Will the Real Steve Jobs Please Stand Up?

You wrote, "What's your opinion? Do you embrace the man or the myth?"

I embrace the success.

I didn't realize there was a myth.

I embrace reality.............................mostly.

I am not sure that I want to embrace anything, but I just wish that he had been better at marketing to the business clientele so that I would have gotten locked into an Apple (Mac) system instead of an IBM compatible system.

Detractor....NO. However i once heard (myth?) that while rummaging around Ma Bells archives he happened upon the frequency codes of the old dial up type phones. So came the BLACK BOX in which you could make long distance phone calls without charge.

Ron

Wasn't that called a Blue Box?

Blue Box

I stand corrected.

Ron

He was hardly anarchic! He definitely had rules, such as to produce the most reliable equipment reasonably possible, and to make operation of that equipment as intuitive as possible. I'm personally aware that he had at least one weakness which I won't mention, but we all have weaknesses. Long live his legacy!

For anybody that's interested, the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine has a pretty detailed account of Steve Jobs, the person.

It wasn't always pretty. Rarely, in fact.

A few years back a magazine called "Conde Naste Portfolio" revealed all about Steve Jobs. As you say from Rolling Stone, it was wasn't pretty. By all accounts, the man was a monster. This magagzine also revealed the truth about bankers, mortgage brokers and all the associated crooks. Soon after showing a faked picture of Fuld, Mozillo, Thain and other banksters behind bars, the magazine suddenly dissappeared from circulation. I don't think I need ask why. I still had 8 months of subscription left. These crooks still go unpunished and a great magazine was "exterminated" by persons unknown.

I'm posting post-60 Minutes coverage of Steve Jobs... mostly a promotion of Walter Isaacson's new book about him. Mr. Isaacson had been picked by Jobs to write his biography a couple of years ago.

As I was listening I couldn't help but think how it would feel to have any author of note agreeing to write about my life. It would seem pretty absurd. I have done nothing in my life, that much differently than most people living, that would warrant it.

Famous people's lives are of interest to the rest of us. More than a few "famous" people have gained their notoriety purely because of the nature of mass communication. The lines have truly become blurred between lives of landmark actions and "What is the latest reality drama?"

I agree with kramarat. What myth?

Myth usually means taking one trait of a person and exaggerating it to the exclusion of other traits. As pointed out, Steve Jobs had both good and bad traits.

Was he a visionary? I'm inclined to say, "Probably." But, by accounts, he could be ruthless in pursuit of his vision. One can "force" their vision on other people by being in a position of control over others. While many seem awed by Steve Jobs, there are also those who probably have an overall bitter memory of working with him. Since I am not so impressed by technology, I don't think of him as being due the accolades he is getting from some. He is being given credit, by those who don't seem to know, for technological innovations that weren't his. It is like the undue credit that Bill Gates has been given. (Just one example. For one detailed counter-history of Microsoft/Windows look here.)

I think Steve Jobs deserves credit for the innovations he did foster. It seems obvious now, but the idea of an iPhone, was revolutionary, as far as I know (please correct me if you know otherwise). And so was the iPad which followed.

Whether or not the technology he advanced is ultimately a good or bad thing will play out. (There is another CR4 topic/thread that is discussing this.)

I have different priorities than younger people do. They will likely have the most to say about where Steve Jobs stands in our cultural history. But I don't think any view of what is most important in life would dismiss human relations from the equation. On that score, you'll find even the greatest "minds" in history subject to being flawed, sometimes greatly. Likewise, there are countless people who have excelled at human virtues which determine the results of their interaction with others, and who will never be known by anyone outside their small circle of family and friends.

I have read that a characteristic of true humility is to recognize that there is something that we can learn from every life lived. Unfortunately, many who could teach us about life and living will never be known to us. And example is better than precept.

As with so many "famous" people, Steve Jobs happened to be in the right place at the right time and through his desire and will, took advantage of the opportunity. That is a lesson we can all ponder. RIP Steve Jobs.

Don't most of us?

You don't get to be a star inventor, the head of a large company, and a nearly household word without being "someone special." But that doesn't mean that you have to be an angel - or a devil. It just means that you think and act in ways that get attention.

Being "interesting" correlates well with income-making potential. Take a look at it. And to stay alive as an interesting person requires - first and foremost - some guts.

Everyone has their plus-points and out-points. And these may vary based on who's counting. But everyone who lives leaves a mark on his or her environment. And this man left a major impression.