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Steve Jobs Would Have Been 62 Today While MacRumors Turns 17

I still get rather emotional when I think about Steve Jobs and his premature passing. I started purchasing Apple products in 1983 with the Apple IIc and ImageWriter. I purchased my first Mac in 1984, and I've been buying most every device since then.

Fast forward to current times, and it's a shame where the company is headed under this new management. No longer the leader of innovation as they used to be. One by one, the products keep getting watered-down and the quality is also taking a hit. I'm still in there, but it isn't as fun as it used to be. Love the iPhone, and the AppleWatch has potential, and it's very convenient for me because of my MS issues.

I keep praying the Board of Directors will make a course correction or if I may borrow a current slogan of 'draining the swamp.' :apple:
 
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Digital Dude said:
I still get rather emotional when I think about Steve Jobs and his premature passing. I started purchasing Apple products in 1983 with the Apple IIc and ImageWriter. I purchased my first Mac in 1984, and I've been buying most every device since then.

Fast forward to current times, and it's a shame where the company is headed under this new management. No longer the leader of innovation as they used to be. One by one, the products keep getting watered-down and the quality is also taking a hit. I'm still in there, but it isn't as fun as it used to be. Love the iPhone, and the AppleWatch has potential, and it's very convenient for me because of my MS issues.

I keep praying the Board of Directors will make a course correction or if I may borrow a current slogan of 'draining the swamp.' :apple:
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Let me tell the group a story to reflect on being a fan and at what cost?

I became a Microsoft fan starting with OS/2 (prior CP/M and DRDOS) back when IBM and MS collaborated, my father bought windows 3.0/3.1 its was ok not quite as good as OS/2. Then 95 happened "oh boy" lines overnight , awesome the future. Then the 98-98SE, Me malaise, finally another hit XP (NT) ...pretty cool, can see where they are going, started buiding computers ended up building a Vistax64 machine ran GREAT first 64-bit (Vista Sp1 was finest OS up to that point ) but people complained, then 7 another HIT, great. Scratched my head at 8/8.1 but got used to it realized later it was all about gaze, voice and air clicks ..THEN 10

Being a SmartPhone naysayer (I had a laptop) ....I also eventually took a chance on WP saw it in a blister pack for $39 got a 520 with Phone 8.1, Awesome advantage of being a late adopter, This was when family plans came out, i went cheap to try it, never looked back. Now have my $298 Lumia 950, as good as any other flagship for less in some ways better. Excited about WoA an Surface pocket should be cool. My Surface Pro 4..,is perfect, best computer ever that I have used... not just power but how it makes me feel. My kids: They did Xbox up 360 than grew up to PC gaming mainly. Rest of family did Android experiment with their phones.

The road to "NT Everywhere" was bumpy but cool at the same time.
Build 892 to today Build 15034

OK the point of that is I lived through a 30 year project to realize the core OS for "NT Everywhere " or Windows 10 (WaaS). and that mostly interesting journey insulated me (and my family as a whole) from "needing" Apl. As I was satisfied and no need for expensive Apl.

Now this Apl thing, whats their story? What are they working towards? What costs?
To me Apl had very good timing (and packaging/a story) , packaged A2 PC's and charged a pretty penny, got wiped out by clones.
Attracted with Mac, still charged top $$, wiped out by Windows.
Came back at it with iPod-iPhone- maxipad, again charged $$$$$ and grabbed some subset market share , pretty much displaced by Android...and now Surface

What's Next? What their story, why are you financing it..whats in it for you?

I don't see the progression or the end goal here other than very expensive Apl eco lock-in? Seriously that's it? Perhaps its time to read a book "Who moved my Cheese"

I think it boils down to Apl got too big and lost focus as they chased China.

Its your choice, for me I need a good story and products. Along with value for the $. Bottom line for me, If Microsoft ever did what Apl did I'd question their commitment and I'd likely bail. No story, no money. Thankfully they are hitting on all cylinders today so the journey with them continues.
 
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Dang it! Late to the party as ever. Anyhow happy belated bday to MR and to the late SJ. I have been an Apple consumer since 1985 and a total Mac user since 1992. Jobs brought a vision and enthusiasm to Apple that's unrivalled. That said there's always bound to be another with the same vision and enthusiasm. Now as for MR, this site has been my goto site for the most up-to-date news regarding anything Apple-related. Great info here that's also truthful.
 
BoltmanLives said:
Let me tell the group a story to reflect on being a fan and at what cost?

I became a Microsoft fan starting with OS/2 (prior CP/M and DRDOS) back when IBM and MS collaborated, my father bought windows 3.0/3.1 its was ok not quite as good as OS/2. Then 95 happened "oh boy" lines overnight , awesome the future. Then the 98-98SE, Me malaise, finally another hit XP (NT) ...pretty cool, can see where they are going, started buiding computers ended up building a Vistax64 machine ran GREAT first 64-bit (Vista Sp1 was finest OS up to that point ) but people complained, then 7 another HIT, great. Scratched my head at 8/8.1 but got used to it realized later it was all about gaze, voice and air clicks ..THEN 10

The road to "NT Everywhere" was bumpy but cool at the same time.
Build 892 to today Build 15034

OK the point of that is I lived through a 30 year project to realize the core OS for "NT Everywhere " or Windows 10 (WaaS). and that journey insulated me from "needing" Apl. As I was satisfied and no need for expensive Apl.

Now this Apl thing, whats their story? What are they working towards? What costs?
To me Apl had very good timing (and packaging/a story) , packaged A2 PC's and charged a pretty penny, got wiped out by clones.
Attracted with Mac, still charged top $$, wiped out by Windows.
Came back at it with iPod-iPhone- maxipad, again charged $$$$$ and grabbed some subset market share , pretty much displaced by Android...and now Surface

What's Next? What their story, why are you financing it..whats in it for you?

I don't see the progression or the end goal here other than very expensive Apl eco lock-in?
Perhaps its time to read a book "Who moved my Cheese"

Its your choice, for me I need a good story and products. Along with value for the $. Hope this helps. Its a good book . I Microsoft ever dis what Apl did I'd bail. No story no money.
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Not sure of the point. My digital life with apple products is much easier than with Windows products. For instance, if I'm on my ipad and my phone rings, I can pick up the call on my ipad. I don't have to worry about third party solutions. That is just one example. I use windows for business but I also use the macbook air pros in the house. My ipads are remote controls to my tvs and my iphone is connected to my garage door opener. Those are two more examples and that's my story for the group.

But to each their own. YMMV.
 
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I7guy said:
Not sure of the point. My digital life with apple products is much easier than with Windows products. For instance, if I'm on my ipad and my phone rings, I can pick up the call on my ipad. I don't have to worry about third party solutions. That is just one example. I use windows for business but I also use the macbook air pros in the house. My ipads are remote controls to my tvs and my iphone is connected to my garage door opener. Those are two more examples and that's my story for the group.

But to each their own. YMMV.
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Of course 10 WasS is integrating all that even has "Phone Companion" for Iphones, Galaxy8 will unlock 10 perhaps Iphone later. Windows will offer as good of integration as Apl through Rs2, Rs3 ,Rs4 (due early 2018) Apl no longer will have that "handoff" advantage to itself..then comes FamTana with per user voice controls. Its a journey. I can make calls on my PC with insider build and get notifications from my 950..its seamless

Windows already has AllJoyn Router service running , just waiting for official IOT/Microsoft Pay/Microsoft MVNO push down the road..its like Christmas everyday on Insider builds...so much coming in next two years. $299 OEM VR 6-degree inside/out shells out in next few months (Hololens tech)..its accelerating not that we have WaaS...

The reason most of you went apl, are the same reasons most of you will eventually go Windows (its cool) . Just a matter of time. When your friends do, you will simple. At-risk apl users created daily, surface does that, 10 does that.

Here's a fun game : How many OSs does Apl need?
 
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BoltmanLives said:
Of course 10 is integrating all that even has "Phone Companion" for Iphones, Galaxy will unlock 10 perhaps Iphone later. Windows will offer as good of integration as Apl through Rs2, Rs3 ,Rs4 (due early 2018) Apl no longer will ahve that advantage..then comes FamTana with per user voice controls. Its a journey
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Apple already had it plus HomeKit plus health app, etc. sure the competition would like to be there, doesn't mean that they will be successful. And successful is the name of the game. There's a reason why iOS apps for the most part are high quality and in abundance, even the idiotic apps.
 
I think about my time at Data General in the 80s. DG was a successful minicomputer maker that had not fully accepted the change in computing from minicomputer to PC/networking. I learned that often times the strength of vision a company has prevents it from seeing the next new thing.

In this case, Steve Jobs strength in vision led him to believe he was always correct. He often was. Unfortunately, his vision in the computer area didn't carry over into oncology. If he had been a more humble man and trusted those who knew more about cancer, he may be alive today.

I guess the other moral of the story is that we all need to know our weaknesses. And unfortunately, Jobs couldn't accept his. We are all the poorer for it. :(
 
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BoltmanLives said:
Tesla? I think apl people think way too much about what Steve actually did for human society positively on a grand human scale , versus the stark reality of selling a subset of them some expensive feel rich apl tech toys to feel a "bit rich" at a hefty price point to obtain that rush. Not everyone fell into the Steve apl cult, in fact most did not. Just about everyone uses electricity. Move on from this sort of ridiculous Steve idolization elevation when comparing to true visionaries that propelled humans forward, not one that simply dumbed them down with basic OS's and expensive apl toys. Steve knew how to pull on emotional strings , I'll give him that as obvious. Steve is a good story..that's about it he's gone.
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I was referring to someone that would be able to run Apple and innovation as Steve did, not other industries.

Steve gave people the power to get things done with extremely powerful but easy to use computers, software and an amazing ecosystem around it. He changed my life and many other PEOPLE LIVES and their daily work as well as other companies.

He gave us tools that were so powerful, yes simple to master.

With all due respect Tesla is an electric car, that's it.
 
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amegicfox said:
I was referring to someone that would be able to run Apple and innovation as Steve did, not other industries.

Steve gave people the power to get things done with extremely powerful but easy to use computers, software and an amazing ecosystem around it. He changed my life and many other PEOPLE LIVES and their daily work as well as other companies.

He gave us tools that were so powerful, yes simple to master.

With all due respect Tesla is an electric car, that's it.
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Not the overpriced glorified golf cart.... Nikola Tesla > Steve Jobs as a innovator. Dude invented a lot and does not get enough credit, whereas Jobs get too much credit
 
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Apple would be in pretty much the same place today if Jobs was still in charge. The Steve Jobs cult of personality here is weird.
 
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BoltmanLives said:
Not the overpriced glorified golf cart.... Nikola Tesla > Steve Jobs as a innovator. Dude invented a lot and does not get enough credit, whereas Jobs get too much credit
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Not invention, innovation. Apple only seems not to have invented a lot, but they have a portfolio of patents that say otherwise. Some they did buy.
 
Abazigal said:
What's the point?

Eventually, time will tell as to whether Tim Cook was right or not.

Time will tell.
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Not to be controversial, but how much time? We do know there has been an issue with Intel, however from my viewpoint, it seemed that Steve had some clout and was able to make things happen with Intel.

Now we have years and months between Mac updates. Before I could wait to update every 4 years or so and at this point, I'm reaching that time frame. However, there is not a product that is worth me upgrading to. I would love a Mac Pro, but not at that price for old hardware. As I have stated in previous post, no all in one for me. To me, Mac Mini still seems to be the best if it's given the right hardware (and we know that's possible). IMHO, Tim & Ive don't get it...
 
Denmac1 said:
Not to be controversial, but how much time? We do know there has been an issue with Intel, however from my viewpoint, it seemed that Steve had some clout and was able to make things happen with Intel.

Now we have years and months between Mac updates. Before I could wait to update every 4 years or so and at this point, I'm reaching that time frame. However, there is not a product that is worth me upgrading to. I would love a Mac Pro, but not at that price for old hardware. As I have stated in previous post, no all in one for me. To me, Mac Mini still seems to be the best if it's given the right hardware (and we know that's possible). IMHO, Tim & Ive don't get it...
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I have a theory...

e73b50ec65280710e92c298b66c31169.jpg


IMO, when I look at how iOS organises files by metadata rather than folders, at how they launch apps, handle software updates, app purchases, share files, the way ios hides the non-essential system files from me and so on, there are clearly many legacy aspects of the Mac which are holding the platform back.

If Apple were to re-imagine macOS today for the modern average user, it would likely look and work very differently from the OS X of today. And maybe that's just the issue. macOS must die before it can be reborn and there's no right timing to make this happen.

You tell me that Apple is falling behind in terms of Mac updates, I say everything is proceeding exactly as planned. Tim Cook's claim that the iPad Pro is their vision of modern computing is no idle boast or the ravings of a lunatic.

It's true that iOS can't do software development, and maybe Apple's intention is to leave the Mac around specifically for the people who need a Mac to do such things. At the same time, Apple will continue to encourage Mac users not doing those tasks to hop over to the iPad Pro.
 
Happy birthday MR. As a long time reader (probably 12 years) but new member of the forum, I have enjoy seeing the site improve to its current form today.
 
Most inventions are born not because a genius thinks of them but because a long string of developments make the odds high that something like that invention is developed by someone around that time-frame.

The telephone was 'invented' by Alexander Bell because he beat Elisha Gray by hours to the patent office. There were others who were also either close or had developed but not tried to patent their devices in their respective countries.

The assembly line of Henry Ford was an idea borrowed from Ransom E. Olds, founder of Oldsmobile. Henry improved it, but didn't develop it. And Olds assembly line could be traced to earlier developers as well. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/assbline.htm

The smartphone relies on a LOT of concurrent technology and product development. Cell phone technology and widespread acceptance so that there was infrastructure and a market, computer processor, RAM and other component miniaturization so the phone could be roughly pocket sized, and developed selling and marketing networks (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint etc in the U.S.) were ALL needed for the smartphone to be an 'instant' success. But if Apple had never decided to enter the market (being a 'computer' company) someone would have released a similar - though not exact - smartphone within a year or two, at most. By the way, pride of place for first smartphone is frequently given to IBM with their mid 1990's 'Simon': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Simon

The following quote is from an article written by Michael McNeill, in 2012, the emphasis in bold is mine:

"I bet if you asked ten people who invented the smartphone, five of them would say Apple. Apple is certainly the holder of many patents, but they have not invented much. Their portfolio of popular products is strong. The iPod, iPhone and iPad just being the most recent. You can go back in history and find a number of other hits like the iMac series and even the old Apple computers. All of their products have been exceptionally well executed and marketed, but they were not invented.

What Apple has done extraordinarily well with the iPhone was consistency and quality of the user experience. They went back to their Mac roots and just made it work. It was a brilliant move by the company and brought what had been reserved for the nerds among us to mainstream users.

I plan to do a follow up article on Apple. As a old timer in the tech industry, I remember when they last had a chance to rule the computing world. Arrogance eventually led to Microsoft bailing them out in the late 90’s. If you want a laugh, google “Gates MACWorld keynote” and watch the video.

At any rate we should marvel at what Apple has done for the industry. It is not always invention that deserves respect. Sometimes it is simply well executed ideas." -- End of quote.

The full article: http://mmcneil.com/2012/01/who-really-invented-the-smartphone/

I don't think this minimizes what Steve Jobs did with the introduction of the iPhone. If what he introduced had been clunky and hard to use then it wouldn't have become the gold standard that it clearly is. I owned a flip phone that did have internet access. It was harder than hell to use the browser, and email, and there weren't really 'apps' as we know them, though updates could allow you to add new 'features', and about the only time I did use its 'smartphone' features was to show off to somebody. Apple made it so everyone could use them. That's not an insignificant accomplishment.

//Edit-changed 'relied on' to 'relies on'.

 
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