Steve Jobs Nominated for Time Magazine "Person of the Year"

[janstett]

Just cause he died? I was listening to Howard Stern, he literarly thinks that Steve Jobs personally invented the mp3 player and the touch screen. The touch screen in my Nintendo DS and pocket PC both in 2004 were invented by Steve Jobs. That's the reality for so many.

Henry Ford didn't invent the car, he just got it right and made it affordable to the masses.

We techies know better about invention and mainstreaming, but as is the case with just about everything he touched, he revolutionized something that already existed and used them in new ways.

 

[vrDrew]

Does anybody still actually read Time Magazine anymore?

That ought to tell you all you need to know about Steve Jobs impact on the world he lived in.

I'm sure the pro- and anti- Apple people will debate, endlessly, Steve Jobs. Was he a petulant, tyrannical bully who ruthlessly appropriated other people's ideas. Or was he a gifted visionary who brought computing to billions through easy-to-use, gorgeously designed hardware and software?

He was probably both. In case you haven't read it yet, Malcolm Gladwell has an interesting piece in The New Yorker this week, in which he argues that Jobs greatest contribution was as the ultimate "tweaker" of technology. He discusses a theory that it was "tweakers" (like Jobs was) who contributed most to the Industrial Revolution. Money quote:

Such men, the economists argue, provided the “micro inventions necessary to make macro inventions highly productive and remunerative.”

Gladwell's piece isn't the whole story on Steve Jobs, or his place in history, but its worth a read.

 

[janstett]

Howard Stern as a source of accurate information!!?? That's an oxymoron.

Obviously you don't listen. Howard's been a geek for decades (albeit not a super knowledgeable one but high for a consumer), I remember him geeking out about OS/2 back in the early 90s. He only recently got into Apple gear and converted from Android but he is certainly in love, and it started with the private iPad for "Howie time" over a year ago.

He's very enthusiastic about technology and whatever you think about him and his material, he is still an "artist" - as Apple said, a misfit, a troublemaker, a round peg in a square hole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY57NgcZ8C0

 

[eNcrypTioN]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Doesn't surprise me, hope he wins.

 

[Kaibelf]

Just cause he died? I was listening to Howard Stern, he literarly thinks that Steve Jobs personally invented the mp3 player and the touch screen. The touch screen in my Nintendo DS and pocket PC both in 2004 were invented by Steve Jobs. That's the reality for so many.

No. It's because he worked until his dying breath to help bring technology to the world, and because this year because of those efforts, finally a computer company became larger than an oil titan.

 

[Gasu E.]

Steve deserved to be "Person of the Decade" for the 00's. That said, 2011 wasn't a particularly noteworthy year for him (other than his passing) and this award is not intended to be a memorium. It seems misplaced.

 

[GenesisST]

Steve deserved to be "Person of the Decade" for the 00's. That said, 2011 wasn't a particularly noteworthy year for him (other than his passing) and this award is not intended to be a memorium. It seems misplaced.

Totally agree. But it's like the oscars, I guess...

 

[ThanksSteve]

A lot of people think Jobs didn't do anything this year specifically, but Apple did passes Exxon as the most valuable company in the U.S. in August of this year before he retired...even if it was briefly. That's a pretty big accomplishment in the business world.

 

[AppleScruff1]

iPhone 5 and a reinvented television experience — his last achievements. They just haven't been released yet.

So he should get an award based on products that are a year from being released and that no one knows anything about?

You Know what !


I Agree : Steve Jobs is the man of the year.

He unified all of the smartphone purchases into a 30% Apple dominated ecosystem !

How Exciting that a big computer company like Apple has so much money and depends on slave labor in china !


Wow, ..Our lives are so much better with Angry Birds !


Can I just sign up for whatever the hell they put out next ..


I'm not a sheep !!! I Swear !

Sadly, you have hit the nail on the head. That is the exact mentality by many here.

Time's Person of the Year is awarded to "a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that for better" or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year.'"

Really? Wonder if there are any deposed dictators on the list.

Steve would still be on the list. He is also a dictator.

 

[Seasought]

I'm more disappointed that Jobs isn't around to hear the Adobe Flash news based on the "manifesto" he wrote criticizing it. I'm looking at this recognition more as another means of getting the word out on Jobs, which is always a good thing - especially those that are new to Apple, and new to what Jobs accomplished.

 

[Dragonomicon]

Yikes

You guys need a reality check. The guy sold consumer products. Get a grip. He didn't change the world, though he did have an impact on the way we engage with media.

What about the vendor who set himself on fire igniting the Arab Spring?

Steve Jobs' legacy = relentless consumerism, trashing of the environment, slave wages. That's it.

 

[scoobydoo99]

I admire Jobs as much as the next Apple owner.

But Person Of The Year for 2011 is The Protestor: from Oman to Oakland, s/he has touched off dramatic political changes that have continued for most of the year, and show no signs of stopping.

That's not a person

 

[divinox]

You guys need a reality check. The guy sold consumer products. Get a grip. He didn't change the world, though he did have an impact on the way we engage with media.

What about the vendor who set himself on fire igniting the Arab Spring?

Steve Jobs' legacy = relentless consumerism, trashing of the environment, slave wages. That's it.

True. Giving the price to Jobs would make a mockery out of the guy that ignited the whole Arab spring. Then again, Obama won the peace prize - so yeah.

 

[arkitect]

That's not a person

From the Time site:

TIME's Person of the Year is bestowed by the editors on the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.

 

[divinox]

That's not a person

Its as much of a person as "You". Speaking of protest and protestors, Wikileaks should be up for nomination too. True, 2011 has been silent compared to 2010, but still. I mean, if Jobs can be up a year where Apple did very little (in terms of changing the world), so can Assange et co.

 

[applephysci]

I used to enjoy reading macrumors FP and the forums. Of late, particularly over the past six months, IMHO it has just begun to deteriorate in value with all the biased reporting. Not to mention the grandstand attitude of some of the users on the forums who are just full of themselves and are sounding like blind salesmen in car dealership.

 

[snugharbor]

Not an award

From the Time site:

As arkitect says, POY is NOT really an award or honor. The person could be very, very, evil as Hitler and Stalin got POY. Also, this is a non story about nomination. Anyone could "nominate" someone as POY, it's not an election. The staff (Editor) decides who made the most impact in the WORLD (not US) and more importantly which person would sell more mags. So this is a non story.

 

[Enzobot24]

I'm fine with the nomination. Steve Jobs has changed our world and whatnot...

But is anyone else appalled with Brian Williams' writing/speaking ability in that quote?

"One guy, who changed our world, and I said to Seth Meyers as we walked across Sixth Avenue, "Just look with me on this one block walk at how he changed the world around us. Look at how he changed the world."

Incredibly redundant... sounds like a 10 year old said it.

Next line: "Not only did he change the world..."

My rage... Brian Williams has all of it.

 

[brookshanes]

After reading

After reading the bio, I say nominate him for man of the year and Laurene as woman of the year.

 

[the8thark]

Just cause he died?

Zuckerburg got it just cause he invented facebook. In my opinion heaps of people deserved it more then Zuckerburg. Obama is one that comes to mind.

Actually I think Jobs deserved it more in 2010 then 2011, cause this year he was too sick for most of it to to much. But if he was awarded it for 2011 I'd not argue. it'd be a fair choice. Unlike last year's dud choice.

I also think Assange deserves it too. I think what he has done is amazing. But it bad for business to say the worlds best person is one who exposes the world's corrupt dirty secrets. He'll never get it sadly. But in my opinion he is a hero.

 

[RalfTheDog]

You guys need a reality check. The guy sold consumer products. Get a grip. He didn't change the world, though he did have an impact on the way we engage with media.

What about the vendor who set himself on fire igniting the Arab Spring?

Steve Jobs' legacy = relentless consumerism, trashing of the environment, slave wages. That's it.

Did not change the world? Before Mr. Jobs, individuals and small businesses did not own computers. A very small number of people could purchase the bits and peaces and put something together, but it was not like today when you just buy a motherboard, graphics card, case and drives. Many of the people back then would design their own circuit boards.

After Jobs and the Waz, you could walk into a store, pick up a computer, plug it in and it worked. This was one of the greatest innovations post Henry Ford.

 

[blackpond]

Years ago he wanted it and thought he was getting it, but they awarded it to "The Computer" and included an interview with Steve Jobs. Young Steve was very disappointed.

2010 should have been awarded to "Social Networking"

 

[sishaw]

Time's Person of the Year is awarded to "a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that for better" or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year.'"

Really? Wonder if there are any deposed dictators on the list.

Hitler and Stalin won in 1938 and 1939, respectively. Stalin won again in 1942. Khrushchev won in 1957. Khomeini won in 1979.

 

[RalfTheDog]

Hitler and Stalin won in 1938 and 1939, respectively. Stalin won again in 1942. Khrushchev won in 1957. Khomeini won in 1979.

That dates back to the, "Elect me or I will kill your family" strategy. I understand several politicians are talking about using it in 2012.

 

[divinox]

Did not change the world? Before Mr. Gates, individuals and small businesses did not own computers. A very small number of people could purchase the bits and peaces and put something together, but it was not like today when you just buy a motherboard, graphics card, case and drives. Many of the people back then would design their own circuit boards.

After Gates and his team, you could walk into a store, pick up a computer, plug it in and it worked. This was one of the greatest innovations post Henry Ford.

There, fixed your post.