Steve Jobs Passes Away

[bush_cheney2004]

...I don't think people really get to choose - cancer kills people young and old, rich and poor.

OK...so it's not how long you live, but what you make of it while alive. Apple products are part of popular culture now, and in that respect Steve Jobs will live on for quite a while.

[Bonam]

OK...so it's not how long you live, but what you make of it while alive. Apple products are part of popular culture now, and in that respect Steve Jobs will live on for quite a while.

Depends on how quickly his successors sink the company into the ground. He left some big shoes to fill, and staying the #1 company will be hard. But yes, Jobs created quite the legacy and will likely be remembered for quite a while.

[bush_cheney2004]

For those of you too young or not alive in 1984, this was a big deal. I got one of these as a Honeywell engineer and it was magic compared to an IBM PC or clone running DOS or CP/M. I still own one today just for nostalgia:

[Bonam]

I still own one today just for nostalgia:

Does it still turn on and run?

[bush_cheney2004]

Does it still turn on and run?

Yes, it runs as new. These machines evolved with Motorola CPUs and became much more useful, but nothing matched the raw "difference" of a point and click OS (stolen from Xerox who didn't know what they had). The drawing program had a neat "fat bits" feature that let you toggle individual pixels on and off.

As a side note, some may remember that Jerry Seinfeld always had some version of Apple computer in his apartment for product placement. Some people like to use these classic Mac cases to make aquariums.

Edited October 6, 2011 by bush_cheney2004

[Bob]

I'm no Jack Layton fan, but I don't need to find reasons to lash out at a dead man.

I don't give a damn about that socialist Jack Layton. I would say that Canada is better off without him, but the disease that is ultra-leftism and the harm and injustice these ideas continue to cause Canada transcend Layton. Layton's death changes nothing, these sick leftist ideas as entrenched in our diseased Canada political culture. The only positive thing about Layton's death, I think, is that hopefully the NDP's next leader will be less effective at conning Canadians into its radical socialist agenda.

Layton's death grants him no immunity. He was full of sick and disgusting politics, where even in death he couldn't be apolitical. To hell with him. He was pathetically partisan and politicized to the very last breath he could muster. Even after death he was still an entirely political agent, and of course, true to socialist tradition, he had an extravagant funeral that became a de facto campaign event for the NDP on the taxpayer's dime (great job, Harper!). Good riddance. I couldn't stand listening on the televsion, but it's not like future NDP leaders will be any better. Although hopefully they'll be less charismatic.

As far as Steve Jobs, well, there was a real man who provided real value to society. You can't even mention Steve Jobs in the same sentence as a leech like Layton. It's too bad he died so young, hopefully Apple can continue to be a strong company providing good products without his leadership.

[Bonam]

Yes, it runs as new. These machines evolved with Motorola CPUs and became much more useful, but nothing matched the raw "difference" of a point and click OS (stolen from Xerox who didn't know what they had). The drawing program had a neat "fat bits" feature that let you toggle individual pixels on and off.

As a side note, some may remember that Jerry Seinfeld always had some version of Apple computer in his aparttment for product placement. Some people like to use these classic Mac cases to make aquariums.

Cool. Personally, I could never stand any Apple products. I had to work on a Mac workstation for a job for 4 months, and was left with an intense loathing of all things Apple. I don't have an iPod or iPhone or iPad, and never plan to get any Apple product. That being said, I can see how some people like their products and can certainly appreciate and respect what Jobs was able to do with the company.

Edited October 6, 2011 by Bonam

[Bob]

I'm not lashing out at a dead man. But there's nothing wrong, and more importantly inaccurate about stating the fact that his last campaign letter to Canadians was a politicizing of his situation. And that I found very unbecoming.

How was it unbecoming? Layton never had a shred of dignity. He was disgusting partisan for every second of his waking life. He never ceased viewing himself as some sort of agent for socialist revolution. Nationalize this, tax that, go after the "greedy" corporations, help "working" (i.e. on welfare) families, etc, etc, etc.

Even when on his deathbed, he had not one ounce of dignity. Even after his death, he was still burning through taxpayer money to hold an impromptu NDP campaign event masquerading as a funeral - with the blessing of his widow. It was so disgusting, so pathetic, so gross, and so so so typical.

[msj]

Hey Bob, keep staying classy, man....

[Bob]

Jesus Christ...both men are dead and Jack Layton has his own thread...this one is for Steve Jobs. I like August's dying boomer angle, they seek to prolong death and aging forever despite certain odds against. The ads for erectile dysfunction medications are getting to be ridiculous...maybe you don't see these in Canada.

Anyway, recall that Steve Jobs miraculously jumped into the front of the line for a liver transplant back in 2009.

I wonder how that liver transplant line works. There was a funny Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry had to impress the man in charge of the kidney transplant line in order to save the life of his friend while simultaneously avoiding having to be a donor. I guess money talks when it comes to jumping the liver transplant line.

[bush_cheney2004]

Cool. Personally, I could never stand any Apple products. I had to work on a Mac workstation for a job for 4 months, and was left with an intense loathing of all things Apple. I don't have an iPod or iPhone or iPad, and never plan to get any Apple product. That being said, I can see how some people like their products and can certainly appreciate and respect what Jobs was able to do with the company.

That loathing of Apple or Windows was part of the fun....PC's and mainframes were much more practical, hell, I was a Commodore 64 man myself back in 1982. But Apple set a new standard in ergonomics and creativity. I remember one manager who blew $10,000 on their upscale Apple Lisa; we were in awe of these new found technogeek status symbols. When they had an OS failure, it displayed a bomb symbol.

To be fair, the Apple II's made a huge impact on education and industry, and Apple still enjoys favor in elementary schools and graphics arts curriculum.

[Bob]

For those of you too young or not alive in 1984, this was a big deal. I got one of these as a Honeywell engineer and it was magic compared to an IBM PC or clone running DOS or CP/M. I still own one today just for nostalgia:

Oh my God.... has it been so long? I totally remember that machine, those applications, and that voice. We had those machines in my elementary school. I remember doing word processing on them and BASIC, as well as some old games.

[Bob]

That loathing of Apple or Windows was part of the fun....PC's and mainframes were much more practical, hell, I was a Commodore 64 man myself back in 1982. But Apple set a new standard in ergonomics and creativity. I remember one manager who blew $10,000 on their upscale Apple Lisa; we were in awe of these new found technogeek status symbols. When they had an OS failure, it displayed a bomb symbol.

To be fair, the Apple II's made a huge impact on education and industry, and Apple still enjoys favor in elementary schools and graphics arts curriculum.

I remember that bomb symbol!

It'll be interesting to see how well Apple does going forward.

[Bob]

AC360 did this really pathetic ass-kissing fest to memorialize Steve Jobs. Anderson Cooper, in all his idiotic glory, actually implied that there was some meaningful comparison to be made between Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs. Steve Wozniak politely corrected that dumbass assertion. Look, I respect Steve Jobs as much as the next guy, but this talk about him "greatly affecting every person in the modern world" is a bit of a stretch, especially when they pretend that Apple's greatest innovation was the iPod.

[bush_cheney2004]

I remember that bomb symbol!

It'll be interesting to see how well Apple does going forward.

Apple has grown to be the very thing it hated in corporatism. That may prove to be its undoing. Other firms and nations still copy their products, but it takes a lot to stay #1.

[Bonam]

Apple has grown to be the very thing it hated in corporatism. That may prove to be its undoing. Other firms and nations still copy their products, but it takes a lot to stay #1.

Especially in a business as fickle as consumer electronics. Products can go in and out of vogue very quickly. I think there is little chance that without a visionary leader Apple can remain #1 for long.

In fact, it's already dropped back down to #2, after Exxon Mobil, as Apple's shares dropped 10% from their highs over the last few days.

[bush_cheney2004]

AC360 did this really pathetic ass-kissing fest to memorialize Steve Jobs. Anderson Cooper, in all his idiotic glory, actually implied that there was some meaningful comparison to be made between Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs. Steve Wozniak politely corrected that dumbass assertion. Look, I respect Steve Jobs as much as the next guy, but this talk about him "greatly affecting every person in the modern world" is a bit of a stretch, especially when they pretend that Apple's greatest innovation was the iPod.

Agreed...Wozniak was the original brains behind the hardware. Jobs added the business and marketing savvy. I hope Woz lives a long time, even in the shadow of Steve Jobs.

[Bob]

Apple has grown to be the very thing it hated in corporatism. That may prove to be its undoing. Other firms and nations still copy their products, but it takes a lot to stay #1.

I think that may be true, although I was too young to be paying attention to the business side of things with Apple's earlier stuff, like the Macintosh computer shown in the video you linked.

I know that Apple is quite unfriendly to working with other companies, specifically with respect to keeping everything proprietary. Apple intentionally makes it very difficult to use non-Apple stuff with their hardware, from the proprietary charging cables for their mobile devices to the inability to open their desktops, etc.

The thing is, I never gave a damn about apple after the first Macintosh. I never bought an iMac, iPhone, or any of that. Except for the first generation iPod nano, which really was the best of breed for its time.

[Bob]

Agreed...Wozniak was the original brains behind the hardware. Jobs added the business and marketing savvy. I hope Woz lives a long time, even in the shadow of Steve Jobs.

That's exactly what Wozniak implied, and it's compatible with everything I've read about Steve Jobs and everything I've seen him say in videos I've seen of him on YouTube. I mean, who better to tell us about Jobs' gifts (business savvy) than Wozniak? I think Jobs really just had the gift of being a great amateur psychologist with respect to just knowing, intuitively, what the customer wanted.

[bush_cheney2004]

...I know that Apple is quite unfriendly to working with other companies, specifically with respect to keeping everything proprietary. Apple intentionally makes it very difficult to use non-Apple stuff with their hardware, from the proprietary charging cables for their mobile devices to the inability to open their desktops, etc.

Yes, Apple was/is legendary for that. IBM PC clones sold at ten times the volume because it was open and licensed. And the Apple prices caused sticker shock.

The thing is, I never gave a damn about apple after the first Macintosh. I never bought an iMac, iPhone, or any of that. Except for the first generation iPod nano, which really was the best of breed for its time.

Apple wasn't always a financial star...it went through some tough times before Jobs came back and led them out of the desert to the new generation of consumer products. The stock price went down to something like $2 in 1985...now it is about $375.

Some products were a flop, like the Apple Newton. My wife bought me the Macintosh TV for Xmas and I took it right back to Best Buy because it cost $2000 !! Here is a list of flops over the years:

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/top_10_apple_products_which_flopped.php

[Bob]

Yes, Apple was/is legendary for that. IBM PC clones sold at ten times the volume because it was open and licensed. And the Apple prices caused sticker shock.

Apple wasn't always a financial star...it went through some tough times before Jobs came back and led them out of the desert to the new generation of consumer products. The stock price went down to something like $2 in 1985...now it is about $375.

Some products were a flop, like the Apple Newton. My wife bought me the Macintosh TV for Xmas and I took it right back to Best Buy because it cost $2000 !! Here is a list of flops over the years:

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/top_10_apple_products_which_flopped.php

Again, I wasn't always playing close attention to the business side of Apple, but if I recall correctly, and I think that I do, the iPod was the huge jump in the past decade. The iMac preceded that and did well, but the iPod was just so huge and seemingly came at the perfect time for the portable digital audio player market. I remember reading that the iPod had a ridiculous market share of total mp3 players.... like 50% or more. And the subsequent Apple laptops began to grow greatly in popularity due to design (physical and software) that many customers (myself not included) loved.

[Bob]

That's a great list of flops. I recognize a few of those items, and the fact that I don't recognize most is a testament to how bad those flops were. The Motorola ROKR was terrible. What the hell is that Apple Pippin?!

[bush_cheney2004]

Again, I wasn't always playing close attention to the business side of Apple, but if I recall correctly, and I think that I do, the iPod was the huge jump in the past decade....

Yes, like the Sony Walkman products, Apple's iPod was a rebirth and huge success for personal music devices. I used to subscribe to satellite radio but the iPod made it unnecessary over time....that's what I told the nice lady at XM when I cancelled. She can blame Steve Jobs.

[bush_cheney2004]

That's a great list of flops. I recognize a few of those items, and the fact that I don't recognize most is a testament to how bad those flops were. The Motorola ROKR was terrible. What the hell is that Apple Pippin?!

Okay, but I think the other message is that Jobs and Apple were not afraid to take risks. That's still a pretty decent list of "flops".

Strange Thought: it would be cool to bury Steve Jobs in a Macintosh shaped casket, assuming he is interned that way. Or even a Macintosh shaped urn after cremation.

[Bob]

Okay, but I think the other message is that Jobs and Apple were not afraid to take risks. That's still a pretty decent list of "flops".

That's a good point ans good way to illustrate it.

Strange Thought: it would be cool to bury Steve Jobs in a Macintosh shaped casket, assuming he is interned that way. Or even a Macintosh shaped urn after cremation.

Or, put his ashes in an emptied out Macintosh. Or a first generation iPod Nano.