Steve Jobs Dead: Apple Co-Founder Dies At 56

[Meengla]

Here is another thought-provoking article by an Aussie. BTW, my very first personal computer in life was an Apple Performa. Even then--in around mid-90s--it was a bloated, under-spec product compared with the Windows' one running. I used to fight for Apple--like the guy I quote below.
To me the biggest differentior between Jobs and Gates is that Gates got out of the lime-light and become one of the most generous charity donors in the world. What has Jobs done for the poor of the world? Tricky people into buying products 2-3 times the comparable products. Essentially building a 'cult'. Controlling every aspect of computing and then claiming superiority. The list is long. I am resisting defaming a dead (but $8 billion rich) man. But someone has to cut through the crap and call a spade a spade. My previous post above was made to the NY Times.
Like Nietzsche--my favorite philosopher--I attack causes when they are their peak. Apple's cult is in my cross-hair.
Anyway, here it is.

I

I’ve spent the better part of the last decade railing against Apple and its cult-like following, but now that Steve Jobs has died I feel nothing but sorrow.

I didn’t always dislike Apple. In 1983 I was the proud owner of an Apple IIe, which put me at the leading edge of personal computing at the time. Almost nobody in my high school was handing in essays in a neat, fully justified, dot-matrix format. I was even able to access The Internet in those days, though it was a command-prompt maze of scientific research that held zero interest for a 16-year-old.

That Apple IIe is still alive and well, though it hasn’t been turned on in years.

It was after Steve Jobs returned in 1997 that the company really found its mojo, and became insufferable in the process. Maybe Steve Jobs’ larger-than-life personality was somehow passed on through the many products he invented, but suddenly Mac owners were becoming technology experts all to ready to proselytize about their superiority.

If I had a nickel for each time I’ve heard the refrain “Macs are just better,” I’d be writing this from a sandy beach in the Caribbean.

I didn’t matter that Macs could be just as crash-prone as Windows PCs. It didn’t matter that Steve Jobs periodically made bizarre decisions (keyboards without arrow keys, now you see it now you don’t Firewire and USB ports). It didn’t matter that PCs have almost always given users better bang for the buck in computing power. It didn’t matter that the Mac user lecturing me had just picked their beloved (and dead) machine up from the Apple repair store. Macs were just better.

Then there was the sight of people camping out overnight so they could get their hands on an iPad 2, when they already had an iPad. Or the latest version of the iPhone, which was a lot like the earlier version but had features added that really should already have been there in the first place.

And don’t get me started on the prison-like obsession with proprietary technology. The thought of having to use iTunes every day makes me cringe. As Charlie Brooker wrote a while back in the Guardian:

“Microsoft gets a lot of stick for producing clunky software. But even during the dark days of the animated paperclip, or the infuriating ‘.docx’ Word extension, they never shat out anything as abominable as iTunes – a hideous binary turd that transforms the sparkling world of music and entertainment into a stark, unintuitive spreadsheet.”

None of this seems to matter. Part of Steve Jobs’ genius was making technology an end in itself, not a means to that end. My Samsung Galaxy S Android phone is faster, but it’s not an iPhone 4. It has a bigger, brighter and better screen, but it’s not an iPhone. That kind of conviction isn’t open to disagreement. It’s on the same plane as religious belief.

And it drives me crazy. Why wouldn’t you want a device that is more capable, or faster, or by most real measurable tests superior? Yeah, I know, it’s not an iPhone.

The irony is that there are millions of Apple devotees who behave in a way that’s the polar opposite of Steve Jobs. A creative, independent thinker, Jobs gave rise to a legion of consumers who remind me of a Far Side cartoon from years ago. A sheep in a large flock, standing on his hind legs, proclaiming: “Wait! Wait! Listen to me! . . . We don’t HAVE to be just sheep!”

So I’m surprised to find myself feeling as sad about Steve Jobs’ death as I do. Even a skeptic like me can appreciate that Jobs helped usher out the dreadful era of big, grey computers and create a market for legitimate digital music. He brought beauty to a field that was largely governed by pragmatism. He will be missed.

But I still won’t buy a Mac.

 

[Vic-Aries]

RIP Steve Jobs

 

[Obambam]

 

[Developereo]

This is not going to please most here but I believe this must be said by someone. So I am to take the proverbial brickbats.

According to a recent scientific study posted on NY Times, Apple users' brain actually get some kind of pleasure sensation upon using Apple products, especially the iPhone. The theories about a quasi-religious 'cult' are not without merit. Steve Jobs was an icon--but also over-rated, under-scrutinized, given much free press via media, a marketing genius whose marketing was helped by millions of 'fans' who freely market expensive products without being asked to. These are the bitter truths. Apple's ascendancy does not hurt my career at all. But I simply despise idols and cults.

Indeed Jobs was an icon and his relatively young death is a great loss to the world of technology. But idolizing him is not the right thing to do. What did he achieve? Yes, many patents etc but so do the Microsofts and Googles of this world. As far as I know there are more patents for Microsoft than for Apple.

Jobs was a hero to Apple's fan-club--a fan club known for its almost blind love for anything Apple. When do you see people lining up to buy the next car or the next tv set? Why for Apple? I don't think their products are that great especially when factor in the pricing. My wife--who is not very 'technical' has a $400 Toshiba at home running Vista. She is happy with that for two years. Not a single virus infection. But Apple and its fan's propaganda would make you believe otherwise. Why would my wife need to buy an Apple product for twice or thrice the price?

In the end, Jobs may be known for not only some great, but expensive products, but also of creating the largest mass of a quasi-religious cult of Apple fanbois.

There is no question that Apple products are overpriced and you pay for the cult membership status but the fact remains that, for many products, Apple was the visionary leader that dragged the rest of the industry from sheepish slumber into ground-breaking territory.

More than any other company, Apple had the vision to make computing gadgets into turnkey devices that don't require half a weekend and three manuals to operate. Other companies take a perverse pride in the complexity of their products; Apple does the exact opposite.

Apple's products are the epitome of simplicity and usability, and a large part of it was due to Steve Jobs' vision for minimalism.

 

[Meengla]

Apple's products are the epitome of simplicity and usability, and a large part of it was due to Steve Jobs' vision for minimalism.

Simplicity?
Yes, like being herded to some place, then yes.
I have NO DOUBT that had Apple won the fight in the 80s' the computing revolution would be slowed down by decades because Apple wanted to control everything--like it does now.
Microsoft allowing its OS to be used anywhere you liked to generated tons of software innovation--innovations which targeted millions (and then hundreds of millions and now a billion+) people.
That is not trivial. Apple would have choked the internet by years, if not decades.
In the end, Jobs was a self-serving brilliant guy who asked to 'think different' while, ironically, echoes images of Hitler's followers raving and cheering about (expensive) products they are being led to buy.
Meanwhile, Bill Gates gets out and starts one of the best charities the world has ever known. Helping the poor. Letting you install his products WHEREVER you want to. What did Jobs do? Even being a compatriot of Gates, refuses to retire, makes money and makes his stockholders get rich. Laughing their way to the bank, with leeched-sheeples behind.
I cannot blame Jobs or his stockholders. That's how the world works. But the world is much poorer in money terms because of cults like these.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

the best line from that Stanford Commencement speech --what really struck me was 2 things

a.) the part about connecting the dots in retrospect and the inability to do so in prospect...

b.) be hungry; be foolish

 

[Developereo]

Simplicity?
Yes, like being herded to some place, then yes.

Like it or not, Apple takes the cake in usability. Many companies made mp3 players, but it was the iPod and it's simple usability that won the day. Similarly, tablets have been around forever -- by big name brands -- but it was the iPad which took the world by storm.

The fact is that Apple understands how to make technology appealing and usable to ordinary people. I am not saying they necessarily invent the technology, but they have been savvy enough to package the product properly.

I have NO DOUBT that had Apple won the fight in the 80s' the computing revolution would be slowed down by decades because Apple wanted to control everything--like it does now.

Yes, Apple wants total control over its product line. Notice that Google is moving along the same lines by the acquisition of Motorola. If I had a company, I would do the same thing.

As they say, "if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself".

 

[Meengla]

Yes, Apple wants total control over its product line. Notice that Google is moving along the same lines by the acquisition of Motorola. If I had a company, I would do the same thing.

As they say, "if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself".

No. I don't buy this.
I have recently bought an Acer w500 tablet; Windows 7 is not tablet friendly but not too bad either. But I decided to wipe the slate clean and downloaded and installed Windows 8 Developer Preview on it. This is all within last 7 days so the 'experience' is too new to count.
But Microsoft gave me the choices of whatever I wanted to do. Apple, being secretive, would not in almost all cases. Microsoft's Windows 8 OS is, right now, giving me a choice to run in tablet mode or in 'desktop' mode. All within the same product line. No extra charges. No ripping off. You guys don't even know what 'choice' and 'freedom' means if you can't fathom what I am saying here
That has been Microsoft's approach for decades and it has won my heart. Apple does open up markets but that can at least partly be put upon the media pull and the zealotry of the fanbois.
If you guys truly knew technology then you would appreciate what the world would be like if Apple had won in the 80s. Just like now, then too Apple wanted to control everything. But, thank goodness, Microsoft won and that enabled quantum leaps in all innovations in software and hardware--things which Jobs and Apple later grabbed.
Again, no taking away from Jobs' achievements but his full dominance would have been a disaster to the world of computing and to the consumers. Today Apple is humbled into selling its iPad toys for $499 only because, despite its financial cushion and deep links with hardware providers, companies like Microsoft and Google can and do offer better bang for your bucks.

Down to all cults. Whether via religion or via technology!

 

[Meengla]

Here is one of my favorite quotes from my most favorite philosopher: F. Nietzsche. This pertains to what I am trying to say above. May be only mine and a few other brains can see this..yet.

Nietzsche : Twilight of the Idols

....
Another mode of convalescence (in certain situations even more to my liking) is sounding out idols. There are more idols than realities in the world: that is my "evil eye" upon this world; that is also my "evil ear." Finally to pose questions with a hammer, and sometimes to hear as a reply that famous hollow sound that can only come from bloated entrails — what a delight for one who has ears even behind his ears, for me, an old psychologist and pied piper before whom just that which would remain silent must finally speak out.
This essay — the title betrays it — is above all a recreation, a spot of sunshine, a leap sideways into the idleness of a psychologist. Perhaps a new war, too? And are new idols sounded out? This little essay is a great declaration of war; and regarding the sounding out of idols, this time they are not just idols of the age, but eternal idols, which are here touched with a hammer as with a tuning fork: there are no idols that are older, more assured, more puffed-up — and none more hollow.
...

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

apple is popular because of its user-friendly interface and its constant innovation......there is an entire field devoted to consumer behaviour and consumer psychology

and the fact of the matter is, as long as a company is introducing new products and new features (even if its 87% the same bloody product just packaged differently with minor cosmetic changes and a few perks added) and provided you have a market share (people who stick dogmatically to their brand logos the way they cling onto their religions --as eloquently put in the post above mine) then you can do anything for that matter.

you have 'innovators' -- people who stand outside, 72 hours in advance waiting in line in tents; pissing in beer bottles and taking a shyte in a plastic container and using leaves and asphalt to wipe their arses; waiting for the doors to open to grab a new item off the shelf......they are the ones who say "i don't give a f*ck what i have to do... i will have that 5G in my hands before anyone else does"

off course you have the disenfranchised (like me) who say "God damn it.....this thing was brand new 2 months ago already they are releasing a new version?"

(i use blackberry and Windows platform, by the way)

Where Apple once had a significant advantage in compatibility of hardware and software and ease of use, the Windows operating system and the attractiveness of the prices of IBM-based machines using Windows is making these machines more attractive to the critical business market. Then again, consumers themselves are polarized with regards to their views of these two platforms –a Pepsi vs. Coke type of phenomenon where each product has its pros and cons in the eyes of the consumers.

Apple lost the name and face of the company, but you'd be foolish to think that their design team, marketing, sales strategists and operations/logistics teams don't understand and know the company inside and out --the day to day people. Apple should continue to do market research and forecasting in specific regions –in the U.S. and overseas –in order to determine potential markets and also ascertain when and where they should expand their chain of retail stores.

Visiting an Apple store has become an experience of sorts......my first time in an Apple store was 4 months ago; i visited the one on New York's fifth avenue ---an all glass structure

what an experience that was.....matter of fact, i got my eyes set on the I-pad.

 

[Developereo]

No. I don't buy this.
I have recently bought an Acer w500 tablet; Windows 7 is not tablet friendly but not too bad either. But I decided to wipe the slate clean and downloaded and installed Windows 8 Developer Preview on it. This is all within last 7 days so the 'experience' is too new to count.
But Microsoft gave me the choices of whatever I wanted to do. Apple, being secretive, would not in almost all cases. Microsoft's Windows 8 OS is, right now, giving me a choice to run in tablet mode or in 'desktop' mode. All within the same product line. No extra charges. No ripping off. You guys don't even know what 'choice' and 'freedom' means if you can't fathom what I am saying here
That has been Microsoft's approach for decades and it has won my heart. Apple does open up markets but that can at least partly be put upon the media pull and the zealotry of the fanbois.
If you guys truly knew technology then you would appreciate what the world would be like if Apple had won in the 80s. Just like now, then too Apple wanted to control everything. But, thank goodness, Microsoft won and that enabled quantum leaps in all innovations in software and hardware--things which Jobs and Apple later grabbed.
Again, no taking away from Jobs' achievements but his full dominance would have been a disaster to the world of computing and to the consumers. Today Apple is humbled into selling its iPad toys for $499 only because, despite its financial cushion and deep links with hardware providers, companies like Microsoft and Google can and do offer better bang for your bucks.

Down to all cults. Whether via religion or via technology!

You got me completely wrong. I admire Microsoft and the linux communiy for all they have done for the industry. I am hardly an Apple fanboi; I have never owned an Apple product because, like I said, they are grossly overpriced.

Also, I specifically said that Apple doesn't necessarily invent the technologies. We all know the mouse, icon, and windows concepts came from PARC Xerox. Even the tablet concept predates the iPad by decades.

But your example about customizing your computer illustrates why Apple is laughing all the way to the bank. The fact is that, despite a small grumbling minority, most people in the world do not want to tinker with their computing devices. There will always be a subculture who wants to customize their computers, just like there are people who take apart their cars and customize them, but that's not what most consumers want. They want their computers and their phones and their mp3 players to be like their microwave or their car. You bring it home from the store, turn it on, and use it. Nobody wants to spend a weekend 'configuring' their new toy.

In product design, there is always a tradeoff between usability and customizability. The more options you give the consumer, the more confused they will get and, invariably, screw things up. Except for a small minority of techheads, the vast majority wants to "keep it simple".

Here is the new economic reality that still escapes most of the industry: computing devices are disposable turnkey devices now. People buy an mp3 player to listen to music, a mobile phone to make calls and a netbook or touchpad to surf the net -- even though one device could do all three functions.

Apple has figured that out and they will keep laughing all the way to the bank until the rest of the industry "Gets It".

 

[MrProudIndian]

I don't know why..but i feel this man has a great impact on my life

 

[Meengla]

@Developereo,
I am sorry if I misunderstood you.
Yes, Apple laughs all the way to the bank--like the robber-barons of some decades ago did. But that does not make it 'right'. Apple stifles competition and innovation by its approach. Despite all nasty, vile, and mostly untrue propaganda against Microsoft it is Microsoft which is supposed to hold more patents. As I wrote above, my wife's Toshiba laptop from two years ago running Vista, bought for $400 only, keeps going fine. I would have been a dumb-a$$ to have succumbed to a 'brand name' loyalty of a cult and lose money.
I am still going to resist targeting the person of Jobs. Let him rest in peace. It is Microsoft whose CEO retired in grace and devoted his and wife's time to founding one of the best charities in the world. Jobs was never known for such. And his followers are all too often part of a materialist, Narcissistic, evangelical cult. Yesterday there were so many Comments in NY Times. Any sensible person could have puked from that gushing. One remark was something: '..after Jesus and Buddha, Jobs was the...' (some saintly words).
And, yes, I 'get' it: Simpler things make it easier for people. But really doubt the competition's interface is that complicated. After all, a BILLION computers run Windows. The world would crawl to a halt if they were that bad or complicated. For example, even a Developer Preview of Windows 8 looks easy to use. It is the marketing, the lies, the cult's free propaganda machine which makes Apple and its stockholders laugh their way to the banks; that is the essential cause. Not some 'easy' interface. Not some 'it works' blah blah. Poor customers don't know they just paid 2x or 3x for something which most of the time the competition can provide as well.

 

[iPhone]

two years ago when he had a liver transplant the doctors told him the median survival rate after this is about two years. It's really something when you know have this short of time left in this world and you go on about your life day to day, getting closer to "that" time. It's really something. In the end, his billions of dollars couldn't save him from death.

 

[untitled]

I don't know why..but i feel this man has a great impact on my life

If you are using Windows, a mouse, a touch screen, use iTunes or own i<Toy>

He help make popular all of them