Word comes that Steve Jobs - Apple's famous former CEO and sitting chairmain of the board - has passed away. We've known that Steve has been ill for some time, culminating in his stepping down from Apple's CEO, but you never really know when to expect the worst. Not a single AnandTech editor went through their childhood without working with an Apple II at least once, and numerous other Apple devices years later; the story of the coming of age of the personal computer and the story of Steve Jobs are often one in the same.
R.I.P. Steve Jobs, 1955-2011
Source: Apple
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eXces - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
R.I.PEuklide - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
This is very sad, I didn't know his condition was getting worse!He was a visionary, an innovator and a designer, capable to turn his visions to reality, successfully. He has contributed to the technology evolution -and therefore to the world, more than most people think, with Apple, Macintosh, Next, Pixar, the introduction of mouse to the personal computer, the introduction of typography, the later highly user-friendly operating systems, desktop computers, portable devices etc. Contrary to what those clueless and brainwashed from his competitors say, he was a great person too.
My condolences to his family but also to all of us consumers who will certainly miss a lot in the following years with his absence. Rest in piece.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
Mikefrombx - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
he was a successful businessman not a god damn saint or humanitarianTermie - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
I don't think you have to love every Apple product to recognize that Apple, through the leadership of Steve Jobs, created some of the most enduring technological revolutions in modern society.I don't own a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, but the reason I am a technology enthusiast today is straightforward. The Apple II. Anyone who is too young to remember the impact of having classrooms filled with Apple IIs, long before there was a "world wide web," with children busily working away on Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Paintshop Pro, or Oregon Trail, can't fully comprehend the fundamental way the Apple II changed the way children, and later adults, learned new skills, expressed their creativity, and got work done.
And on my Apple IIGS, I did things over the 7 years I used it that were absolutely stunning. With its graphical interface, I could manipulate icons and organize files on a desktop, in full color, a decade before Windows 95 arrived. I created images of automobiles that would later lead me to consider going into automobile engineering (although I did not ultimately take that path), and I created music with a MIDI keyboard connected to the IIGS, using a program that could transcribe my notes. And I played lots and lots of great games, long before I ever owned any gaming system.
And most importantly, the IIGS made me a tech geek. I modded the heck out of that thing (admittedly at my parents' expense!), with a Transwarp GS card, taking the speed from 2.6MHz to an amazing 7Mhz, increased the ram from 256KB to a whopping 4MB, and added an external 20MB SCSI hard drive that revolutionized how I interacted with the machine - it allowed me to run multiple programs without a reboot - simply amazing stuff back then. I owe my love of building computers to Apple. Ironically today it is the PC community that offers the most to us rig builders, but it would be foolish to think that Apple, through the inspiration of Steve Jobs, did not play a major role in bringing the computer and the personal computing age to life.
eviloz - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
its sad to read about how genius apple was with apple2 and totally forget about the other amazing machines that populated the 80s.the apple2 was a milestone, yes, was it a computer for the common men? nope.
The ST, the amiga, the CPC and the QL were way more innovative, and they DID changed the approach of common ppl to computing. Who remembers GEM?
the apple2 is important, but its just 10 years later that apple started to care about "making computers accessible to everyone", user friendlyness and such. the atari and the amiga did this way sooner. some of the magic of the mac comes directly from these 2 platforms. where is the man that developed them? who is he?
bennyg - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
.. you forget, history is written by the winners.Pity how with all the info available (even on wikipedia alone) history is neglected because people are increasingly lazy.
jollyjugg - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
As somebody working in high technology Steve Jobs is my Christ and his mandate is my bible. The classical college drop-out son of blue collar parents who went out and conquered the technology world like nobody did before him and in the process managed to inspire and gave impulse to so many who are going to come after him. Goodbye Steve. Rest in peace knowing that tech world is in great hands.Humble Fan
bennyg - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
BS above all other aggrandising BS comment about JobsApple right now is suing people all over the place, abusing an outdated IP regime to stifle innovation. Apple was great at taking what others invented, giving it an intuitive GUI and making it work really well (selling outside the traditional markets, and commanding a really nice price premium). Samsung is doing exactly the same thing, Apple doesn't like it the other way round (and even doctored their evidence to the German courts) and Apple is behaving like any other megamonopoly incorporated. I reckon now the cult figurehead is gone people will begin to realise Apple is just the next Microsoft. Big, spinny, and evil.
Tech world is in the same hands it always was.
Dug - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
"Steve made computers and devices for the rest of us. To those myopic folk that think he made "gadgets" and "overpriced hardware", well... you just don't get it. Most people didn't. The IBM execs, the Xerox suits, the Hewlett Packard bosses, all of them laughed at what the Two Steves were making with the Apple I. I'm sure they saw it as a "gadget" or "overpriced hardware", but we got it and we bought it and it changed the world. It's not about "gadgets" or nonsense like that, it's about technology enhancing our lives, instead of getting in the way. Steve understood that. He understood that most of us don't have time to figure out key sequences, or the locations of drivers and .dll files. We just want to connect with friends, listen to music, get our work done and enjoy doing it.He made it fun to use computers. He broke the back of the draconian RIAA and music execs that refused to let us use our music the way we wanted to. He understood that technology didn't have to be clunky and ugly and complicated; that it could be fun and beautiful. He, more than anyone in my lifetime, understood that "easy is hard, and hard is easy". Anyone can make a device or a computer that requires hours and hours of hair-pulling frustration to get it to work, but it takes a real visionary, a real genius to make it all fun, easy and simple to use. Some gearheads and technoids hated Apple products because anyone could use them. Many of us loved that though, because we had something much more important to do... life. He made elegant, fun, useful, powerful, interesting and beautiful devices that gave us our lives back. No longer did we have to spend hours and hours reading manuals and studying the idiosyncrasies of a cryptic operating system. It all just... worked and worked well.
Doesn't matter whether you use a Macintosh, a Windows machine, Linux or whatever, he had a profound impact on all the computing world. There is no denying that. Whatever computer you're using, whatever software, whatever cell phone, it's been significantly changed because of Steve Jobs. Steve changed the way people interact with computers. He changed the way they interact with the world. He will be greatly missed." - sealnd
Making the Apple II when everyone else had no idea what people wanted.
Making the Macintosh when everyone else had no idea what people wanted.
Making the iPod, iTunes, easy digital downloads, products with clean lines and simple interface, iphone, app store, ipad, macbook, macbook air, etc, when other companies had no idea what people wanted.
The proof is in their growth and sales. You can say whatever you want, but you can not deny the appeal they are able to create with their design.
Only NOW are companies creating products that match the simple look and interface that Apple sells.
inplainview - Thursday, October 6, 2011 - link
Thanks Dug for opening the eyes of the Myopic-arati. Fine, if you don't like Apple products, vote with your wallet and don't buy them but to simply dismiss Apple and berate a man with cancer is less than human. Maybe the beraters would feel different if their loved ones suddenly came down with an incurable disease. Some of the comments on this site are nothing less than pathetic. I was not a Steve Jobs zealot or fan per se but I could respect that he tried to make the complicated easy enough for everyone to understand.R.I.P. Steve. You vision will be missed by many.