplish so much during one of the most vicious illnesses that can attack another human being. What a will and resolve of steel!
FSUSem1noles said:
I totally agree -- his loss is tragic on so many levels. I only hope toward the end, in these last few years of illness and success that he was able to find a relationship with his children and a sense of peace. Steve Jobs is an inspiration not just for all that he accomplished, but the fact that he was able to accomplish so much during one of the most vicious illnesses that can attack another human being. What a will and resolve of steel!
Something like the way that Christians believe God is their heavenly father and Jesus the perfect role model... As an atheist, Steve Jobs somehow filled the role of my heavenly father and perfect role model...
This book is on my Christmas wish list, for sure. I'd buy it myself now, but people never know what to get me so I think I can manage to wait two months so someone else can get it for me.
This book is on my Christmas wish list, for sure. I'd buy it myself now, but people never know what to get me so I think I can manage to wait two months so someone else can get it for me.
Young children can't appreciate what their father did for us!
I'm not sure how old Steve Jobs' 4 children are. But they must be young. If he wanted them to have some idea of what his work accomplished outside the family, (having ben so private with so little written about him) he had to ask for the biography.
Working so hard you spend little time with your children is something that America's working families know all too well. Two jobs? Night shift? You don't have to be Steve Jobs to be working hard these days.
I'm not sure how old Steve Jobs' 4 children are. But they must be young. If he wanted them to have some idea of what his work accomplished outside the family, (having ben so private with so little written about him) he had to ask for the biography.
Working so hard you spend little time with your children is something that America's working families know all too well. Two jobs? Night shift? You don't have to be Steve Jobs to be working hard these days.
I never knew Steve personally, but I sure do know Walter, the institute is one of my biggest clients. I have had very relaxed and behind the scenes access to many high rollers, including top White House officials, I am very lucky to be in the position I am in, honored actually.
That said, while I am somewhat disappointed at the comments at how many people don't read books or have not in some time, I am glad you will read this one. You see, people like Walter and Steve, well, I can tell you that from what I have heard of Steve and what I know of Walter, they are very much alike. Demanding, high expectations, perfectionists, intolerant of mediocrity, often brash and ego-centric....but flat out brilliant....and through the legacy of creations they leave behind, always will be. And they are both very well read despite being heavy users or even innovators of technology.....they read books.
I would suggest that as you go forward and eventually read the Bio, you strongly consider the following:
The technology that Apple has conceived and executed under the passionate and watchful eye of the late Steve Paul Jobs has not replaced or bettered anything at all. What it has done is provided an increased scope of options for those who have the capacity and vision to see beyond something simply being "Better".
So read books, read magazines, go on hikes, shoot film, shoot glass plate, paint a painting....don't just watch the Discovery Channel, do something outside of your devices in the real tactile world that might have you appear on the show.
Enjoy the wonderful products that Steve and Apple have given you, but for god's sake, keep the diet balanced and keep it real.
That said, while I am somewhat disappointed at the comments at how many people don't read books or have not in some time, I am glad you will read this one. You see, people like Walter and Steve, well, I can tell you that from what I have heard of Steve and what I know of Walter, they are very much alike. Demanding, high expectations, perfectionists, intolerant of mediocrity, often brash and ego-centric....but flat out brilliant....and through the legacy of creations they leave behind, always will be. And they are both very well read despite being heavy users or even innovators of technology.....they read books.
I would suggest that as you go forward and eventually read the Bio, you strongly consider the following:
The technology that Apple has conceived and executed under the passionate and watchful eye of the late Steve Paul Jobs has not replaced or bettered anything at all. What it has done is provided an increased scope of options for those who have the capacity and vision to see beyond something simply being "Better".
So read books, read magazines, go on hikes, shoot film, shoot glass plate, paint a painting....don't just watch the Discovery Channel, do something outside of your devices in the real tactile world that might have you appear on the show.
Enjoy the wonderful products that Steve and Apple have given you, but for god's sake, keep the diet balanced and keep it real.
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Very good post! The hyperbole (about Steve Jobs changing the world in very significant ways) is bearable on this occasion though, I understand it, even if I see it the way you do. I especially agree with you about books - that is just about the only thing Jobs has been saying that has annoyed me. ("People don't read anymore" - and not saying it with sadness.
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Steve also got to see Siri come to fuition - a UI announcement on Tuesday that may pan out to be as big a deal as the mouse was back in 1984.
I was thinking of doing the same but was a little reluctant to load the app just for this one issue. Plus, I noticed that the Life's app isn't getting the best reviews, have you used it before.
I'll either be getting a copy of it tomorrow, whether it be digital or off the shelf.
I did not know the man of course, but perhaps he considers the biography to be like a final love letter to his kids. For the exact reasons he stated... he wasn't always there for them and he wants them to understand Steve "the man" versus Steve "the dad". I think his comment was sweet.
He's doing better than a friends dad - that man died and left letters for his 3 children telling them how much they sucked and that if he wasn't there for them it's because of THEM. Yet they still cried and praised him as the greatest dad ever.
Not really something Steve can get much credit for, though? I may have misunderstood this whole thing, but I thought that was bought technology, so at best he's mainstreaming it - not innovation per se.
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Hopefully this book tells about his contributions to society. Not the for profit contributions, but the contributions that the world can't see that changed and helped individuals.
Hopefully this book tells about his contributions to society. Not the for profit contributions, but the contributions that the world can't see that changed and helped individuals.
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? Eek! I wouldn't call that class my man. The phrase "actions speak louder than words" is popular for a reason. Because they do! Why should his kids have to read a book about their own pops? That sucks!
I respect Steve Jobs just as much as the next man. I have been buying products since 2005. In no means though have I forgotten right from wrong though.
This man had 6-7 years to mend his ties with his family (original approach 2004!).
Peace said:
? Eek! I wouldn't call that class my man. The phrase "actions speak louder than words" is popular for a reason. Because they do! Why should his kids have to read a book about their own pops? That sucks!
I respect Steve Jobs just as much as the next man. I have been buying products since 2005. In no means though have I forgotten right from wrong though.
This man had 6-7 years to mend his ties with his family (original approach 2004!).
I especially agree with you about books - that is just about the only thing Jobs has been saying that has annoyed me. ("People don't read anymore" - and not saying it with sadness.
What he said one time in 2008, regarding the Amazon Kindle:
It doesnt matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people dont read anymore, he said. Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people dont read anymore.
He said it once, and the 40% is still accurate. Is it the best thing to have said, no, but it was an off-the-cuff remark, not a thesis.
His kids are too young to understand what he's accomplished in his life. They don't have to read a book to know their father, they will read a book to learn of his life when they are old enough to understand it all. Geesh.