The Legacy of Steve Jobs

Posted by ttblogger on 10/16 at 04:08 PM Discuss in Forums • Permalink
image

On October 5, 2011, we said goodbye to arguably the person most singularly responsible for the way we have been using computers (and, more recently, entertaining ourselves and making phone calls) for nearly 30 years.

In the interest of full and fair disclosure, I should state up front for the record that I have never personally purchased an Apple product. It was (and is) easy at times to poke fun at the “Cult of Apple”. Like so many of my contemporaries, though, many of my formative computing cycles came on an Apple ][, and I have always admired the design (and marketing!) of Apple products.

Read Full Article Click Here
    Posted by James Linser  on  10/16  at  04:53 AM

  1. It seems that no ever remembers that Apple screwed over 15 million people who had an Apple II computer. When they announced they were dropping the II to focus on the Macintosh all the software developers said they would stop creating software for the II. Your Apple II was instantly junk.

    2. Posted by Geekbabe  on  10/16  at  04:56 AM

  2. Nice article! I’m old enough to remember a lot of the things you’ve discussed, just the ability to use a computer with a mouse & the option to select
    whatever font you like is enough to earn Mr Jobs
    a spot in the innovator hall of fame

    3. Posted by David Stidham  on  10/16  at  05:28 AM

  3. I think the information in this article contains several inaccuracies.

    1) The first digital music player concept was back in 1979.  Commercially available player was in 1997 - the Listen Up.
    2) Windows tablet computers were available before the iPad.  However, to be fair, the Newton could really be considered the first tablet computer, and was still before the iPad.
    3) The first smartphone was released back in 1993 - IBM Simon
    4) iTunes ... Napster was there first.
    5) Of the hundreds of patents with Steve Jobs names on them, only 33 list him first, seeming to indicate that he wasn’t a primary contributor to the remaining 284 patents he’s listed on.

    Please don’t get me wrong here.  I don’t have a single patent with my name listed anywhere.  I admire the man for his involvement, however small, in something patentable.  But, I do think that he was a shrewd and clever man that understood how patent law worked very, very, well.  It doesn’t matter who was first with an idea, it maters who holds the patent to the idea.

    I agree that Steve Jobs contributed to how the world perceives technology.  He was the, probably, the ultimate technologist.  He had an artistic view on how technology could be packaged which made it something sexy to the masses and iconic.  He was a very clever marketing master, to say the least.

    And yes, I own Apple products and have owned them going as far back as the Apple II.

    4. Posted by John Pratchios  on  10/16  at  05:30 AM

  4. With reference to “There were no digital music players to speak of before the iPod”:

    Actually there were portable CD players and attempts at memory-based music players like iPod. Sony, Diamond Rio and others had an assortment of small devices with capacity of around 32 MB around 1998. Apple entered the market place in October 2001 and quickly took it over by offering twice the capacity at half the cost with each new release.

    It was a well designed assault on a new market that Apple won decidedly in a few years. The iTunes store sealed the victory that had been won with smaller size, larger capacity and aggressive prices combined with excellent design.

    5. Posted by Barbara  on  10/16  at  05:42 AM

  5. I very much enjoyed your article on Steve Jobs.  Thank you for posting a kind and succinct tribute to a great man who changed so many lives.

    6. Posted by john jacob  on  10/16  at  06:18 AM

  6. diamond rio predated ipod by several years...wasnt the only one either

    7. Posted by Annie  on  10/16  at  07:02 AM

  7. Although I greatly admired Jobs and agree he was an innovator and pioneer in his field I think the opening statement is a bit over the top.
    the person most singularly responsible for the way we have been using computers (and, more recently, entertaining ourselves and making phone calls) for nearly 30 years.

    At the very least you have to give a nod to Bill Gates in this department and truthfully hundreds of other people. This article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tablet_computers discusses the evolution of computer tablets - starting in the 1800s no less - the many who came before Jobs and paved the way for subsequent brilliant individuals to improve upon the concept.

    I agree that Jobs was brilliant but in fact he was just a man, not a God. I’m all for paying homage to his accomplishments, which were many - but Jobs was not the only brilliant mind in modern technology - and won’t be the last.

    I offer my sympathy to Jobs’ family and friends for his early passing. He certainly will be missed but like other pioneers, Jobs left a legacy that will be carried on by other innovators to newer and better inventions.

    Did he change the world, you bet he did. And for that, I thank him.

    Annie

    8. Posted by Ralph  on  10/16  at  07:05 AM

  8. Your Steve Jobs legacy was very will written not only did it take the readers down memory lane but it display the power of organized thought. In the day we created the “billboard” same functions as the internet. we used DOS commands just like a programmer until the mouse and window came along, and each component of the computer was connected to the motherboard anytime your mouse broke or your video card broke you had to buy another motherboard.Dell built his success from separate components. The world of personal computers, gaming consoles and mobile devices as made electronic living more fun thanks to Steve Jobs and the co-founders at Apple plus the many, many others that were the first to do something extraordinarily great. Its better to think smart than acting stupid and that’s how you get on the Who’s Who list like Jobs, Gates, Hefner,

    9. Posted by Kevin M  on  10/16  at  07:47 AM

  9. I enjoy your tips until I receive one that uses the dead and misfortune of others for their personal financial gain. Simply put you are nothing more than a lowlife pig that does not deserve to have a business and in all honesty I have purchased from Geeks and everything I got was cheap and nothing but junk anyway. Forgive me but you can kiss my arse you low life scum!

    10. Posted by Mike Nichols  on  10/16  at  07:52 AM

  10. Well said - Many of us who did not jump on the Apple cart and chose to work with IBM clones (strange how little we hear that term lately) may have not had Apples but all benefited from the work and vision of Woz and Steve. My first computers to work with much were huge and had no screens and used punched cards for most of the input. It made programming really fun to have to work with sometimes 16k of ram. Heck todays icons are usually bigger.  I thought your column on Steve Jobs was well said.  Competition from Apple made many changes in PC work happen so whether or not we acknowledge it, it affected us all. Keep up the good tech tips work!

    11. Posted by Brian Jaybush  on  10/16  at  08:15 AM

  11. Can’t say I’ve never owned an Apple--I bought a used one, a few years back, because I needed to be more familiar with OSX.  At the time I was a DSL tech for Qwest, and needed to be able to connect our product to Macs as well as PC’s.  Didn’t much like it, and still don’t, but I have to admit the darn thing is bullet proof. Most of a decade later it runs as well as the day I got it.  Similarly, I won’t own an iPhone or iPad--but I’m grateful to Apple for spurring the development of Android phones and tablets, which I do own and enjoy.  Yes, Jobs changed the world.  If only he hadn’t set up his company to operate using methods that would have been adored by the trust magnates of the early 20th century ... and, just maybe, Genghis Khan.

    12. Posted by John Ruschmeyer  on  10/16  at  08:16 AM

  12. "There were no digital music players to speak of before the iPod, no “smartphones” as we define them today before the iPhone, and no tablets (other than in Star Trek) before the iPad.”

    To me this is a statement that is wrong on all counts.

    Digital music players existed before the iPod, produced by companies such as iRiver and Creative. What the iPod (in conjunction with iTunes) did was create a seamless user experience.

    No smartphones before the iPhone? Tell that to Palm Treo users and people who used Windows Mobile-based phones.

    No tablets? Odd… since the concept goes back to the Windows CE era at least.

    What Apple did was take what would have otherwise been marginalized devices and turn them into mainstream devices. Interestingly, in all three categories, the Apple product is so much the dominant one that one most consumers are hard pressed to even name an alternative in the same segment.

    13. Posted by cisco  on  10/16  at  09:14 AM

  13. I love steve jobs ans since giving credit where credit is due is the point of this catalog for blog posts I would like to make you aware that the ipod was the first mp3 player nor I was the ipad the first tablet available

    14. Posted by Dan  on  10/16  at  09:16 AM

  14. Appletalk was flat out amazing in 1984. Being that it was so long ago now, people either are to young to remember or never experienced the pain of networking computers in those days.

    15. Posted by Frank Safranek  on  10/16  at  09:20 AM

  15. Thanks for the history lesson/reminder.

    I’m typing this on a PC and I use a Droid phone and I thumb my nose at my friend’s iAnything just for fun but I definitely feel that we lost a true visionary with the passing of Steve Jobs. (In the closet I actually have two Mac’s; a Mini and an iMac SE).

    16. Posted by Nathan Kibler  on  10/16  at  09:46 AM

  16. PDA or personal digital assistant was not coined with the Apple Newton. Incidentally, Hewlett-Packard was using this term almost ten years earlier to describe what they projected the hand held calculator would become in the near future, a database that would include a calendar and other organizational software tools. I’m sure it was picked up by Apple because it had been kicking around Silicone Valley for so many years.

    17. Posted by Chain Chian  on  10/16  at  10:00 AM

  17. It’s really a good job that Geeks put a big story but not commodities on geeks webstore today!

    I think there was never such a webstore had done like this!

    It’s marvelous!

    Thank you all geeks staff!

    18. Posted by Tom Miller  on  10/16  at  10:40 AM

  18. AMEN.

    19. Posted by TEd  on  10/16  at  10:49 AM

  19. I had thirty Mac Classic II’s in my computer lab as late as 2000; my last semester before my retirement ... Your comment about ‘Apple Talk’ made me sit up and take notice for sure ... Thirty Macs in a series network that only took one student to unplug the remaining student’s computers ... Oh yes ... It happened ... On a regular basis ... My Middle School students had fun with their desktop publishing creations ...
    Also ...
    I’m wondering if the b/w classic II’s have increased in value, because of Steve’s legacy?
    I’m a PC techie now; I’d miss the fun of tweaking my home computers, and then having to readjust them ... Any how ... Maybe a Ipad someday ???
    God rest Steven Jobs ... What a guy ... Thank you Steve ........ TEd ...

    20. Posted by Htos1  on  10/16  at  12:11 PM

  20. RIP,Mr.Jobs,thank you for blowing my mind when I thought radio engineering,broadcasting,and recording was the only “cool” thing in ‘77.Thank you!

    21. Posted by Teresa Masters  on  10/16  at  12:25 PM

  21. Chris,
    A TI99/4A owner and user from 1980 to 1991. I actually saw a Lisa in a computer lab at a university in eugene, Ore, in those years.
    I bought a Mac 11Si in 1991, and have never looked back. My TI had Speech, Color and WYSIWYG ease of use. As TI abandoned the computer area in 1983, friends wandered away, first to CPM then to the 286. None of these made sense to me and were archaic insofar as what I already had.
    When I bought the first Mac, my computer life regenerated, although I still belong to several TI online User Groups.
    I became a Guy Kawasaki “Evangelista,” and loved both my Mac and Apple. Neither has ever failed me, and I drove to the Carlsbad Apple Store the day after Steve died, wanting to sign a Memorial Book. Finding none, it was suggested i put a post it note on the outside store window, along with others already there.
    A few years ago, I became aware of Computer Geeks, as you are in my back yard. I am a frequent customer and find the PC bias blatant. Year or so ago I was gleefully told there was not a Mac Tech, sadly he is no longer there.
    I do buy Mac products there, sadly no one has a clue about some of what they are selling. I bought my travel G-4 laptop there and it serves me fine. My Mac’s have come directly from the Apple Stores or UCSD.
    I honestly believe you would sell more Mac’s were the sales people a bit familiar with what you have in stock, and how well it works compared to some of the PC’s.
    There is a Mac product sitting in the glass case, rarely do I see it get any attention, other than when I consider it.
    Perhaps rather than make fun of Mac users, give them credit for knowing a good thing when they see one. I am not in a financial position to own either an iPad or iPhone, sad but my reality. My grandson has taken over my Geeks bought Nano, hopefully one day you will “find” another source and I can get one. the one you currently have is too costly for me.
    So a bit less bias please. Geeks, start staffing with some cross platform employees, it will bring you more business.
    Terrie

    22. Posted by Mahinder  on  10/16  at  05:04 PM

  22. Steve a legacy is no more with us
    but like one cannot see GOD Himself
    He can be seen in his creations
    Steve is alive until his creations
    are alive. He has set a path or way
    for our brigh. Future. All credit goes to him
    and his team
    I salute him
    thanks for writing so good about him
    I can tell all you guys how difficult
    it was in 1985 to publish a word one had to run pillar to post to get a smaller Artwork get done. Steve and Bill hv made this possible that I m doing it from my phone lying on my bed. People or guys born after ninties can never think about the pain these people have took to work these things out in our hand. Salute to all of them.

    23. Posted by Music Strategies  on  10/16  at  09:00 PM

  23. Bon Jovi: “Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business.”

    24. Posted by Bryan  on  10/16  at  10:37 PM

  24. I was completely devastated when I heard the news of Steve Jobs’ passing.  Me and my family only just switched to Apple, and since then we have been Apple Believers.  SJ will be missed.  We will never forget what he has done for us.

    25. Posted by Meg H  on  10/17  at  01:07 AM

  25. Great Article, Chris… Especially for one who hasn’t crossed on over to Mac. Your knowledge, revelations and insights were fascinating and inspiring.  Thanks for the great tribute to Steve Jobs.

    26. Posted by glockman1727ak47  on  10/17  at  04:36 AM

  26. Great article. Very good stuff. I had no idea on some of the stuff. Wish he was still here.

    27. Posted by Tom Bell  on  10/17  at  06:45 AM

  27. Your concern on defending the “inventor” status of Steve Jobs’ [who’s excellent products I have never been able to afford as a long-time underemployed and retired senior citizen] is best resolved, I believe, by seeing his contributions as a “developer” or a person who “engineered” ideas into commercial existence. In the chain of “inventor” to “development engineer” to “manufacturer”, who is the most important? Well it is a chain and if one link does not exist the product never reaches the masses.

    28. Posted by Eric Keeton  on  10/17  at  08:07 AM

  28. I’m am one of those who never bought an apple product. Even though I was tempted as a young man for an Apple IIe.

    The day apple pulled licensing for compatibles and cloning was the day I swore I’d never own anything they put out.

    Goal achieved thus far

    29. Posted by Dr. Dean-Ross Schessler  on  10/17  at  01:40 PM

  29. While I agree with you, Jobs’ innovation has changed the world.  I honestly don’t think he ever really had ‘change the world’ as his primary goal.  He just went about being Steve Jobs and doing things he wanted to do and the world was change because of it.  Like the tortoise who just kept running the race with a goal to participate and compete and not specifically to win the race.  Jobs ran a great race and won innovations which will remain standout milestones for years to come.

    30. Posted by snow123  on  10/17  at  08:52 PM

  30. Steve Jobs… A man, who made history ... A man of his words ... He will be missed forever ...

    31. Posted by jhonkrk  on  10/17  at  11:08 PM

  31. I agree with you that Steve jobs was a very great CEO and i am also a very big fan of him and i hope that you will give some other information about Steve jobs.

    32. Posted by austin carlos  on  10/18  at  12:54 AM

  32. Steve a man to whom this world could not be forgotten and he left this world very sad.

    33. Posted by sam peter  on  10/19  at  07:48 AM

  33. steve jobs a great person i like it
    so much

    34. Posted by cameron  on  11/21  at  08:01 AM

  34. Beautiful blog..........

    35. Posted by jhonsteve  on  11/23  at  02:50 AM

  35. I honestly don’t think he ever really had ‘change the world’ as his primary goal.

    36. Posted by jhonsteve  on  11/26  at  02:21 AM

  36. While I agree with you, Jobs’ innovation has changed the world.  I honestly don’t think he ever really had ‘change the world’ as his primary goal.

    37. Posted by jhonsteve  on  11/26  at  02:22 AM

  37. He just went about being Steve Jobs and doing things he wanted to do and the world was change because of it.

    38. Posted by jhonsteve  on  11/26  at  02:23 AM

  38. Me and my family only just switched to Apple, and since then we have been Apple Believers.  SJ will be missed.  We will never forget what he has done for us.

    39. Posted by iphone  on  11/27  at  11:09 PM

  39. Why must an extra-ordinary guy who is blessing millions of people with his products and innovations, and the jobs they generate, be taken away so young at the cusp of his life?
    iphone

    40. Posted by arshad  on  11/28  at  09:10 PM

  40. nice work done by the steve jobs

    41. Posted by lovelymarie  on  11/29  at  01:48 AM

  41. I think the information in this article contains several inaccuracies.I am also a very big fan of him and i hope that you will give some other information about Steve jobs.

    42. Posted by wethosing  on  11/30  at  04:25 AM

  42. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free.
    (http://www.bizspeed.com/products/goroam-for-bulk-pickup-and-delivery/handheld-metered-delivery/)

    43. Posted by PC Guide  on  12/05  at  03:50 PM

  43. Steve Jobs was and still is a legened, RIP STEVE JOBS.

    44. Posted by business debt settlement  on  12/07  at  11:54 PM

  44. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free.
    business debt settlement

    45. Posted by Mobile Application Developers  on  12/08  at  10:07 PM

  45. Steve Jobs is a wonder,even without getting proper education he changed world.. Without his inventions smart phones have never been in this world.. True legend

    46. Posted by Franklin Blunt  on  01/19  at  09:44 AM

  46. Well deserved homage that gives due credit and recognition, but unfortunately there are several assertions that are inaccurate if not outright false. Tech category creator that delivered on popular market opportunities seems appropriate as any other description. While much media was already available in a variety of formats including digital, S J definitely helped provide broader access, user friendly interfaces, and enhanced design especially for input and output. Still formidable and influential. Hope others are inspired by the legacy and to develop their own trends despite challenges. I think that is what S J represented and espoused above all else. Regardless, although they like to think of themselves as self-confident individuals with personal style, even Applephiles are trend followers, status seekers, and wannabees. Rather ironic don’t you think?

    47. Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


Next entry: RC Helicopters - "Learning To Fly"

Previous entry: Coffee Shop Computer Etiquette 101

<< Back to main