Showing posts with label Steve Jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Jobs. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Enthralling 'Steve Jobs' - Brilliance, Weirdness, Warts and All
"However, I should warn you, the book isn't for the faint of heart. It's 656 pages in the hardcover edition, which translates to a couple thousand on your iPhone if you buy it as an e-book. It covers a lot of ground, from the initial pairing of Jobs and Steve Wosniak in a garage to the rise and fall of Jobs at Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL), to Pixar (Nasdaq: PIXR) and "Toy Story" to the passive-aggressive takeover of Apple 12 years after he was shown the door. Of course, there's the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and the worldwide juggernaut that Apple has become, spawning astounding products, amazing ad campaigns and millionaires left and right.
But that's the best or worst of it. If you dive right into this bio, you might also learn that Steve Jobs was a mean, emotional train wreck of a man wrapped around an intense and focused genius capable of masterful manipulation of others and utter self-delusion. I've got to say, I had a hard time slogging through the "sh*t" -- and it is sh*t, as Jobs was so apparently fond of saying about anything and everything that didn't amaze him -- about his "abandonment" as a child when he was given up for adoption and his subsequent abandonment of his first daughter. As a young man, Jobs was pathetic and sad. Oh, and this whole notion that his fruitarian diet meant that he didn't have body odor or need to shower? Well, you might have some questions come up, like, "How can a guy be so intelligent, so amazingly insightful, and yet be such a freaking idiot?"
Of course, as a creative genius, Jobs was astounding. Mesmerizing."
Continue reading: The Enthralling 'Steve Jobs' - Brilliance, Weirdness, Warts and All
But that's the best or worst of it. If you dive right into this bio, you might also learn that Steve Jobs was a mean, emotional train wreck of a man wrapped around an intense and focused genius capable of masterful manipulation of others and utter self-delusion. I've got to say, I had a hard time slogging through the "sh*t" -- and it is sh*t, as Jobs was so apparently fond of saying about anything and everything that didn't amaze him -- about his "abandonment" as a child when he was given up for adoption and his subsequent abandonment of his first daughter. As a young man, Jobs was pathetic and sad. Oh, and this whole notion that his fruitarian diet meant that he didn't have body odor or need to shower? Well, you might have some questions come up, like, "How can a guy be so intelligent, so amazingly insightful, and yet be such a freaking idiot?"
Of course, as a creative genius, Jobs was astounding. Mesmerizing."
Continue reading: The Enthralling 'Steve Jobs' - Brilliance, Weirdness, Warts and All
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Steve Jobs and Apple: somewhere between bohemia and business - Andrew Coyne - Macleans.ca
From mere number-crunching marvels, Jobs made computers into tools for the artistic imagination
"When I was growing up, the world was in the grip of what was then called the Computer Age. Computers, everyone knew, were where things were going. And so we were all given training in computer science to prepare us for the Jobs of Tomorrow, which as everyone knew were in computer programming.
To program a computer meant poking little holes in punch cards, stacks and stacks and stacks of them, which you then handed in to the computer lab. When your turn came in the queue, they would feed your stack of cards into the computer; you would get your homework back the next day in the form of a printout. If, as often happened, you had made some small mistake—somewhere—and the computer, baffled, had responded with a string of hysterical gibberish, you simply repeated the whole fiddling, nitpicking exercise.
And for most of us, that was that. The premise, that we were all going to be computer programmers, was false, and we knew it. Computers were for geeks, science fiction enthusiasts and others even further beyond the pale. Though in some ways my own mildly obsessive-compulsive nature made me a natural for it, my teenage identity was even then coalescing around the idea that I was actually some kind of artsie, or at least destined for the humanities.
And besides, programming a computer meant working for the people who had computers—business, mostly, unless you were desperate enough to work for the government. Business? There were two kinds of people who went into business: those who had a lot of money, or those who wanted a lot. All right for some, but it wasn’t something you’d do, if you, like, wanted some meaning in your life.
If you want to know the impact Steve Jobs and the company he created, Apple, have had on society, consider that not a line of the foregoing still applies. We did not all have to learn arcane computer languages, as we thought: instead, the computers became so simple to use that, for some purposes, a swipe of the fingers was all that was required. Computers themselves are no longer great printout-belching beasts, remote and fearsome, guarded by a kind of priesthood with occasional visiting rights for the rest of us, but are in every home, indeed in every pocket or purse."
Continues
Steve Jobs and Apple: somewhere between bohemia and business - Andrew Coyne - Macleans.ca
"When I was growing up, the world was in the grip of what was then called the Computer Age. Computers, everyone knew, were where things were going. And so we were all given training in computer science to prepare us for the Jobs of Tomorrow, which as everyone knew were in computer programming.
To program a computer meant poking little holes in punch cards, stacks and stacks and stacks of them, which you then handed in to the computer lab. When your turn came in the queue, they would feed your stack of cards into the computer; you would get your homework back the next day in the form of a printout. If, as often happened, you had made some small mistake—somewhere—and the computer, baffled, had responded with a string of hysterical gibberish, you simply repeated the whole fiddling, nitpicking exercise.
And for most of us, that was that. The premise, that we were all going to be computer programmers, was false, and we knew it. Computers were for geeks, science fiction enthusiasts and others even further beyond the pale. Though in some ways my own mildly obsessive-compulsive nature made me a natural for it, my teenage identity was even then coalescing around the idea that I was actually some kind of artsie, or at least destined for the humanities.
And besides, programming a computer meant working for the people who had computers—business, mostly, unless you were desperate enough to work for the government. Business? There were two kinds of people who went into business: those who had a lot of money, or those who wanted a lot. All right for some, but it wasn’t something you’d do, if you, like, wanted some meaning in your life.
If you want to know the impact Steve Jobs and the company he created, Apple, have had on society, consider that not a line of the foregoing still applies. We did not all have to learn arcane computer languages, as we thought: instead, the computers became so simple to use that, for some purposes, a swipe of the fingers was all that was required. Computers themselves are no longer great printout-belching beasts, remote and fearsome, guarded by a kind of priesthood with occasional visiting rights for the rest of us, but are in every home, indeed in every pocket or purse."
Continues
Steve Jobs and Apple: somewhere between bohemia and business - Andrew Coyne - Macleans.ca
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Why Apple Employees Avoid Getting In The Elevator With Steve Jobs
With all of the supernatural success swirling around legendary Apple CEO Steve Jobs as he steps down from the position, it’s easy to forget that he’s human. Michael Dhuey, 53, had two opportunities to experience the real Jobs through working with him.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-apple-employees-avoid-getting-in-the-elevator-with-steve-jobs-2011-9#ixzz1ZGKmbgv0
“I had a good experience with Steve, but I also know people who did not,” laughs Dhuey during a phone interview from Cupertino, CA.
Dhuey is currently a tech lead and one of the founders of the Cisco Systems video teleconferencing department. He knows Jobs professionally after working with him on two significant projects in Apple history: The Macintosh II in 1987 (Dhuey was an electrical and computer engineer at Apple then, and co-invented the computer) and the original iPod in 2001 (Dhuey was one of two engineers who developed the hardware).
“He was very clear about what he didn’t like,” says Dhuey. “He was not filtered with his input. If he was in a meeting that was boring him, he would be blunt. He’d say, ‘I don’t need to see this, let’s move on.’ And we would. He didn’t suffer a fool.”
Dhuey recalls that people would dread getting into an elevator with Jobs. If you got on at the 4th floor, you’d better have captivated him by the time you got off on the 1st. Jobs remembered you when you had a great story to tell. He also remembered when you didn’t.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-apple-employees-avoid-getting-in-the-elevator-with-steve-jobs-2011-9#ixzz1ZGKmbgv0
Sunday, August 28, 2011
How Steve Jobs Changed My Life
"I’ve violated every rule of investing in the past two-and-a-half years and am all the richer — literally! — for it. (I’m richer at least on paper, not rich. Please note the difference!)
In any case, what’s the key to my success? One word: Apple. I made a conscious decision in March 2009 to start investing in the Cupertino, California-based company. Apple then was trading at about $78 a share; it’s now trading at around $370 a share.
My only regret is that I didn’t shift more of my investments into Apple when the company was at its nadir. Instead, I’ve periodically and regularly shifted an increasing share of my portfolio into this amazing American success story.
The result, not surprisingly: a stunning and dramatic increase in my financial wealth (at least on paper)!
Yeah, I know: It’s risky to put most of your financial eggs into one investment basket. What happens if Apple falls, which it might? What if a competitor firm comes out with better and less expensive products?
Believe me, I’m well aware of the risks involved. But I’m also well aware of the potential financial upside. More to the point, I simply believe in Apple because I’ve come to love their products and their customer service."
Continue reading article by John Guardiano
In any case, what’s the key to my success? One word: Apple. I made a conscious decision in March 2009 to start investing in the Cupertino, California-based company. Apple then was trading at about $78 a share; it’s now trading at around $370 a share.
My only regret is that I didn’t shift more of my investments into Apple when the company was at its nadir. Instead, I’ve periodically and regularly shifted an increasing share of my portfolio into this amazing American success story.
The result, not surprisingly: a stunning and dramatic increase in my financial wealth (at least on paper)!
Yeah, I know: It’s risky to put most of your financial eggs into one investment basket. What happens if Apple falls, which it might? What if a competitor firm comes out with better and less expensive products?
Believe me, I’m well aware of the risks involved. But I’m also well aware of the potential financial upside. More to the point, I simply believe in Apple because I’ve come to love their products and their customer service."
Continue reading article by John Guardiano
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Friday, October 15, 2010
John Sculley On Steve Jobs, The Full Interview Transcript
"The thing that separated Steve Jobs from other people like Bill Gates — Bill was brilliant too — but Bill was never interested in great taste. He was always interested in being able to dominate a market. He would put out whatever he had to put out there to own that space. Steve would never do that. Steve believed in perfection. Steve was willing to take extraordinary chances in trying new product areas but it was always from the vantage point of being a designer. So when I think about different kinds of CEOs — CEOs who are great leaders, CEOs who are great turnaround artists, great deal negotiators, great people motivators — but the great skill that Steve has is he’s a great designer. Everything at Apple can be best understood through the lens of designing."
Continue reading the full story at Cult of Mac by Leander Kahney
Continue reading the full story at Cult of Mac by Leander Kahney
Friday, July 16, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
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