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RIP Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." - Steve Jobs
 
bigbadwolf said:
More of a marketing man than a technical person. Wozniak I think was the technical one.
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Steve Jobs was more than a marketing person, he was a visionary. Many people can write code, few people can write excellent code, but only once in a while there is a person who has the vision to change the future. I doubt if Apple will sustain its growth without his vision once the Iphone/Ipad comes of age. I admire him as someone who was devoted to his job till the very end. RIP Steve Jobs.
 
sjain said:
Steve Jobs was more than a marketing person, he was a visionary. Many people can write code, few people can write excellent code, but only once in a while there is a person who has the vision to change the future. I doubt if Apple will sustain its growth without his vision once the Iphone/Ipad comes of age. I admire him as someone who was devoted to his job till the very end. RIP Steve Jobs.
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he also stopped Apple from making any kind of charitable donations... maybe there is a vision there too.
 
alain said:
he also stopped Apple from making any kind of charitable donations... maybe there is a vision there too.
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This may come across as a little cold, but a CEO (and more importantly a Board of Directors) has a fiduciary duty to the shareholders, not to the charities. If the shareholders wanted Jobs or the BoD to give money to charities they would have voted for him to do so.

By not donating to charities, Apple was operating in the best interest of the shareholder by not taking a hit on the income statement, unless there was some significant offset (i.e. tax write-off) that was not taken.

With the complexity of our current tax system and the burden it takes on corporations, the main reason that corporations donate to charities today is due to the tax advantage. That or to win hearts and minds in the court of public opinion or to satisfy a congressman into voting for favorable legislation (all of which would again benefit the shareholders).
 
alain said:
he also stopped Apple from making any kind of charitable donations... maybe there is a vision there too.
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Yes definitely there was. Those charitable contributions planned by Apple were not very meaningful in the business sense. And his intentions were only to delay those contributions and increase their size and distribution later on.
 
DominiConnor said:
He is not in any way responsible for any innovation and very particularly not in user interfaces. Apple (like IBM and Microsoft) lifted stuff from Xerox who invented GUIs, introduced mice and OO programming and the stuff that actually made Ethernet work.
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Well innovation without imitation is a complete waste of time. IMHO, its like mathematics...easier to look back and say that's so easy.
Apple came up with the first true trend setting GUI computer, what stuff they imitated noone cares..
Apple came up with the first trend setting GUI touchscreen phone, what stuff they imitated noone cares..
same goes for Ipod.. or innovations at Pixar..

Xerox is nothing but a white sheet paper printing and copying company...
 
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