The loss of a Visionary: Steve Jobs Passes

[Tharic-Nar]

A few moments ago, Apple's front page was changed to reflect the passing of a visionary; Steve Jobs. This is a very sad day, with our heartfelt sympathy going out to his friends and his family. No details as of yet have been released, but the Board of Directors at Apple have released the following statement:

You can read the rest of our post and discuss here.

[Kayden]

As much as I hate Apple I always respected what Steve did. There is so much that would not have been accomplished with out his vision. Rest in Peace Steve.

[Rob Williams]

Time to admit that I choked up and shed tears over this news. I don't like Apple much... that's obvious. But what's also obvious is that Steve was a brilliant man who innovated and forced his competitors to do the same. He took a company about to collapse and turned it into the most profitable tech firm on the planet. Neither of these are small feats.

It's unfortunate that Steve was not able to live long enough to see his first authorized biography released. You can bet that it's going to be an amazing - and upsetting read when it's released.

RIP, Steve.

[Greg King]

Horrible news, even when expected, is still horrible.

I have had an iPhone for almost three years and I cannot picture life without it. I know that sounds sad but it has been integrated into almost every part of my life. Correspondence, gaming, culinary adventures, media consumption and sharing and even at times, my love life. Every single corner of my life involves this bit of technology that Steve brought to the masses.

I got my first Mac Book Pro about a month ago and while I still prefer my windows machines, I see the merits in the OS. On top of that, one cannot argue that Apple makes the best computers on the planet from a design standpoint.

However, the biggest mark that Steve left on my life was in his involvement with Pixar. So many of their movies stand out to me because I happen to see them in huge points in my life. I saw Toy Story with a couple of friends. It was the last movie I saw in the local theater before it shut down. My college girlfriend and I would watch Monsters Inc repeatedly. My fiance (wife in a few short days) watch Up all the time and I have seen that movie make her cry.

So many powerful moments in one life because of one man's visionary ambition. Computer animation was the future when he bought Pixar. He saw it when nobody else did. That includes Disney. Steve willed it upon the masses and the teams he assembled to make it happen were nothing short of magical.

Godspeed Steve. It's a darker world without your vision.

[MacMan]

To me Steve was more than just a tech visionary, he was like family! I'm around his age and I literally grew up reading, listening to and buying, as well as enjoying his great products.

Steve might have been one of the world's richest men, but he said many times that he never did it for the money. He gave up over 30 billion dollars in stock options, worked for a measly one dollar per year and was more concerned about his family than any other thing.

I didn't shed a tear on the news, as I knew he was most likely going to die soon, but I too must admit that it hurt me deeply to hear of his passing.

[Greg King]

Oh, and Finding Nemo. I used to watch it with my girls, each of us taking turns quoting the lines as we went along. That's one of my fondest memories and I imagine it will remain that way until the end. Pixar is a factory of amazing.

[marfig]

I'm still trying to cope with this news. I choked, I'm shocked and I don't feel well. It just doesn't seem real that the world lost Steve Jobs. I hate that disease! God, how I hate it!

I didn't like Jobs, as one expects to like or dislike a person from their demeanor, actions and words. From very early (way back in NeXT) Steve Jobs just stroke me as an unlikable person. As the years moved, the way he expressed himself -- and especially as he conducted business -- just didn't help. And with him Apple, the company he helped found, the one that fired him and then hired him back. Steve Jobs is a pivotal figure in the passions and hates surrounding this company. And for conducting business this way I will never forgive him.

But there was also Steve Jobs. The inventor, innovator, technician and computer scientist. The Steve Jobs that gave me NeXT, one of the most brilliant machines I ever put my hands on. The Steve Jobs that reinvented personal computers with the original Macintosh and the Steve Jobs that was greatly influential on the reinvention and re-purpose of mobile computing. That Steve Jobs was taken from us and we all lost a genius, a hero and an historical figure.

RIP

[Rob Williams]

Great words, guys.

I happened upon Boing Boing this evening and...

[Doomsday]

Oh man!

RIP Steve Jobs!

[Rob Williams]

Another cool picture:

[Glider]

Well, I'll probably get the wrath of the world for stating this, but every day thousands of people die.

I admit he was a heck of a salesman, he could sell the iFridge to the Eskimos... Revolutionary, a lot less, he just got away with "borrowing" stuff from other a lot better then average Joe...

However, I do think Apple lost one of his greatest assets, as Jobs was the face of Apple.

Obviously I wish his family and friends all the best, but I already hate the hype that is going to follow his death...

[Optix]

As I read through this thread I was worried that it would come down to me to say it but Glider beat me to the punch (lol @ iFridge).

Regardless, Jobs has been the symbol of Apple more than the actual logo since I started getting heavily into computers and technology. I'm sure I'm not the only one either.

Like him or not, he was a genius when it came to marketing, but a visionary? I think not.

[marfig]

He's author or co-author in over 300 patents. He pretty much defined the road for personal computers GUI with the Macintosh. In the late 80s he was already building a system developed on Object Oriented principles, long before C++ became a mainstream language. He completely changed the panorama of mobile computing in recent years, single-handedly introducing the biggest user and mentality shift in computing history since IBM with the PC or the Internet.

I have an hard time picturing him as anything else but a visionary man. Although, admittedly he was a lot more things than that. And many not pleasant. I was just a few minutes reminded by my wife of his rejection stance on philanthropy, for instance.

Obviously I wish his family and friends all the best, but I already hate the hype that is going to follow his death...

Hopefully all will be gone in a week or two and Apple will be back to competing in a market defined by offer and demand rules. I don't have any heart on Tim to steer the boat from here on. Especially with Jobs sudden death. I have my suspicious Apple leadership isn't such a consensual issue as we've been lead to believe (these things never, rarely, are). I'm expecting quite a few chairs changing places over the next few years.

Meanwhile the real threat to Apple is looming. My personal belief is that Apple is reaching the evening of its golden age, with competitive and attractive alternatives to both its flag products. The Apple of today is the exact same Apple of the past, too strung up on a few key businesses and highly dependent on them for survival. If we have seen a giant build up from there in the past 10 years, it was simply over the lack of a real competitive market. But as the market reshape and all the slowpokes take their place, Apple will be left competing toe to toe. And Apple has never succeeded in that. When it was time to open up, Apple would tighten the grip on it's products even further, and lose market share by the minute. By the 00s, Apple was a dying company with a market share of less than 5% IIRC in the personal computer world.

Should be interesting to see how much of this Apple-way will remain after the passing of Steve Jobs and how this company will reinvent itself once the still embryonic market of cellphones and tablet devices solidifies.

[Optix]

Not to stir up trouble but...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...PPL_story.html

Didn't Nokia and Apple repeatedly fire shots across the each others bows about stealing technology? Maybe it's on a personal level that they say this but I can't help but think that Nokia is sitting there smiling.

"Now he won't be stealing our ideas!"

[Greg King]

Originally Posted by Glider

Well, I'll probably get the wrath of the world for stating this, but every day thousands of people die.

I admit he was a heck of a salesman, he could sell the iFridge to the Eskimos... Revolutionary, a lot less, he just got away with "borrowing" stuff from other a lot better then average Joe...

However, I do think Apple lost one of his greatest assets, as Jobs was the face of Apple.

Obviously I wish his family and friends all the best, but I already hate the hype that is going to follow his death...

Of course thousands of people die every day. What's the point? Someone's parents could pass away and some asshole will be somewhere to make the same comment you have made.

I politely disagree with you about Steve Jobs being a visionary. Love or hate their movies, Pixar created the computer animation movement, a multibillion dollar a year industry. The hype that surrounds his death is there because his products touched so many lives. Their phones, tablets, computers and software. Almost every facet of our lives has been touched in some form, small or large, by his vision.