Negative. Don't really care much for the guy. However, I did see a short tid bit about him on 60 Minutes last night. It wasn't exactly doing his image any favors. They basically called him a moron.
__________________
I talk to corporate like a BAWSS!
Device(s): Motorola Razr M, Galaxy Tab 10.1 I/O edition
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 66
Thanked 968 Times in 703 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCHitman1
Negative. Don't really care much for the guy. However, I did see a short tid bit about him on 60 Minutes last night. It wasn't exactly doing his image any favors. They basically called him a moron.
Yeah, he came off as a jerk albeit a brilliant one. Still, it's a story of a guy who came from poverty to become a multi-millionaire by the time he was 25 and he did it in the tech industry despite having little or no knowledge of coding, electronics, etc....
Device(s): Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC Desire Z, Asus Eee Pad Transformer with Keyboard Dock,
Nokia N97
Carrier: Bell
Thanks: 148
Thanked 377 Times in 309 Posts
Biographies are not the type of book I am interested in reading. I'm sure there will be a documentary about him on TV some time soon which I will probably catch.
No thanks. The guy did a bit for the tech industry. And it is unfortunate that he did lose his battle with cancer. But I don't need to know about his life.
It's hypocrisy like this that makes me dislike Apple's "they stole our ideas, we must sue" attitude.
Right, but Xerox had neither the know how, the money and/or the team to turn it into what Jobs and Woz did. You obviously don't know much about business and marketing because its VERY seldom the person/company who originates the idea that cashes in on it and makes it a success.
Right, but Xerox had neither the know how, the money and/or the team to turn it into what Jobs and Woz did. You obviously don't know much about business and marketing because its VERY seldom the person/company who originates the idea that cashes in on it and makes it a success.
I know enough about business.
I had the misfortune of working very close with marketing types very early in my career and have avoided them like the plague ever since
I write the code and let the suits figure out what to do with it.
Device(s): Motorola Razr M, Galaxy Tab 10.1 I/O edition
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 66
Thanked 968 Times in 703 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by psychotron
Right, but Xerox had neither the know how, the money and/or the team to turn it into what Jobs and Woz did. You obviously don't know much about business and marketing because its VERY seldom the person/company who originates the idea that cashes in on it and makes it a success.
The 60 minutes crowd mentioned the bluebox back in the day. For those who don't remember the glories of pulse dialing, the bluebox was a device that phone hackers used to emulate the tones phone companies used to route calls. Someone could use a bluebox to make free long distance calls. Woz made these as a hobby just as a prank thing. Jobs saw them and started selling them to make money. I don't know that Xerox didn't have the know how or money or what it was, but Jobs did the same type of thing over and over again. He took someone else's idea, polished it up and sold it as his own. He got pissed when people did the same to him though.
The Following User Says Thank You to A.Nonymous For This Useful Post:
Right, but Xerox had neither the know how, the money and/or the team to turn it into what Jobs and Woz did. You obviously don't know much about business and marketing because its VERY seldom the person/company who originates the idea that cashes in on it and makes it a success.
There was Xerox.
There was the Palo Alto Research Center, owned by Xerox. PARC gang - not typical Xerox gang.
People do things. PARC had the know-how. Xerox just didn't care.
The part about Xerox lacking money back in the day, I think we should take up another time.
Jobs bio - next interesting one will be Gates'.
Whole lotta revisionist history in this industry. Whole lot.
Jobs and Apple didn't steal PARC tech - they bought it.
The Following User Says Thank You to EarlyMon For This Useful Post:
It's hypocrisy like this that makes me dislike Apple's "they stole our ideas, we must sue" attitude.
I recall something from the new book. Corrections are always welcome. Regarding Google and Android: "it's a stolen product." "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to," Jobs told his biographer, "and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong."
The Following User Says Thank You to Bob Maxey For This Useful Post:
^Those comments are being attributed to the book in reviews, certainly.
I hope both sides are treated failrly. That is to say, Mr. Jobs and the readers.
Not sure how much Steve actually participated, but one can likely believe that although the book might not necessarily be a love letter to Mr. Jobs and to a lesser degree, Apple, (Very hard to separate one from the other) Mr. Jobs likely had his own personal view of Mr. Jobs that is probably different than what we understand about Mr. Jobs.
I am also certain that Mr. Walter Isaacson recieved a fine advance.
Apparently, SJ was arrogant, did not care for Microsoft, despized Googler/Android, and was poorly paid at a buck a year.
I'll wait untill it is marked down at Border's to decide one way or another.
Device(s): Motorola Razr M, Galaxy Tab 10.1 I/O edition
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 66
Thanked 968 Times in 703 Posts
According to the author, Jobs did not even see an advance copy of the book and had no say over what was in it other than what he actually told the author in interviews of course. The author does say that Jobs saw the original cover, hated it and helped design the current one.
According to the author, Jobs did not even see an advance copy of the book and had no say over what was in it other than what he actually told the author in interviews of course. The author does say that Jobs saw the original cover, hated it and helped design the current one.
I am not prepared to doubt the author. That said, I know that some public people try to influence what is written about them when they work closely with the author. Again, not suggesting anything untoward, just saying.
I would read it. I think it might be a good way to read Steve's mind and know a little more how he thinks. But I still would hold my view about how much the true story is our there. Probably I'm too skeptical, am I?
In the spirit of Jobs' delusions, I plan to steal a copy.
I already have. I can tell you this. I haven't ran through the whole thing, mostly the later years to see his outlook on Google, cancer, etc, but I can tell you that he was nothing more than a deluded, megalomaniac, egotist who I'm pretty sure had bi-polar disorder. He may have even had some bad paranoia issues as evidenced by his Us Vs. Them mentality.
An example: Antennagate. He worked with designer Jony Ive to build the iPhone 4. Ive is just about as bad as Jobs when it came to designing products in that he wanted absolute perfection often at the expense of function. When he came up with the design for the iPhone 4 with the steel banding on the outside, the engineers told him (Ive) to put some sort of clear coating around the steel to prevent signal degradation. Ive wouldn't have it, believing it would diminish the overall look. The engineers would later present this to Jobs to which he basically told them they were full of shit and to make it work.
Lo and behold, iPhone 4 is released and is shown to have a major issue. Jobs is told by his PR people that there is a problem and throws a temper tantrum and blames it on Google and Motorola for making mischief (for ****ing real, hardcore delusions here). He flat out denies there is a problem until data from AT&T comes back and when he realizes that there is something wrong, he slumps into a depression and has to be pulled out it by Tim Cook.
Then, of course, comes the infamous bashing of every Android phone (via videos on Apple's site) until they hit that little roadblock with the Droid X. Long story short, most people kept the IP4 and got bumpers and Jobs managed to do some amazing corporate bullshit spin ("We're not perfect. Phones aren't perfect." etc) on his disaster of a product that he could have avoided had he just listened.
There are some interesting insights. He is clearly not perfect. Everyone has issues. I believe both Gates and Jobs have awkward social skills and egos that make them successful.
He clearly is a genius with some/major imperfections in his personality. People with the type of "bet-the-farm" mentality are very intriguing to me.
The thing that is really stands out is his drive for perfection.
The book does go into details such as the Xerox "theft" and clears up a lot of things and in the end, I now give Jobs more credit for the advancement of the GUI than anyone else.
He may have not invented it but the way he perfected it, we all should give gratitude.
Heck, even the top-fellows and top Xerox scientists ended up working for Apple such as Alan Kays because they were so impressed by what he did and how he took the idea and ran with it.
I did not know the Xerox original mouse was $300 that had 2 balls that only allow up-n-down. Jobs pushed a mfgr to make it $15 and have it go diagonal anywhere with just one ball.
Then there is the fact the Xerox GUI had not over-lapping windows nor did it have intuitive drag-n-drop. Job's contribution to the GUI is just as important or moreso significant that the Xerox's developers such as Kays.
There are also the relevance of tyopgraphy/fonts in the GUI. The rounded window boxes. Intuitive Drag-n-drop w/out commands (as in the Xerox). All combined, the original macintosh was truly revolutionary. I've seen many haters trivalize it and they should just read this book to get an incredible insight on what it was like back in the 80s.
Even Bill Gates showers accolades on Job's impact. It was funny to read Gates and Co were scrambling back-n-forth all night in memos regarding the iTunes Music Store.
Quote:
Steve Jobs’s ability to focus in on a few things that count, get people who get user interface right and market things as revolutionary are amazing things.
This time somehow he has applied his talents in getting a better licensing deal than anyone else has gotten for music.
- Bill Gates.
It is very clear that Microsoft has been playing a lot of catch-up from a CEO who doesn't know how to program (according to Gates). Hence, you have a lot of competitors like Mike Dell who respects a good adversary.
I would probably say it is the most definitive account of his life and his projects. There are interviews from conspirators, competitors to people who worked with him. You get a complete picture on his ethos and his philosophy.
E.G. I did not know the iPhone ushered in the popularity of Gorilla Glass. As evident by the testimony of Corning's CEO Weeks' participation in the bio. Gorilla Glass was developed in the 60s and Job pretty much pushed Corning to commercialize it with a big order (for the 1st gen iPhone).
I also have a greater appreciation for Wozinak's place in history along with the origninal mac team, the importance of the Apple II's power-supply and its impact is just as relevant as the adoption of the GUI.
Even if you don't like the guy or Apple, the bio is an incredible observation of Silicon Valley back int he early 80s. It is rather historic and that is what made the book a good read.
I could just imagine how exciting it would be to work as an engineer for HP back then.
Device(s): White Samsung Galaxy Note 2 AT&T,
Blue Samsung Galaxy S3 VZW,
White Samsung Galaxy S4 AT&T
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 4,301
Thanked 2,003 Times in 1,066 Posts
I may read it someday, but I'm in no hurry.
From the little bit I have read, Jobs was quite good at taking other people's inventions and marketing them in a way that appealed to the general public.
He was, no doubt, a marketing genius, while quite inept at personal relationships.
Anyone reading the Jobs bio?
id does... your ph
ne duhs...
