Steve Jobs is dead.

[W4GPL]

Apple confirms former CEO Steve Jobs has died.

He'll be remembered as one of the most influential people of the early 21st century.

[N8YX]

With his passing, does this mean the iPhone and iPad will finally get pr0n apps? :chin:

[NQ6U]

Sad. He brought Apple back from the brink and influenced product design across the board, even outside the tech industry.

Check out Apple's main page (http://www.apple.com/). Not something you see every day on the the Web site of a major corporation.

[n2ize]

Woah.

[kf0rt]

Very sad, indeed. Jobs was a visionary from the beginning. He'll be missed.

[n2ize]

Jobs was good at taking technical ideas and bringing them to market. He was a true visionary in that sense. Indeed he and true tech visionaries like "Gustav Vergen""The Wizard of Woz", Doc Searls, Tim Berners Lee, Vint Cerf, were true visionaries of technology. Then you have false fake pseudo tech visionaries like Bill Gates, Esther Dyson Monkey Man and other looser's who couldn't vision themselves out of a wet soggy paper bag on a rainy day.

[NQ6U]

From the commencement speech that Jobs gave at Stanford a few years ago:


No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Full text here (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html).

[NA4BH]

He was a good guy.

[n2ize]

From the commencement speech that Jobs gave at Stanford a few years ago:



Full text here (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html).

I generally hate it when tech visionaries get philosophical . But in the case of Jobs he is on the mark.

[K7SGJ]

A very innovative man of vision who will truly be missed by many.

[KG4CGC]

Well, now I know where this came from. Sorry about the commercial.
http://video.adultswim.com/metalocalypse/commencement-speech.html

[WØTKX]

He yelled at customers of mine via speakerphone years ago, trying force them to change their Apple Lisas (they had 9 of the things) to a so called "Fat Mac"... putting ROMS in them to make them Macs, and arguing the point that "Apple owned the ROMS". They had tons of work done in System 7, and they weren't having any of it.

It was a flamboyant rant, but he calmed down and finally listened. Apologized, but insisted on a legal document stating they were on their own for support. Meh, we were supporting them, and they laughed and told him that. Later, I got to see him at a show, showing off the NeXt systems. Those were very cool, and his presentation was a hoot. His return to Apple arguably saved the company.

Bye Steve! Your work will continue to inspire others to create stuff that is "Insanely Great"!

[n2ize]

He yelled at customers of mine via speakerphone years ago, trying force them to change their Apple Lisas (they had 9 of the things) to a so called "Fat Mac"... putting ROMS in them to make them Macs, and arguing the point that "Apple owned the ROMS". They had tons of work done in System 7, and they weren't having any of it.

It was a flamboyant rant, but he calmed down and finally listened. Apologized, but insisted on a legal document stating they were on their own for support. Meh, we were supporting them, and they laughed and told him that. Later, I got to see him at a show, showing off the NeXt systems. Those were very cool, and his presentation was a hoot. His return to Apple arguably saved the company.

Bye Steve! Your work will continue to inspire others to create stuff that is "Insanely Great"!

When you buy any machine the company that built it owns it. You just buy the right to use it.

[n6hcm]

... Esther Dyson ...

i have *never* understood why anyone cares about this one ...

[KC2UGV]

I've got no love for Steve Jobs, but as I told my kids last night:

"Because of Mr. Jobs, you have computers in your classroom. If it were not for him, you wouldn't."

[W3MIV]

I've got no love for Steve Jobs, but as I told my kids last night:

"Because of Mr. Jobs, you have computers in your classroom. If it were not for him, you wouldn't."

I don't believe that's true. Were it not for Jobs, someone else would have filled the void. He had an edge with the Apple II, but had that early edge not been attained, another system would have filled the vacuum.

Jobs was prescient, if somewhat arrogant; far be it from me to criticize his arrogance, for it was rather well based. That his return DID save Apple from perdition is beyond a shadow of doubt. The move to Intel was a great leap forward, but the iPod, iPhone and iPad have proven to be the big bacon haulers. I salute him and mourn his passing. Mid-fifties is still much too young to die, especially for a man of his prodigious talents. I hope Apple can continue on his legacy, if not his genius.

I plan to add a Mac Mini to my personal armamentarium before too long. I have a surfeit of quality HP LCD monitors hanging about that are seriously underutilized, and the potential configuration of the Mini suits me just fine. I looked at the iMac recently and fell in luv with the 27 incher. Since my XYL is fanatically attached to laptops -- to the extent of running separate LCD monitors are her locations (an insanity, in my humble opinion) -- I had ignored the desktop offerings from Apple for quite some long time. I detest the big boxes -- we have one here that now is relegated to server duty -- I had gradually been lured to the laptop (now owning three Windows and one Linux) but have never been that comfy with them. I now use the iPhone for remote email, not bothering too much with web on the pavement.

I prefer the big screen on which to work, and I paid a premium to get seventeen inches of liquid crystals when I have a herd of 22-inchers crowding the work surfaces here.

The eensy-teensy box of the Mini sings to me. And the price, with 8GB RAM, one TB HD and 1GB (or more) graphics, is a wonderful lyric for a one-box opera.

[KG4CGC]

Hi Albi.
Forget those LCD displays, they are yesterday's garbage. LED monitors are far superior and are dropping in price.

[WØTKX]

I keep watching the local craigslist ads for a Mac Mini. Neat little box.

[n2ize]

i have *never* understood why anyone cares about this one ...

I could never comprehend how/why some people consider Dyson a "tech visionary". Not only is she not a visionary but many of her tech prophecies have failed to materialize. The few times she got it right was when she was stating the obvious. Maybe she's riding on her fathers coattails but, he's pretty flaky in his old age as well.

[W3MIV]

Hi Albi.
Forget those LCD displays, they are yesterday's garbage. LED monitors are far superior and are dropping in price.

I am aware of that technological edge; howerer, I already OWN these LCD monitors. Nothing can drop in price to match that! ;)

[KC2UGV]

I don't believe that's true. Were it not for Jobs, someone else would have filled the void. He had an edge with the Apple II, but had that early edge not been attained, another system would have filled the vacuum.


I'm sure it's debatable, proving a "would have". I'll leave that, as to not detract from the thread.

[n2ize]

Hi Albi.
Forget those LCD displays, they are yesterday's garbage. LED monitors are far superior and are dropping in price.

Just use a 1950's black and white TV as a monitor. ;)

[W1GUH]

what'd he die of? None of the press reports I've read have even hinted at a cause. Aids? He was lookin' every bit the Aids victim.

Dead at what, 56? Or something like that?

[W4GPL]

Steve Jobs never disclosed most recently why he was sick, but he had pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant in last several years. The presumption by most is that he had a relapse and died of pancreatic cancer.

[W1GUH]

Yea, that's the "presumption." What's the truth?

[W4GPL]

Yea, that's the "presumption." What's the truth?:dunno: Doesn't really matter.

[W3WN]

Steve Jobs never disclosed most recently why he was sick, but he had pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant in last several years. The presumption by most is that he had a relapse and died of pancreatic cancer.News reports all say or imply that it was from pancreatic cancer.

Sad news, but I can't say I'm surprised. Well, maybe by the timing, but when he stepped down, I suspected that he knew the number of days remaining was small.

While one can argue that someone else would have filled the niches he did, sooner or later... one has to wonder where we'd be today if he hadn't done so. Apple, NeXT, Pixar... and just for starters...

[W3MIV]

I believe that his legacy will be found in the coming generations of iPhones and iPads, more than in his computers; those two items have shown themselves to be class-changing devices that are influencing communications by dragging the industry behind them as they advance. Even Amazon, who changed the publishing industry with the introduction of the Kindle, is now chasing the after the iPad with the new Kindle Fire and setting a new standard for Kindle-wannabes like Nook and the others. (Of course, the Kindle Fire is not a direct competitor with iPad, given that it lacks much of the iPad's functionality, but it will chop of a significant portion of the bottom end of the touch-pad market and set a new standard for the high end of the electronic book-reader market.)

[W1GUH]

At least til the fad of playing with electronic toys every second of the day fades.

[NQ6U]

At least til the fad of playing with electronic toys every second of the day fades.

When you consider that the World Wide Web was originally developed using a pair of Jobs's NeXT computers, I think his influence will echo on for some time regardless of fads.

[W1GUH]

Or at least his PR people will repeat that many, many times.

[NQ6U]

Tim Berners-Lee, the person who developed the World Wide Web, will tell you the same thing.

[K7SGJ]

WUT???????? Al Gore said he invented it. And he's a politician so he must be telling the truth.

[NQ6U]

WUT???????? Al Gore said he invented it. And he's a politician so he must be telling the truth.

No, you're confused. Al Gore invented the Internet, which is not the same thing as the World Wide Web. The WWW merely applies the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) over the Internet hardware infrastructure to transfer data between computers..

[N7YA]

But what about the ManBearPig??

[ki4itv]

Awwww...crap. Not them (http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/10/06/8191422-church-wants-to-protest-at-steve-jobs-funeral) again. Is it wrong to wish a single vehicle fiery bus crash for these cretins?

[NQ6U]

Awwww...crap. Not them (http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/10/06/8191422-church-wants-to-protest-at-steve-jobs-funeral) again. Is it wrong to wish a single vehicle fiery bus crash for these cretins?

Yes, it is. But I will make the same wrong wish along with you.

[n2ize]

Awwww...crap. Not them (http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/10/06/8191422-church-wants-to-protest-at-steve-jobs-funeral) again. Is it wrong to wish a single vehicle fiery bus crash for these cretins?

No, it's not wrong at all. In days gone by these cretins would have been past history. Only in today's free speech PC world can crap like this go on and on.

[KG4CGC]

I am aware of that technological edge; howerer, I already OWN these LCD monitors. Nothing can drop in price to match that! ;)
I was aware of that. I suppose you could try some wheeling and dealing.
Sometimes I'm not aware of much though.

[KG4CGC]

Yea, that's the "presumption." What's the truth?The truth is: They didn't give a shit about Jobs, even with all his money. Cheney on the other hand, must be kept alive at all costs.

[KC2UGV]

WUT???????? Al Gore said he invented it. And he's a politician so he must be telling the truth.

Gore never stated such a thing.

[WØTKX]

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

[KB3LAZ]

... one has to wonder where we'd be today if he hadn't done so. Apple, NeXT, Pixar... and just for starters...

With less addictions and a fuller wallet I suppose.

[K7SGJ]

Gore never stated such a thing.

Yeah. I realize that. Satire, humor I say humor son, facetiousness, etc. Don't read the Onion or you'll stroke out.

[W4GPL]

Yeah, I commonly refer to Al Gore inventing the Internet because his original comments were so self-aggrandizing that it's fun to pick on him.

[suddenseer]

I wonder if such nice words will be written about Master Gates.

[W3MIV]

I believe we owe a greater debt to Gates than we did to Jobs.

[NQ6U]

http://blogs.ajc.com/mike-luckovich/files/2011/10/mike10072011.jpg

[W4GPL]

I believe we owe a greater debt to Gates than we did to Jobs.How do you figure? Bill Gates stifled innovation. He may have set us back, not forward..

[NQ6U]

I believe we owe a greater debt to Gates than we did to Jobs.

What debt do we owe him?

Once MS BASIC became obsolete, Microsoft did very little to improve computing for most of us and in fact owes it's existence to nothing more than hardball business tactics that were often unethical and sometimes bordered on being illegal. DOS was created by the Seattle Computing Company and sold by Gates to IBM before he had actually acquired the legal rights to do so. Windows 3.1 was a bad copy of the Mac OS—some of the code was lifted from directly from Apple, which had given it to Gates to help him develop Microsoft Office, which was originally a Mac application—and Windows in general didn't really come into it's own until XP. Very few of what people consider Microsoft's innovations were developed in-house; most of them were either purchased or sometimes outright stolen from others.

[suddenseer]

He was successful in pushing NT on the world, and convinced the computing world that it wanted something it had already rejected. If I had invested in ham equipment, and aerial systems what I have pissed away on computers......and smoking materials.......and spirits...ah shit, at least I had priorities.

[N1LAF]

Steve Jobs brought us the graphical user interface to the consumer market, and other products that we want before the competition.

I remember looking at the Apple user interface, and wanted to use the user interface like Apple on my PC. When IBM dismissed graphics and audio interfaces, and with Microsoft saying nobody needs more than 1 Meg of computer memory, Commodore and Atari had the graphics and audio interfaces, but no applications integration - Steve Jobs plowed the way in pushing the technology to the consumer market. A visionary in computer based applications.

[N1LAF]

How do you figure? Bill Gates stifled innovation. He may have set us back, not forward..
Agreed.

Isn't Microsoft notorious for taking other peoples ideas and repackaging it as their products?

Even Commodore VIC-20's and 64's brought more people to computers than Microsoft.

Steve Jobs did more for bringing people to computers, and understood peoples needs and wants more than Microsoft, in making computing user friendly.

[W3MIV]

How do you figure? Bill Gates stifled innovation. He may have set us back, not forward..


What debt do we owe him?

Once MS BASIC became obsolete, Microsoft did very little to improve computing for most of us and in fact owes it's existence to nothing more than hardball business tactics that were often unethical and sometimes bordered on being illegal. DOS was created by the Seattle Computing Company and sold by Gates to IBM before he had actually acquired the legal rights to do so. Windows 3.1 was a bad copy of the Mac OS—some of the code was lifted from directly from Apple, which had given it to Gates to help him develop Microsoft Office, which was originally a Mac application—and Windows in general didn't really come into it's own until XP. Very few of what people consider Microsoft's innovations were developed in-house; most of them were either purchased or sometimes outright stolen from others.


Market share says it all. Gates, however you may view him or his style of business, fostered a Ford Model T style of computer while Jobs crafted his Duesenberg.

[N1LAF]

Market share says it all. Gates, however you may view him or his style of business, fostered a Ford Model T style of computer while Jobs crafted his Duesenberg.

I knew there was a closet Big Business/Corporationalist/Wall Streeter in you...
;)

[W3MIV]

How do you figure? Bill Gates stifled innovation. He may have set us back, not forward..

Recognition of Blackbeard's skill as a pirate does not equate with admiration or approval of piracy. The simple fact is that Gates used an open game to his advantage and Jobs sought to keep his cards close to his vest. What Apple junkies do not like to admit is that the success of the company has been in products other than computer hardware or software. Were it not for gewgaws like the iPod, iPhone (admittedly the best cell phone yet) and the iPad, Apple would not be where they are today. Indeed, there is a good chance they would not be here at all. Jobs was personally responsible for turning the company around after the Days of Pepsi and is due credit for an amazing marketing and technical virtuosity. That takes nothing away from Gates, however. Were it not for Gates, the personal computer would still be a plaything of the idle affluent instead of a universal tool of business as well as a household item nearly as prevalent as TV. Macintosh is still the choice of the self-styled avant garde and a gaggle of artists and designers, but I believe their market share is still less than Linux on the personal desktop.

I do not deprecate Jobs by way of comparison with Gates. Indeed, I plan to add another Mac -- this one for my own personal use -- to our present armamentarium.


I knew there was a closet Big Business/Corporationalist/Wall Streeter in you...
;)

[N1LAF]

Recognition of Blackbeard's skill as a pirate does not equate with admiration or approval of piracy. The simple fact is that Gates used an open game to his advantage and Jobs sought to keep his cards close to his vest. ... Were it not for Gates, the personal computer would still be a plaything of the idle affluent instead of a universal tool of business as well as a household item nearly as prevalent as TV. Macintosh is still the choice of the self-styled avant garde and a gaggle of artists and designers, but I believe their market share is still less than Linux on the personal desktop.

I do not deprecate Jobs by way of comparison with Gates. Indeed, I plan to add another Mac -- this one for my own personal use -- to our present armamentarium.

Albert is right also, that though Microsoft seems to stifle creativity to some, there is a business plan and direction that Microsoft wanted to take the personal computer to. Microsoft, with Intel, basically stripped the PC direction from IBM, being that IBM (who needs graphics) was too slow and narrow in its thinking, and was too restrictive and late with the microchannel concept - nobody was going to pay royalties for this. Microsoft/Gates took the IBM PC to the next level without IBM. Quite the astute observation that Albert makes here is the direction and audience that Microsoft went for - balancing consumer and business needs market, with IBM focused more on business, and Mac on the application/graphics user market.

[KA9MOT]

I don't see Steve Jobs as a "Tech Visionary". He said he, "shamelessly stole" much of what he marketed. He stole the idea of the Mouse from a Xerox Copier as an example. I see him as a Marketing Mastermind, who was paranoid about protecting his products because he knew somebody like himself would come along and try to steal the ideas. He perfected the ideas of others....I doubt he had any original ideas on his own. JMHO.

DOH!!!!​ I forgot to mention unfair marketing practices.

[NQ6U]

I don't see Steve Jobs as a "Tech Visionary". He said he, "shamelessly stole" much of what he marketed. He stole the idea of the Mouse from a Xerox Copier as an example.

This isn't quite correct. While it's true that Xerox PARC engineers are the ones who came up with idea of the GUI and mouse:

1) Xerox management failed to see the true value in it and had no interest in bringing it to market.

2) Apple did not steal the idea, they licensed it.


I see him as a Marketing Mastermind, who was paranoid about protecting his products because he knew somebody like himself would come along and try to steal the ideas. He perfected the ideas of others....I doubt he had any original ideas on his own. JMHO.

You're delving into the realm of opinion here. For instance, while there had been MP3 players on the market previously, thanks to Jobs the iPod was the first one that was really worth buying. And Steve Jobs had the original idea of selling a computer than regular people could use.


DOH!!!!​ I forgot to mention unfair marketing practices.

Which ones? And, in case you weren't looking, Microsoft was the king of unfair marketing practices until they got their wrists slapped by the Feds in DOJ -v- Microsoft back in the Nineties.

[W4GPL]

Which ones?They will not sign any application for iOS that they feel conflicts with their suite of product offerings. Thus you cannot sell through the Apple store -- and your applications cannot be installed without 'jail breaking' the phone/tablet. This feels a little anti-competitive.

And there's also the backroom deals they make to only put 3G technology in certain models that are only compatible with certain mobile providers. This also feels a little anti-competitive.

[NQ6U]

They will not sign any application for iOS that they feel conflicts with their suite of product offerings. Thus you cannot sell through the Apple store -- and your applications cannot be installed without 'jail breaking' the phone/tablet. This feels a little anti-competitive.

Maybe, although there are apps that duplicate pretty much all of Apple's standard apps available on the App Store—even alternate Web browsers to compete with Safari. Also, they do state what a developer can and cannot do right up front.


And there's also the backroom deals they make to only put 3G technology in certain models that are only compatible with certain mobile providers. This also feels a little anti-competitive.

I don't understand this one. There are only two models of the current iPhone—the one for AT&T and all the other GSM carriers and the one that uses CDMA for Verizon.

[W4GPL]

No, they're not completely upfront. I can't go into detail, though I have direct experience with this. They can & do stone wall developers even if you cross every T and dot every I -- especially if you're a threat.

As for the hardware comment, what I meant to say is they have strategic alliances with certain phone carriers that put others at an extreme disadvantage when marketing their network.

[NQ6U]

No, they're not completely upfront. I can't go into detail, though I have direct experience with this. They can & do stone wall developers even if you cross every T and dot every I -- especially if you're a threat.

Apple has been capricious sometimes when it comes to approving apps, but they'll usually back down when pushed.


As for the hardware comment, what I meant to say is they have strategic alliances with certain phone carriers that put others at an extreme disadvantage when marketing their network.

Can you give me some examples of this? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just need more info in order to understand your point.

[W4GPL]

Can you give me some examples of this? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just need more info in order to understand your point.Who had the iPhone exclusively for over a year? Who still doesn't have it? Which networks can you connect your iPad to?

[NQ6U]

Who had the iPhone exclusively for over a year? Who still doesn't have it? Which networks can you connect your iPad to?

Since Apple was new to the mobile phone business and weren't entirely sure how well their phone would do in the market, they wanted to stick with GSM because it's the most widely-used world wide. That allowed them a larger potential market with a single model than a CDMA phone would have. At the time the iPhone came out, AT&T was the only GSM carrier in the U.S. that used the same frequencies as GSM carriers in the rest of the world. Also, AT&T was the only U.S. carrier willing to put up the large amount of money to make the changes to their network required to support all of the iPhone's features. As for carriers that still don't have the iPhone, that's now pretty much only T-Mobile. Sprint will carry the iPhone 4S.

Right now, the iPad is not tied to any particular network. It's unlocked.

[N7YA]

Everyone in my band has an iPhone but me. I have a Blackberry, its ok but the iPhone does so much more.

We are likely going to India, and my phone will be a paperweight over there, but theirs will work due to whats inside it. I think i need to look into this more, but my singer also has a BB, and she travels the world...a lot. She has both the BB and Iphone, and thats a solid point of reference for me. I also like to take pics on the fly, the iPhone is absolutely killer in that dept...the Blackberry? No so much.

[W1GUH]

Shows how much BS style trumps real achievement.....

This thread about a man who was basically an asshole (re: what he did to Woz) but has cultivated all the so-called "hip" crowd with his toys, has gone seven pages.

The thread about Ken Olsen, whose company completely re-wrote computer history and made many, many, many solid contributions to the field of computer science and technology in general, didn't even get 7 replies.

[W3MIV]

Shows how much BS style trumps real achievement.....

This thread about a man who was basically an asshole (re: what he did to Woz) but has cultivated all the so-called "hip" crowd with his toys, has gone seven pages.

The thread about Ken Olsen, whose company completely re-wrote computer history and made many, many, many solid contributions to the field of computer science and technology in general, didn't even get 7 replies.


Life isn't fair, and neither, by the way, is your post. Way over the top.

People do not celebrate the life of Edison because he was a good fist on a telegraph key, or that he was among the most narrow-minded capitalist assholes of all time, but because he was a premier inventer, a man of rare genius when it came to turning other men's dreams into everyone's realities.

Sometimes one can carry a bitter cynicism too far. Jobs was never perfect, but he deserves better than your post.

[W1GUH]

Life isn't fair, and neither, by the way, is your post. Way over the top.

People do not celebrate the life of Edison because he was a good fist on a telegraph key, or that he was among the most narrow-minded capitalist assholes of all time, but because he was a premier inventer, a man of rare genius when it came to turning other men's dreams into everyone's realities.

Sometimes one can carry a bitter cynicism too far. Jobs was never perfect, but he deserves better than your post.

IMHO, no, he doesn't.

Notice how it's possible to disagree without attacking the person? Seems a bunch of us could learn how to to that.

[WX7P]

IMHO, no, he doesn't.

Notice how it's possible to disagree without attacking the person? Seems a bunch of us could learn how to to that.

You need to either get a spine, or not post. You were (again) wrong on the post MIV quoted. Tough shit if someone calls you on it.

You're whining like a zedian. For someone who fancies himself an intellectual, you sure screech like a little girl in a short skirt in a high wind.

Get Real.

[n2ize]

Shows how much BS style trumps real achievement.....

This thread about a man who was basically an asshole (re: what he did to Woz) but has cultivated all the so-called "hip" crowd with his toys, has gone seven pages.

The thread about Ken Olsen, whose company completely re-wrote computer history and made many, many, many solid contributions to the field of computer science and technology in general, didn't even get 7 replies.

I agree, some people have gone overboard with their praise of Jobs. For instance one friend of mine on Facebook wrote a comment about Jobs stating that Jobs is the reason we have mp3's, computer graphics, databases of music, the ability to store music, etc... I explained to him that he is stretching things quite far. There are many other people who deserve credit for those things long before Jobs.

From many things I've recently been learning about Jobs he was basically a bastarde. But sometimes you have to look beyond a persons character and instead focus only on what of importance or value they have to offer. For example, when a scientist is conveying to me an idea, albeit abstract or application of some idea I care only about the idea. I could care less about the person, his politics, how he conducts business or treats others.

[KB3LAZ]

Id have to disagree with you Jon, Character above intelligences. I support those that take the time to think if they should before they discovered if they could. :)

[n2ize]

Id have to disagree with you Jon, Character above intelligences. I support those that take the time to think if they should before they discovered if they could. :)

I agree with you to a degree but the way i see it is a scientific idea is an idea and if it has merit, value, and importance to me and others then all that matters to me is the idea itself, abstracted from anything else Case and point, during WW2 Nazi scientists developed many new chemical compounds that are in use today. What was important was their ideas and not their despicable charachter's.

[N7YA]

I never knew Steve Jobs personally, i simply respect him for pushing us that much further forward in certain areas of technology that affect me directly. The rest of it is just fluff to me, really.

[W1GUH]

Apple never pushed any technology forward. They take mature technology and package it in a way that makes fun toys for those willing to part with a lot of $$$$$$ for their fad-enabled inflated prices to play with. If you want to bow down in adoration of God Steve, do so for the precise reason that he was the kind of prick that would steal ideas from his staff and take personal credit for it. While he made millions and millions, he threw his staff a bone or two. It's pretty much business as usual.

[N7YA]

Dont they all do that? Im not bowing down to anyone, his company has some good products...like i said, i didnt know the guy so you may very well be right.

[W1GUH]

Even the media is caught up in the craze. A quote from ABC News..."Steve Jobs changed the way we listen to music with the ipod."

BULLSHIT. It was Sony, with the Walkman that did that with the idea of portable, headphone players. The ipod is simply the use of better technology to refine that idea.

[n2ize]

Even the media is caught up in the craze. A quote from ABC News..."Steve Jobs changed the way we listen to music with the ipod."

BULLSHIT. It was Sony, with the Walkman that did that with the idea of portable, headphone players. The ipod is simply the use of better technology to refine that idea.

very true. And credit needs to go not just to SONY but to those who developed the concept of magnetic recording tape and brought it to practical use. Before the "Walkman" we had the portable reel to reel player then the portable casette player. I had a portable casette player and I adopted the idea of connecting 2 mono phones in paralell so I could listen to the monophonic signal in both ears and it dramatically enhanced the listening experience. SONY made it much smaller and included a stereophonic output and a convenient stereo headset. And history was made. Now it has been superseeded by the digital player, most often mp3's. Credit must be given to the originators of the lossy psychoacoustic codec and the original data storage, D2A converters etc. The way I see it credit needs to be so widely distributed these days it's next to impossible to declare one single person as the "great innovator". Where Steve was instrumental was his ability to market these technologies in a unique and extremely appealing package. But, cretit is still due to the many who were involved.

[W1GUH]

Well put, John. I could claim that I made a prototype Walkman in '77. I made it from a car radio with cassette player, a pair of headphones, and two lantern batteries. Thought it'd be great on the train between NY and Boston. Never left my place, tho'. Worked fine, I never got around to packaging it properly.

And I remember that in '76 I went out to places selling portable radios. When I asked if any of them had stereo FM, I usually got laughed at! Guess we all showed them!

[WØTKX]

Sanyo Stereocast portable radios with a cassette player. Before the Walkman, early 70's.

Plug in headphones, it was stereo. Put in your backpack, and go skiing.

True Story. I used my Sennheisers. :mrgreen:

[W1GUH]

Exactly what I was looking for. Pity I didn't know about it.

[n2ize]

Well put, John. I could claim that I made a prototype Walkman in '77. I made it from a car radio with cassette player, a pair of headphones, and two lantern batteries. Thought it'd be great on the train between NY and Boston. Never left my place, tho'. Worked fine, I never got around to packaging it properly.

And I remember that in '76 I went out to places selling portable radios. When I asked if any of them had stereo FM, I usually got laughed at! Guess we all showed them!

Around 1964 or 65 or so ,y folks bought a small Panasonic AM/FM portable radio that ran on 4 AA batteries. When we visited my Grandpa my aunts and uncles were amazed by it. So small and it actually had FM in addition to AM. All their radios were AM only. In those days I sort of recall that most of the "rock n roll" stations were on AM and FM had mostly classical and jazz music.

That radio met its demise a short time after we took it to the beach and a sudden and unexpected large wave doused it with seawater. It played after that but corrosion set in from the seawater. I didn't know this then but I should have told my Dad to take out the batteries and dunk the entire radio into fresh water and then let it dry out thorougly. had we done that it would probably still be playing today.