Apple - Steve Jobs

[Edward64]

I know Jobs is being discussed in the iPad thread but thought he deserved a dedicated thread.

I am sure he has equals but they are few and far between. I'll miss his innovation when he passes.

Here's his wiki bio.

Steve Jobs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs)
Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is an American business magnate and inventor. He is co-founder,[11] chairman, and former CEO of Apple Inc.[12][13] Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in the 1995 movie Toy Story as an executive producer.[14]

In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula,[11] and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse-driven graphical user interface which led to the creation of the Macintosh.[15][16] After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1984,[17][18] Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its CEO from 1997 until 2011. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios.[19] He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1% until its acquisition by The Walt Disney company in 2006.[3] Consequently Jobs became Disney's largest individual shareholder at 7% and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.[20][21][22][23]

Jobs' history in business has contributed much to the symbolic image of the idiosyncratic, individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of design and understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal. His work driving forward the development of products that are both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.[24]

On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO. In his letter of resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Apple executive succession plan be followed and Tim Cook be named as his successor. Per his request, Jobs was appointed chairman of Apple's board of directors.

[gstelmack]

He was not an innovator, he was a polisher. Almost nothing he did was new, he was just really good at packaging things up into a complete product. And I think he'd get more respect if he stopped suing over things he stole.

[jeff061]

Really dislike the company and its effects on the industry, but I respect the hell out of his accomplishments from a purely business perspective. He also was the first to make future a reality on several fronts.

I really think he will be a well remembered historical figure hundreds of years from nowl(if we are stiill around).

[JediKooter]

The thing that will be missed most (internally within Apple), I believe, is his aptitude to cut through all the bull shit and get down to the core of the issue at hand. Not sure if Cook has that ability. Jobs was definitely a forward thinker and innovator of some great ideas. The ideas that weren't his, he either made them better or the people he hired, made them better.

People who have never worked for Apple don't realize that, even though he's a hard ass, he did trust in his employees to do the right thing. People that have never worked at Apple, only have this public facade created by the media and the fan boys and the haters. It's a great company to work for and I'd go back if the right opportunity existed, in a heart beat. What made/makes it a great company to work at, was in large part, due to Steve Jobs.

[ISiddiqui]

I really think he will be a well remembered historical figure hundreds of years from nowl(if we are stiill around).

I think he and Gates will be the superstars of the "computer revolution" that history books will be talking about - when computers became individualized.

The guy really knew how to design a product. One wonders if Apple begins a slow decent, as it did the first time Jobs left.

[Antmeister]

He was not an innovator, he was a polisher. Almost nothing he did was new, he was just really good at packaging things up into a complete product. And I think he'd get more respect if he stopped suing over things he stole.

Aren't most inventions just polished versions of their predecessors. Even if you blend three older ideas into one, most would still call that innovative if the product if useful. I am not even an Apple guy (well except that I own an iPod Touch), but I give him props on taking chances. It was not that long ago when there were a number of iPad jokes, but now that device is selling like hotcakes. And considering he was able to create devices with elegant user interfaces that a wide age group could pick up and figure out in comparison to the competitors, then and now, get a lot of respect from me.

[jeff061]

Gates made the mainstream pc. I don't think what jobs has done with itunes, iphone and soon their cloud music service(iMusic?) is even fully appreciated yet. The completion of that journey is still far off.

[ISiddiqui]

I think we have to give Cloud stuff more to Google and Amazon, really.

[jeff061]

When it comes to media in the cloud and the hardware to seamlessly support and drive it apple will be the only company in the coversation. And Jobs began the journey to this point long ago.

This coming from an apple hater :)

[ISiddiqui]

It's like you aren't even aware of all the stuff in the cloud already ;). I mean, heck, I can use my entire music collection at work because of Google... and one does not underestimate Google.

[jeff061]

No its there, I'm not talking strict tech innovation here. Its there, yet almost no one uses them(relativley speaking).

The mainstream appeal and stellar hardware integration is not. I think apple will change that. To the point where almost everyone will say they were the first. The only risks are capped data plans and outrageous fees.

[jeff061]

As far as underestimating Google, they have google search itself, gmail, Android(incredible success) and a long line of scrapped and failed products. Then again they are an advertising company. I'm certainly a google fan over apple, but that's the reality.

[Glengoyne]

He was not an innovator, he was a polisher. Almost nothing he did was new, he was just really good at packaging things up into a complete product. And I think he'd get more respect if he stopped suing over things he stole.


Not an innovator...
"just" a polisher....
....Things he stole.


I think you're fighting an uphill battle with history here, and you're doing so in a small small way.

[ISiddiqui]

Well he is just taking the arguments against Bill Gates and using them against Jobs ;) (then again, in history's eyes those attacks against Gates will seem silly as well).

[JediKooter]

I'm with ISiddiqui. As much as Gates has been vilified (I make my fair share of pokes at him), that will fade as time goes. I have to give some serious props to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation though.

[thesloppy]

I've always felt that Jobs and Apple got where they were more because of his/their marketing acumen, rather than innovation or technology. That said, I don't see why that would/should lessen his legacy in any way, and there certainly was tons of historic innovation going on throughout Apple's history, regardless of the great marketing effort.

[Dodgerchick]

The thing that will be missed most (internally within Apple), I believe, is his aptitude to cut through all the bull shit and get down to the core of the issue at hand. Not sure if Cook has that ability. Jobs was definitely a forward thinker and innovator of some great ideas. The ideas that weren't his, he either made them better or the people he hired, made them better.

People who have never worked for Apple don't realize that, even though he's a hard ass, he did trust in his employees to do the right thing. People that have never worked at Apple, only have this public facade created by the media and the fan boys and the haters. It's a great company to work for and I'd go back if the right opportunity existed, in a heart beat. What made/makes it a great company to work at, was in large part, due to Steve Jobs.


The short time I contracted there, I LOVED it. Best work environment ever. I'm with you, if I ever got a chance to go back, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

[JediKooter]

The short time I contracted there, I LOVED it. Best work environment ever. I'm with you, if I ever got a chance to go back, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

Absolutely. It's amazing at how refreshing it is to work in a place that actually treats you like an asset and not a burden.

[Rizon]

I got a free iPod shuffle when I bought a couch from Levitz like 5 years ago. And I still have my Apple IIc in my garage from like 1986.

That's about all I'll have to do with Apple.

Though Red Delicious is my favorite.

[JediKooter]

That's about all I'll have to do with Apple.



Just out of curiosity...why?

[Rizon]

Just out of curiosity...why?

I'm a PC. And I prefer veggies.

[JediKooter]

I'm a PC. And I prefer veggies.

Haha! Nice.

[ISiddiqui]

That was well done :D.

I've only had limited experiences with Apple products - computer lab in college (the original iMac's :D) and an iPod 3G and iPod Nano. I'm a PC (bought both Vista and Win7 on their first days of release) and a... Google (what's the term there?)

[Rizon]

and a... Google (what's the term there?)

"hooker"? :D

[JediKooter]

Google Hooker? Can I add that to my Google+ circle?

[ISiddiqui]

I don't get that joke...

[JediKooter]

"Forget it, he's rolling..." :D

[Rizon]

I don't get that joke...

Nobody ever gets my jokes http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh15/nbr3bagshotrow/Smilies/th_crysmiley2.gif?t=1264812437

[rowech]

Wow....

Steve Jobs -- After the Resignation | TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/26/steve-jobs-apple-photo-resignation-ceo-sick/)

[SegRat]

Wow....

Steve Jobs -- After the Resignation | TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/2011/08/26/steve-jobs-apple-photo-resignation-ceo-sick/)

Just saw that. If it is indeed real, that is very sad.

[Scoobz0202]

Cancer, you're a mother fucker.

[Edward64]

I think he has led a good life and changed the world. I use wintel machines for productivity but do have ipad, iphones, ipods and my kids enoyed monsters, cars, finding nemo ...

Here's an interesting article on what you didn't know about Jobs.

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Steve Jobs (http://www.businessinsider.com/10-unusual-things-i-didnt-know-about-steve-jobs-2011-2)

[ISiddiqui]

Doesn't give the charity? Looks like the universe decided to get its revenge ;).

[RainMaker]

I think he has led a good life and changed the world. I use wintel machines for productivity but do have ipad, iphones, ipods and my kids enoyed monsters, cars, finding nemo ...

Here's an interesting article on what you didn't know about Jobs.

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Steve Jobs (http://www.businessinsider.com/10-unusual-things-i-didnt-know-about-steve-jobs-2011-2)
The author is such a fanboy. He denied paternity of his kid, stole from his business partner, and doesn't give any charity despite sitting on $40b, but he's a great guy and we can't judge!

I'll add that I know people in the industry who have heard some bad stories about him. The guy has a great mind for business but I've heard he's a huge asshole personally. Maybe you have to be that way to get to where he has though.

[RainMaker]

He was not an innovator, he was a polisher. Almost nothing he did was new, he was just really good at packaging things up into a complete product. And I think he'd get more respect if he stopped suing over things he stole.
I disagree. Just about anything that comes out these days can be seen as copying another idea.

I don't disagree that part of Apple's success has to do with "packaging". The most underated aspect of Jobs success has been that he's an incredible marketer. Their products just make you feel good. They make you feel like you got value for it. You feel like you're holding something special. His insight into the psyche of a consumer is incredible.

At the same time, I think it goes beyond packaging. They earned a reputation based on what they produced. If you bought an Apple product, you were getting high quality hardware. You were getting cutting-edge technology. And you were typically getting something that had been tested and would work the way it was intended to. I'm not an Apple fanboy at all and I don't buy many of their products, but their reputation is deserved.

Finally, his products were so far ahead of other companies. The original iPod was years ahead of competitors. He foresaw the shift toward digital music and just killed everyone on it. Then he saw the shift toward smartphones and made one for the general public that was better than everyone else's. This doesn't even account for what the Mac did for the computer space.

I just think that most great business minds have 1-2 great moments in their lifetime. He had 4-5. That's not easy. I can't think of anyone else who has been able to transform their business in so many ways over the years.

[DaddyTorgo]

I think he has led a good life and changed the world. I use wintel machines for productivity but do have ipad, iphones, ipods and my kids enoyed monsters, cars, finding nemo ...

Here's an interesting article on what you didn't know about Jobs.

10 Things I Didn’t Know About Steve Jobs (http://www.businessinsider.com/10-unusual-things-i-didnt-know-about-steve-jobs-2011-2)

That "article" is a POS.

[ISiddiqui]

You mean the author's "reality distortion field" (aka, Mac love that makes facts inconvenient? ;))