We had a Commodore Amiga at home as our first home computer in the late 80s and early 90s, but I really didn’t start doing anything meaningful on a computer until I started using the Macs at my university’s student newspaper for writing articles and laying out pages. When I moved out on my own in the mid-90s, as soon as I could afford one, my first home computer was a Mac Performa 5260 which put me on the internet for the first time. I met my wife online with that machine. It’s old and slow, but it still works as well now as it did back then.
Since I bought a fancy new Lime iMac in the fall of 1999 and upgraded to a first-gen Core-Duo iMac in 2005. My wife has traded away from the PC world and into the Apple world, also owning an iMac with almost identical specs to mine and a Powerbook. The iPod Touch I got a couple years ago has revolutionized the way I do everything and I adore it.
Unquestionably, Apple has had a major impact on my life and I thank Steve for his vision and genius in directing the company. Bless you, Steve!
The Apple II series were great computers, the other Steve created it and Jobs marketed it and made it very popular. I used my II, II+ and IIe machines long past their prime.
Westboro Baptist Church has announced they will picket his funeral. “He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught sin,” Westboro leader Margie Phelps tweeted–from her iPhone.
I saw a picture of him from perhaps a week ago - week and a half maybe.
I looked at that picture and said, “Damn. He’s really dying this time.” 5 of my uncles have died of various cancers. You get used to that particular look at the end, they just appear ‘sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.’
I hate being right.
Dunno how it happened, but my ipod feels a little more heavy these last few days.
Jobs was an asshole. He was an extreme narcissist who not only thought he was the smartest guy in the room, but that he was the only one with an opinion worth having. He abused his employees, and paid more attention to products than people. He didn’t invent a single thing, and stole from people that did–like his friend Woz.
We need more people like Jobs. The reason there’s no much garbage stuff out there is because almost nobody cares about craftsmanship, and the people that do don’t run organizations that put out mass market products. We need more CEOs that care enough about their product that they can say “this is shit” about some aspect of it, and make sure it gets fixed. From the overall industrial design to the precise shade of an app icon, Steve made sure everything was perfect.
I avoid Apple products whenever possible, but I can’t deny Jobs’ positive influence on this aspect of the industry. I can only hope that some executives take the lesson to heart, but I fear Jobs was unique in that respect.
Right. I don’t begrudge that at all. I was just bringing up the point that someone who was SO much the lifeblood of the company actually becomes something more than just a person, in a way. On one hand, I truly think a person’s health is a personal matter and that’s that. On the other hand, it actually seriously impacts a whole bunch of people’s wealth due to the Wall St. factor, right or wrong. It’s a difficult thing for me. I’m not invested in Apple, so I don’t care, but I would imagine that some folks invested up to their eyeballs in Apple might have been a bit concerned.
Any CEO needs a succession plan. (And actually, at my company, every manager down to the lowest level is expected to have a written succession plan.) It’s especially important at a company like Apple where the CEO is so central. In a previous thread, someone mentioned Walt Disney’s death, and how that company stumbled for a long time, because of his importance to the company.
Sure glad I’m not holding any Apple stock. They reassured everyone that Steve was fine and his cancer in remission. Even though everyone could clearly see him wasting away.
Steve did some amazing work. Not just with Apple but also with that special effects company. I wish his family well as they deal with their loss.
Apple stock dipped less than a percent today. So the panic seems to be contained.
I’d like to see a cite that anyone at Apple promised Steve’s cancer was gone for good.
And if the word “remission” was used somewhere, that doesn’t mean the cancer was cured. It just means the doctors can’t detect any cancerous growth at that time.
You’re referring to Pixar, and they’re much more than a special effects company. They make entire films.
I second the motion! My recollection (confirmed with a little googling) is that:
all telephone service was suspended for a minute when Alexander Graham Bell died, and
all electric lights were supposed* to be turned off for one minute when Thomas Edison died.
For both, it was on the day of their respective funerals.
*For Bell, the telephones just stopped. For Edison, shutting off the lights was voluntary, because the electric power companies couldn’t cut service for one minute.
When My son died, one of his co-workers drew a cartoon in the memory book his team published for me, of God behind a computer, with Michael striding through the clouds toward Him. God is saying “Sorry I had to call you so soon but, I just can’t figure this thing out.”
I guess, Michael has some bigger tech help now. Expect the clouds to turn plaid or the Northern Lights to show up on the equator.
