Goodbye Steve Jobs

[Former Member]

How do you feel about his death? I never thought that Apple's creator would die so young, he was only 56.

At home I only have one Apple produt, an I-pod nano, a beautiful gadget. I'm not very related to Apple products but I've been always fascinated by their original designs.

I think we all programmers will be sorry for his death

[Former Member]

I just read something in Gawker that made me really sad/angry (and wondered if it was true.) Basically, a post from his doctor that he had been diagnosed with a really treatable cancer, but he was too stubborn to get it treated by traditional methods, choosing instead to rely on herbal medicines. And then, the cancer advanced to the point of being untreatable, and he finally let modern medicine in.

Here's the Gawker article - do people think this is real? And if so, then what? Besides the article being in poor taste, it made me angry that the world was deprived of such genius because Steve Jobs was too stubborn to go to the doctor. . . (And does anyone have an alternate view point about that?)

Here's the gawker article:

[http://gawker.com/5849543/harvard-cancer-expert-steve-jobs-probably-doomed-himself-with-alternative-medicine]

And then here is one I wrote about how I think we should look back on his death.

[ http://blog.arenasolutions.com/why-people-matter/];

I feel like there are the people who don't want to admit Steve Jobs had flaws, and the people who took every opportunity to bash him, and there is some middle ground, where we admit he was a flawed man, a genius marketer, and really influenced the direction of personal computing, music, and pop culture today.

[Former Member]

actually it was not HIS doctor, but A doctor talking about a widespread story.

I suppose it's kind of true, but then what? I'd say it's none of our business, definitely not mine. An adult person (with all options open to him in that case) made some personal decisions in his life. I guess we've got to respect that personal decisions no matter how stupid we think they might be.

Regarding the last paragraph of your posting I think it's funny, that you put yourself in the neutral zone of the Like-or-Dislike-SJ bar just to continue with an unbalanced jubilation. While I think he influenced the IT and especially the consumer electronics industry, I can't agree that he influenced music or pop culture per se. He definitely influenced the music industry but IMHO in some sense not much more than Shawn Fanning. He definitely influenced consumer behaviour, but if that's to be judged all positive or rather less so is to be discussed.

my 2 cents, anton

[stephenjohannes]

Now for someone like Jim Henson who created the muppets, it was a case of refusal to seek medical treatment that eventually lead to his death.

As much as I dislike the cult of celebrity worship, I much rather see this energy directed towards someone who actually did something rather than say the cast of the Jersey Shore who are famous for behaving badly. Then again its another "cult of personality".

Take care,

Stephen

[former_member184657]

OK, I can begin to imagine the cult of "Apple" and Steve Jobs at the helm of affairs. But then there's also the case of Bill Gates, as already mentioned. Though his products receive the most critical feedback from anybody who knows anything about computers, he still is popular for his philanthrophy. <Well no, this is not a Gates Vs Jobs battle>

But just for the sake of discussion, I would like to ask a question:

Would the world still have mourned the death of Steve Jobs the way they did now, had he grown old and hadn't died of cancer so early?

pk

[former_member205352]

How do you feel about his death? I never thought that Apple's creator would die so young, he was only 56.
> 
> At home I only have one Apple produt, an I-pod nano, a beautiful gadget. I'm not very related to Apple products but I've been always fascinated by their original designs.
> 
> I think we all programmers will be sorry for his death

[Dennis Ritchie|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ritchie] is the man who is behind the platform for both Mac and Windows , he is no more either.

RIP.

[Former Member]

Yea, we could say that Ritchie, as father of the programming language C, is even greater than any of the technology genious that make their names shine in the media. C is like the patriarch of almost any language programming you can think of.

RIP Dennis Ritchie

@Anton: when I said an I-Pod nano was a beautiful gadget it's because I'm a girl and we the girls love cute things and a little i-pod nano looks cute, at least for me.

Regards Erika

Edited by: PadawanGirl on Oct 13, 2011 8:17 PM

[jbrotto]

Mr. Jobs made a contribution to the industry by making computers more people friendly by offering devices that were more simpler to use than the competition. Even though he was not a engineer he was a visionary seeing a problem and solving it by making a simple solution. He transformed the music industry. Made pixar a top notch studio. He was a true game changer by thinking differently and doing things if it could be done perfectly.

[Former Member]

another point of view:

[Mike Daisey|http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/opinion/jobs-looked-to-the-future.html?_r=4]

or

[Eric Raymond|http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=3790#more-3790]

[Former Member]

My question would made me look '" is this person from Mars "....

I am sure people would have used N number of Mobile products not knowing the manufacture name.

But Steve is great he got hyped because of his products....

Sas

[marilyn_pratt]

Wow I love your voice Anton. I really do. It's not just a contrarian voice. It is a voice that challenges us to think: often beyond emotions, hysteria, and sometimes populism and popular belief. Interesting links. I worried that once, in my own "zealousness" to defend the weak, I discouraged your voice from being properly heard. Good to know that you are still ever-watchful and ready to point our attention to alternative ways of listening and thinking. A genuine thanks for sharing.

[Former Member]

Marilyn,

I believe we both share a common (sometimes non-mainstream) perspective (or at least openness for such perspectives) in a number of instances and I like that (and therefore am a fan of a lot of your contributions and activities). Accordingly I am glad to have been able to share with you those alternative views or sparks for alternative thoughts.

Hope others give it a thought as well.

regards,

anton.

[Former Member]

IMHO, to call an ipod nano a beautiful gadget is slightly exaggerated, but I seems there are even people running around in Cupertino an Palo Alto carrying signs saying that they loved Mr. Jobs and missed him by heart.

Anyway, may he rest in peace.

[Former Member]

Hi,

If I were an Apple Company share holder, I would have Loved Steve Jobs but I am not even an Apple customer.

I've never understood fashion victims spending the night in front of an Apple store to get the latest i-something.

Steve Jobs was a marketing genious. RIP, Mr Jobs.

[former_member184657]

Totally agree with you. Steve Jobs was a marketing genius. Nothing more, nothing less to it.

He's just another man who earned a lot of money for himself and his organization. I fail to understand the immense adulation and love he's getting from across the globe.

pk

[stephenjohannes]

The reason why many people appreciate him is that he was a technologist at heart who tried to make technology easier for all of us regardless of whether he invented it first or not.

In the United States Apple would promote/donate/discount computers to education heavily in the earlier days, which was something not found on the Windows side of the world as often. This focus on not just business computing did generate a lot of appreciation towards apple and their products and the company.

In United States and around the globe Apple sells a "digital lifestyle/experience" much like other brands such as Starbucks and IKEA, Chick Fil A and others can generate loyalty. The "cult of Apple" as some people would call it would revolve around have such a charismatic figure such as Steve Jobs selling on that "one more thing". For those of us living in US he is like another Thomas Edison, Henry Ford or other great capitalists/inventors in history. We also admire someone like Steve Jobs because he is another example of the "American Dream" that someone can start out in garage, and through hardwork, luck and determination become a great success and have a positive impact on their country and in the world.

I think saying that he was great marketer(which was true) is probably an understatement.

Take care,

Stephen

[federico_blarasin]

In the United States Apple would promote/donate/discount computers to education heavily in the earlier days, which was something not found on the Windows side of the world as often. This focus on not just business computing did generate a lot of appreciation towards apple and their products and the company.

the Windows side of the world

Troll detected

Bill Gates is a famous philanthropist.

Inb4 Mac vs PC...

[stephenjohannes]

Nah.. not trolling stating fact at least in my local area say most of Missouri and Illinois this is the case. Yep Bill Gates is very charitable person also and generally admired by many people where I live. I'm just stating a personal observation on why people in my locale might have been found of Steve Jobs. I would agree we don't need to start a pointless windows vs mac debate.

I can also attest that my computer classes in middle and high school were on Macs. In college I had a Calc class on a NeXT machine and used Mac's for one of my part time jobs as webmaster for a department. DOS/Windows PCs were not found in schools as much when I did my schooling. Microsoft did make a bigger push into my local schools after Windows 95, but did not have the presence level of Apple before then. I personally don't own any Apple products beyond their mobile devices.

Also trolls normally don't have a moderator icon next to their name ;). Remember none of these are value judgements but observations. I am sure that depending on where you are from, your experience may be different. Remember your mileage may vary (YMMV) by location.

Take care,

Stephen

[federico_blarasin]

Maybe calling a moderator a troll is not the best way to deal with an internet forum... sorry for that

BTW mac's at school, wow, I wasn't so lucky in my Italian school with some prehistoric 8086's with two floppy disc readers and nothing more..