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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/56665
FEA TURE Steve Jobs was a private man who pursued a vision with such passion as to make his strengths and weaknesses known to millions. Born in an age in which the leading public enthusiast for the marvels of future technology was Walt Disney, Steve Jobs took up this torch of wonder in adulthood, adopting an approach that combined the lessons learned from the youth revolution of the sixties with the aspirations and methods of the barons of the industrial revolution. He was a blend of Jules Verne's Captain Nemo and Lewis Carroll's Red Queen, an amalgam of George Patton and Timothy Leary, and a modern day Janus, blending the imagination of Nikola Tesla with the questionable practices of Tesla's inveterate rival, Thomas Edison. Over the past many years we have enjoyed the benefits of his vision. We have also lived to see such a turnaround in the attitude of the public towards Apple that its penetration of the enterprise market is being led not by creatives but corporate brass. This has been a truly remarkable achievement. It is generally accepted that if Jobs had not returned to Apple, he, as Apple, would be remembered as little The thing I most love about Steve is that he made it possible to criticize Adobe. (Steve's open letter is at www.apple.com/ hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/) I've been criticizing Adobe for years, and people would get terribly concerned and say, "Oh, well, you know Bill's got a hang-up about Adobe. more than an enduring footnote. For this, we can thank Gil Amelio for deciding to bring Steve Jobs back into the fold, for if he had not put his head in the noose through the purchase of NeXT, Mr. Jobs would have little pull at Apple. Ethics aside, what I take from Steve Jobs remains a lesson by uneven example, for a visionary of his ilk cannot presume to truly identify with the common individual despite his thoughts to the contrary. A bit of peripheral vision and a modicum of self- doubt can come in handy at times, for when the voices of mortals ever manage to waft within earshot of Olympus one would hope that Zeus might pay attention from time to time. It is the nature of big business to operate from an altitude that tends to objectify products and customers but, while Jobs has been known to sacrifice loyal supporters it its pursuit of coolness, he never wavered from his vision of innovation. The value of Jobs's leadership and vision are clearly seen in the continuous flow of innovation in developing high-value, high- quality technology. In today's society, this technology is not just a casual tool but an integral part of our lives, and the rate of its And all of a sudden, people started looking at me differently. They don't think I have a hang-up anymore. Thank you, Steve, forever and ever. The thing I hate most about Steve? That awful, , story about the ." Then, in 2010, Steve finally lost patience and spoke: Adobe is moribund and can't leave the past behind. Their flagship product — Flash — is so buggy he would never allow it on iPhones and iPads. Steve's stern letter was a seismic shock for creatives who had given their affection to Adobe without ever thinking about it. he put his family through before they bought the Miele washing machine. He knew he was dying, he knew he hadn't ever given his family enough quality time. He could have talked about God, life, love, death, Zen, great food, the refuge of art. Instead, he made them discuss the Miele for two whole weeks! Why didn't he just hire a talented laundress? advancement is astounding, as is the scope of its penetration. Being a contemporary of Jobs, I am astonished when I consider that my generation was born before Sputnik, that it ran on vacuum tubes, that it communicated via undersea cables, and bought its music on shiny black disks. While Jobs was not an inventor, he played an undeniable role in transforming the world, which is something that even the most extreme Mac bashers must admit. While each of us may have our own opinion of the man, there is no question regarding the depth of his impact. Let us hope that the best of Steve Jobs will continue to influence Apple for many years to come. Apple may have lost its savior and mentor, but it has not lost its talent, and its influence on technological progress is stronger than ever. It is hoped that in the years to come, Apple's "rest of us" will include pros and consumers alike and that it will draw on the knowledge, dreams and aspirations of the rest of us in its efforts to match and to exceed the vision of its late co-founder. – Trey Yancy Oh, and one more thing. He actually bought one of those awful European-style washing machines, and told the world how much pleasure the technology gave him. Well, I now live in England, where I'm stuck with these terrible European washing machines. They take two hours (at best) to do a load. Give me an American Maytag top-loader anytime! I don't need to save the water, I've got my own well, I've got my own river! I need a fast washing machine! Please? (P.S., That said, nearly everything Miele makes is best in class. Let's just say it's the Apple of appliances.) – Bill Troop MacDirectory 43 t w o w e e k s t r u e H e d o e s n ' t r e a l l y m e a n i t