He died of cancer iirc, so yeah - he was going to die. I'm reminded of NDP tyrant Jack Layton who also passed away due to cancer. Sad day indeed.
He died of cancer iirc, so yeah - he was going to die. I'm reminded of NDP tyrant Jack Layton who also passed away due to cancer. Sad day indeed.
Pretty much this. I doubt it was Steve alone who came up with most of the stuff in their new thingies.Originally Posted by ShlupQuack
everything is wrapped in gray
i'm focusing on your image
can you hear me in the void?
I can understand people being upset from this, but I can't understand people being surprised unless they were completely oblivious in regards to him for the past five years. His health has been very visibly deteriorating for a while now. He kept getting skinnier and paler until his frail body couldn't do the press circuits anymore. I can't say I'm shocked, but I am at a loss. What he brought to Apple was something that cannot be easily replaced. Either way, I think Apple will continue to thrive with the staff that backed him.
Until then, I'll be waiting for hologram Apple products.
Great at what he did, and what he did was invent and innovate. I didn't think he was the 2nd coming of Jesus or anything. I didn't ever watch his Apple presentations or join the Steve Jobs cult. But the dude ushered in the age of the personal computer, and then he ushered in the age of mp3 players, then he helped launch the age of computer animated films, and THEN he brought about the standard for smart phones, and then his last big accomplishment, he introduced a device that will most likely replace the laptop in the future.
I mean that's such a large chunk of our modern world right there. It's definitely not as noble as scientists searching for cures and vaccines. These are all fancy first world luxuries, but it really doesn't change the fact that he's changed the way millions of people interact with modern technology.
I hope you aren't talking about the iPad because I hate touch screen keyboards.
You might hate it, but it's gonna be a big part of the future I think: Microsoft Sustainability : Productivity, future vision - YouTube
I disliked touch screen at first too. But now I don't even take my laptop when I travel anymore, I just bring my iPad. And after resisting for a long time, I have a touch screen phone that I loooove. Thanks Steve Jobs!
*cries forever*
He was simply a (very good) businessman. This probably isn't the best thread to go into it, but Apple was but one of several other systems that 'ushered in' the age of the home computer, alongside highly successful systems such as the Amstrad PCXXX, the ZX Spectrum, the Commodore 64 and the mothersmurfing IBM PC. Steve Jobs didn't even work for Apple at this point after it almost went bankrupt, and didn't return until over ten years later.
MP3 players and capacitive touch screens had been around for years before the iPod and the iPhone became popular gadgets. Tablet PCs had been tried and failed god knows how many times twenty years before the iPad. Jobs just had the marketing prowess and business sense to find a way of getting Apple hardware into the status quo and turn it into a fashionable brand for the non-techie geek or tie-wearing office worker. That was his greatest success.
I'm not by any means trying to bash the guy, but let's just get some perspective. The fact that his death has hit home to so many is testament to the power of his marketing reach ('cult of personality' would be a bit sharp, but consider, would Bill Gates, a man who achieved just as much in the field of IT, be getting the same response?).
there was a picture here
I'm not sure how anything you've posted really contradicts the fact that this guy was an innovator and a game changer. MP3 Players were around, but the iPod was the first truly popular one. Smart phones were around, but none as popular and as influential as the the iphone. Tablets existed, but none of them defined the device as much as the iPad has done. There are other digitally animated films, but none of them as intensely beloved as Pixar's work. The fact that he's been such a driving force behind the popularization of these things is the very reason why people are saying that he changed people's day-to-day lives. Just because something exists, doesn't mean it's important. It only because important when it starts impacting people's lives. Steve Jobs impacted a lot of lives.
You say that he was a good businessman and marketer as though those things and inventor/innovator are mutually exclusive. They're not. He was an extraordinary business man. He was an extraordinary innovator. He was a creative powerhouse. It's not like the guy was there just to market apple products. He was literally the one whose vision was carried out from beginning to end. Design, functionality, marketing, etc.
And yes, I do believe Bill Gate's death would make an incredible impact. For me, Bill Gates is probably one of the best humans on the planet.
I get it if you're someone who doesn't use any of his products, so you're just like, "wtf? He was just a CEO". But saying that he was "simply" this or "simply" that seems pretty dismissive. He took a company on the verge of bankruptcy and then made it one of the most (if not THE MOST) profitable companies in the entire world. Simply good? Damn, talk about an understatement.
Like I said, I never even watched one of his presentations, never stood in line for any of his products, and know very little about him outside of his role as the head of Apple & Pixar. I have no emotional attachment to the guy. But god damn, I do believe the man was a genius.
Last edited by Miriel; 10-06-2011 at 11:15 PM.
A unsuitably small reaction to such a great man.
What I think Old Manus is trying to get at is that he didn't invent any of those things. He simply had the marketing skills to recognize uses people may not have thought of, and/or when the technology was ready to roll out with mass market appeal. It made him a great CEO without a doubt, and certainly an innovator to a great extent, but seeing business opportunities others miss doesn't necessarily a great inventor. Not to take anything away from the man by any stretch.
Not to turn this thread into a discussion on the impact of the iPad, but I do not see it replacing the laptop. There are many uses for a personal computer, including portable computers like laptops which require more than just a touch screen. I can certainly see touch screens one day being included standard in every laptop, and perhaps when the hardware is there they will be roughly the size and shape of an iPad with easy to transport keyboard docks and wireless mice, but I don't see a tablet in the vein of the current iPad replacing a laptop for much more than surfing the net while sitting on the couch. More likely we'll see the two devices gradually merge to give people the best of both worlds, though distinct tablets like the iPad may continue to exist.
I hate point by point rebuttals, but
Making a device that's more popular than the previous ones isn't innovation. The iPod did exactly the same thing as a regular mp3 player. It took off with the right business model.I'll give you this one. Pixar is a good example of innovation in the film industry. Key point: Jobs was a majority shareholder. This doesn't mean he designed any of their systems.There are other digitally animated films, but none of them as intensely beloved as Pixar's work.He's a driving force because of clever marketing.The fact that he's been such a driving force behind the popularization of these things is the very reason why people are saying that he changed people's day-to-day lives.I'm not disputing this!Steve Jobs impacted a lot of lives.I'll agree with creative powerhouse, but inventor? The Apple I was created by Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple, and was encouraged by businessman Steve Jobs to make a personal computer (which would become the Apple II) as a possible money spinner for the company. When it came to the Apple Lisa, it was John Couch's idea to use a (new) windows and pointers interface. I'd credit him with 'inventing' the Macintosh, but everything onwards were largely Apple's versions of products that were already 'invented' elsewhere.You say that he was a good businessman and marketer as though those things and inventor/innovator are mutually exclusive. They're not. He was an extraordinary business man. He was an extraordinary innovator. He was a creative powerhouse. It's not like the guy was there just to market apple products. He was literally the one whose vision was carried out from beginning to end. Design, functionality, marketing, etc.Jobs was fired from Apple when they were on the brink of bankruptcy in the mid 1980s after trying to arrange a managerial coup. He came back later and brought Apple to where it is today. You're right, calling him good at business is an understatement.I get it if you're someone who doesn't use any of his products, so you're just like, "wtf? He was just a CEO". But saying that he was "simply" this or "simply" that seems pretty dismissive. He took a company on the verge of bankruptcy and then made it one of the most (if not THE MOST) profitable companies in the entire world. Simply good? Damn, talk about an understatement.
there was a picture here
I agree with Miriel, though it doesn't necessarily have to be the iPad so much as it will be touch pads in general. The Cloud has a real potential to limit the number of companies that spends money on building devices with internal storage when there will be seemingly infinite amounts of space in the cloud, for much cheaper. Smart phones are doing many of the things that computers are now with less than half the internal memory because of things like the cloud.
It took off because the thing was beautiful and easy to use. Which pretty much spans across all Apple products. That's not business model, that's design and functionality. And going beyond that, Steve Job's business model WAS innovative. Having products that update every few months and making an event out of that? Super innovative and (although in my mind, greedy as smurf) still supremely successful.
Innovation: The term innovation derives from the Latin word innovatus, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in—"into" + novus—"new". Although the term is broadly used, innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention or renovation in that innovation generally signifies a substantial positive change compared to incremental changes.
I'm not sure what definition you're using to define innovation, but by most standards, Steve Jobs was one of the biggest innovators of this consumer technology era.
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