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Was Steve Jobs ever wrong?
- Thread starter Bubble99
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Analog Kid
macrumors G3
This is a good list to build on.
Funny that the iPhone 4G antenna hasn't shown up here yet.
Mac G4 cube.
That time he forced a relayout of the Mac prototype boards so the traces looked prettier.
Freezing out Nvidia for the rest of time over a product leak.
iPod socks
Hiring John Scully
.Mac
MobileMe
Ping
I think your overall assessment is spot on.
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chrfr
macrumors G5
Jobs was specifically against expansion and upgrades. The original Mac was intended not to be expandable at all. He didn't want slots in the Apple II but Steve Wozniak insisted on them.
Why did Steve Jobs hired Amelio if Amelio almost killed Apple?
If Steve Jobs was about product but Amelio was not about product why did Steve Jobs hired Amelio
Was this not mistake he made? If Steve Jobs knew Amelio was pricing computers really high like what Apple is doing now with MacBook Ultra coming out and Vision Pro not say iPhone ultra and Max why would Jobs hire him.
If Steve Jobs was about product but Amelio was not about product why did Steve Jobs hired Amelio
Was this not mistake he made? If Steve Jobs knew Amelio was pricing computers really high like what Apple is doing now with MacBook Ultra coming out and Vision Pro not say iPhone ultra and Max why would Jobs hire him.
That is interesting I thought Steve Jobs was computer nerd in the garage tinkering with computers before getting hired from Apple?
chrfr
macrumors G5
Wozniak was the real serious nerd and the guy who actually made the Apple I and II.
Jumpthesnark
macrumors 68000
Chicken and egg? If the products aren't there, then neither are the profits.
This is setting aside for the moment that your statement is subjective, though it fits with a strong tradition of "Jobs good, Cook bad" from a vocal minority in the forums here.
Steve Jobs wasn't at Apple when Gil Amelio became CEO.
Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985.
(The specific date, September 17, 1985, is a couple paragraphs before the 1985-1997 heading.)
Gil Amelio joined Apple's board in 1994, and became CEO in 1996.
Amelio was CEO when Apple bought NEXT. Not long after that, Jobs convinced Apple's board to remove Amelio as CEO, and became "interim CEO" himself.
Analog Kid
macrumors G3
Woz also essentially did Steve’s (little-j) job when Steve was working for Atari.
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Analog Kid
macrumors G3
“Tim Cook got rich selling crap nobody wants at prices nobody can afford.” — Yogi Berra
Naraxus
macrumors 68030
But it’s true, and he later admitted it himself.
If he began cancer treatment when he was very first recommended to, he’d likely still be here today. Granted, probably not running apple in his 70s, but the point remains.
Controversial thought: Maybe the world didn't need the iPhone - maybe we don't need a super computer and total communications device in our pocket connecting us with everyone and everything.
Sometimes I wish it had failed, along with social media. And both died off like a fad. Maybe early 2000s should have been the maximum, we'd have iPods, dumb phones, and big box PCs. People have lives outside of the virtual world. There's no influencers, no people going to concerts with their phones out, no dating apps, just people living their lives with reasonable amounts of tech.
And Apple Computer would still be Apple Computer.
Sometimes I wish it had failed, along with social media. And both died off like a fad. Maybe early 2000s should have been the maximum, we'd have iPods, dumb phones, and big box PCs. People have lives outside of the virtual world. There's no influencers, no people going to concerts with their phones out, no dating apps, just people living their lives with reasonable amounts of tech.
And Apple Computer would still be Apple Computer.
kalsta
macrumors 68000
Antennagate: yes. G4 cube: nah, it was cool—just overpriced.
I’d agree with most of that. Not sure we can call NEXT a failure when it saved Apple. And I’ve always wondered if Steve was being disingenuous about the 'web apps only’ thing while Apple worked out its APIs and whatnot. Totally agree with you about Apple mice—well, since the iMac mouse anyway. The one before that was actually pretty good ergonomically, although it had only one button of course.
I would consider brushed metal and some of the other UI decisions around that time (e.g. the QuickTime Player) to be mistakes as well, although not everyone will agree with me on that.
And finally, let’s not forget about this…
The upside-down laptop logo was definitely Steve’s decision… which he later reversed.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Having owned the G4 cube I can say this is a rare whiff by Jobs
First there was the issue of cracks which Steve said they were mold lines but they were cracks. Similar to you’re holding it wrong
Second it was originally priced like an expandable power Mac which it wasn’t
Third it was passively cooled so it ran hot
Fourth, VRM failures
Fifth it was quickly and quietly killed. Showing that it was most definitely a mistake by Jobs
kalsta
macrumors 68000
Ah, well I never owned one so I’ll concede to you on that! Not so ‘cool’ in actual use. 😅
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Don't get me wrong, I loved my G4 Cube, I still have it in a box somewhere in the house but at the time of its unveiling it was controversial, and sales were anemic
Safari for Windows…
I remember Steve saying this was like offering a glass of water to someone in hell! Haha
As a Windows user at the time, I was stoked. But at the time Safari had a lot of compatibility issues as I recall and the Aqua interface seemed very…contrived on Windows. Apple killed it rather quickly.
I remember Steve saying this was like offering a glass of water to someone in hell! Haha
As a Windows user at the time, I was stoked. But at the time Safari had a lot of compatibility issues as I recall and the Aqua interface seemed very…contrived on Windows. Apple killed it rather quickly.
boswald
macrumors 68020
Of course Steve was wrong about things. For one thing, he hired John Scullley, the CEO of Pepsi, which is, arguably, poison water. On top of that, there's been numerous failed products and decisions; one of which ultimately got him fired.
As for Tim Cook, I think Steve knew what he was getting into when he chose him as a successor. He didn't just pull a name out of a hat. Tim and Steve worked together for many years, and while they had different POVs about how the business is/was run, they still met in the middle (at the very least) ideologically.
As for Tim Cook, I think Steve knew what he was getting into when he chose him as a successor. He didn't just pull a name out of a hat. Tim and Steve worked together for many years, and while they had different POVs about how the business is/was run, they still met in the middle (at the very least) ideologically.
uacd
macrumors 68000
Instead of bringing up his random quotes I will just say this:
- iPhone 4 that I have still works. Battery holds charge for about 2 hours. New apps do not work but phone still works;
- iPad 1 still functional. Can withstand 3 hours of playing Minecraft (the OG iOS version limited to 256 blocks!). Internet doesn’t work on 90% of modern websites;
- 30 pin connector - despite being fixed with duct tape, it surprisingly still charges those two;
- All old USB bricks for charging (5V, 10V, 12V) work and charge my new iPhone 17 Pro, because modern Apple under Tim is too greedy to put charger in a box;
- Oh btw, what was in the box? A pair of headphones, a charging brick, a cable, beautiful stickers you could collect. Apple could have added some basic AirPods as a free item into the box. Somehow ever since the version 1 wireless earphones are considered a premium product, while their quality is so questionable that in a year or two you will need new pair thanks to dead batteries;
- Build quality was simply no comparison to modern iPhones and each device had its own niche. There were no “Pro”, “Fold”, Max”, “e”, “SE” devices, just one iPhone, if you were poor you got yourself the cheapest 600$ version with 8 or 16 GB memory which was fairly enough back then, if you had some money you could afford 32 or 64GB versions;
- Phones were small, iPads were big. And THAT’S IT! “Simplicity” in Johnny Ive’s words. Now? Judge yourself, but do not forget we now have “iPhone socks”!
- Skeuomorphism and Scott Forstall. Remember the latest interview Tim had where he said that Apple Maps was “really big mistake”? I mean, company back then decided to put all the blame on the person who was making designs, iconic designs that were actually “icon lickin’ “ good. Yet somehow people who were responsible for the backend were not fired;
- And somehow Tim failed to acknowledge his own “really big mistakes”. And the list is “YUUGE”: butterfly keyboards, no ports, removal of ports, buttons, inclusion of some idiotic buttons (camera button, action button), OS aesthetic, cameras that have downgraded in quality for professional users (how do you even shoot portrait on iPhone? Every photographer knows you never sharpen the face!!!).
To each their own, but I think Steve Jobs era will be remembered forever as the best days of Apple Inc
- iPhone 4 that I have still works. Battery holds charge for about 2 hours. New apps do not work but phone still works;
- iPad 1 still functional. Can withstand 3 hours of playing Minecraft (the OG iOS version limited to 256 blocks!). Internet doesn’t work on 90% of modern websites;
- 30 pin connector - despite being fixed with duct tape, it surprisingly still charges those two;
- All old USB bricks for charging (5V, 10V, 12V) work and charge my new iPhone 17 Pro, because modern Apple under Tim is too greedy to put charger in a box;
- Oh btw, what was in the box? A pair of headphones, a charging brick, a cable, beautiful stickers you could collect. Apple could have added some basic AirPods as a free item into the box. Somehow ever since the version 1 wireless earphones are considered a premium product, while their quality is so questionable that in a year or two you will need new pair thanks to dead batteries;
- Build quality was simply no comparison to modern iPhones and each device had its own niche. There were no “Pro”, “Fold”, Max”, “e”, “SE” devices, just one iPhone, if you were poor you got yourself the cheapest 600$ version with 8 or 16 GB memory which was fairly enough back then, if you had some money you could afford 32 or 64GB versions;
- Phones were small, iPads were big. And THAT’S IT! “Simplicity” in Johnny Ive’s words. Now? Judge yourself, but do not forget we now have “iPhone socks”!
- Skeuomorphism and Scott Forstall. Remember the latest interview Tim had where he said that Apple Maps was “really big mistake”? I mean, company back then decided to put all the blame on the person who was making designs, iconic designs that were actually “icon lickin’ “ good. Yet somehow people who were responsible for the backend were not fired;
- And somehow Tim failed to acknowledge his own “really big mistakes”. And the list is “YUUGE”: butterfly keyboards, no ports, removal of ports, buttons, inclusion of some idiotic buttons (camera button, action button), OS aesthetic, cameras that have downgraded in quality for professional users (how do you even shoot portrait on iPhone? Every photographer knows you never sharpen the face!!!).
To each their own, but I think Steve Jobs era will be remembered forever as the best days of Apple Inc
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Steve Job supported hardware more then Time Took where under Tim Cook hardware is only supported for 6 years of OS updates.
Steve Jobs was more into Skeuomorphism where Tim Cook hates Skeuomorphism.
CyberGoose
macrumors newbie
chrfr
macrumors G5
Apple hasn't appreciably changed the length of time it supports hardware in decades.
I don't think you can say that Tim Cook hates skeuomorphism. He's not a designer, but that trend has been out of favor for more than 10 years anyway.