Austin tribute thread to Steve Jobs RIP

[Shredding_Gnar78]

it's very sad that he died so young.

However, in response to the cult of Mac lighting candles in front of Mac Stores and LITERALLY crying about this I'd like to say.... Steve Jobs did not sit there in his office and invent things.

For the most part, he and his colleagues/employees (why is he taking all the credit?) helped to develop existing devices and marketed them very, very effectively. So did the companies they bought, allied themselves with, integrated, stole things/copied patents from.

He did not invent personal computers. He did not invent portable media players. He did not invent legal media downloading. He did not invent smartphones. He did not invent tablet computers.

He absolutely had a massive part to play in popularising and improving many forms of technology. And then of course having these devices made in China, creating margins based on near-slave labor, which amounted to Apple having more cash than the GDP of the United States of America. And are they hiring? nope.

Want a job in this country? Get into manufacturing suicide nets for the $1.32/hr slaves at Foxconn

[jazznblues]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

The PowerPC chip that was used in Macs after the Mot 68K and before Intel x86 was originally designed here in Austin at Somerset, which was located by the Arboretum and staffed by Apple, Motorola and IBM engineers.

I believe that at some point UT had the largest number of Macs in use outside of Apple themselves.

As someone mentioned before, PowerComputing, a Mac clone maker was HQ'ed here (Round Rock).

Around town today, it's amazing just how diverse the demographics of folks who at the very least know of Steve. From school age kids at drop off, to folks at Barnes and Noble (young and old), to sports radio shows. It really shows how his influence really cuts across most traditional boundaries.

And PowerComputing was squashed like a bug when Apple decided it didn't like clone computers.

I think Apple's employee count in Austin is closer to 300, not 3000.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by jazznblues

And PowerComputing was squashed like a bug when Apple decided it didn't like clone computers.

Not quite.

APPLE BUYS POWER COMPUTING FOR $100M STOCK: PUTS LID ON CHRP - Computer Business Review

If being bought out for $100M is being squashed like a bug, then please squash me. BTW, if they had kept that $100M in Apple stock, that buyout would be worth about $7 billion today.

I think Apple's employee count in Austin is closer to 300, not 3000.

Incorrect.

Jobs-led Apple has grown into key player in Austin's high-tech scene

Austin Relocation Guide: Austin’s FREE Resource for relocating or moving to Austin Texas, including Housing, Realtors, Employment, Education, Healthcare, Employers, Restaurants, Shopping and More.

[BestintheWest]

He may have been a visionary, but after reading this I am not very impressed on the way he handled his personal life. Not exactly a role model.

9 things you didn

[cBach]

Originally Posted by aliveandwellinSA

He may have been a visionary, but after reading this I am not very impressed on the way he handled his personal life. Not exactly a role model.

9 things you didn

I agree, but perhaps his personal relationships were influenced by being adopted and his estranged relationship with his biological parents?

He did have good taste in women, that's for sure...

[Bo]

Originally Posted by jazznblues

And PowerComputing was squashed like a bug when Apple decided it didn't like clone computers.

Specifically, the clone program that allowed Power Computing to manufacture PCs that ran Mac OS was ended by Steve Jobs when he took over as CEO from Gil Amelio. He believed Apple was not just an OS company, but should be in complete control of its computers' hardware and OS, both for profit reasons and aesthetic reasons. Considering how much that meant to the bottom line, he was ultmately proven correct.

So is there any connection between the former Power Computing and the Austin arm of Apple, Inc.?

[curious1111]

Originally Posted by Shredding_Gnar78

it's very sad that he died so young.

However, in response to the cult of Mac lighting candles in front of Mac Stores and LITERALLY crying about this I'd like to say.... Steve Jobs did not sit there in his office and invent things.

For the most part, he and his colleagues/employees (why is he taking all the credit?) helped to develop existing devices and marketed them very, very effectively. So did the companies they bought, allied themselves with, integrated, stole things/copied patents from.

He did not invent personal computers. He did not invent portable media players. He did not invent legal media downloading. He did not invent smartphones. He did not invent tablet computers.

He absolutely had a massive part to play in popularising and improving many forms of technology. And then of course having these devices made in China, creating margins based on near-slave labor, which amounted to Apple having more cash than the GDP of the United States of America. And are they hiring? nope.

Want a job in this country? Get into manufacturing suicide nets for the $1.32/hr slaves at Foxconn

1) What makes you say that Jobs took all the credit and didnt give it to his colleagues/co-workers? I have never heard him talk that way about his accomplishments.

2) Your argument about him not "inventing" the PC is silly. Ok, he didnt invent the plastics that go into the shell, the circuit boards, the screws, nuts, and bolts, etc. Steve Jobs did not invent the manufacturing behind the first PC. But his innovation made it commercially revelant, which would have NEVER happened without him (in my opinion). Mobile computing and telephony would not be what it is today and so many lives across the world bettered if not for his innovation. Your argument is like saying that the Wright Brothers didnt invent airplane wings.

[Topaz]

He changed the world and he will be missed.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by Shredding_Gnar78

Steve Jobs did not sit there in his office and invent things.

He is listed as an inventor in over 300 patents and is the first listed inventor in over 30 of those. So yes, he did sit there and invent things, at least from a patent perspective.

And then of course having these devices made in China, creating margins based on near-slave labor, which amounted to Apple having more cash than the GDP of the United States of America. And are they hiring? nope.

Almost every other competitor of theirs also produce their devices in China but yet none managed to "have more cash than the GDP of the US" (which is completely and utterly incorrect, Apple has more "cash" than the current operating cash balance than the US Treasury, the US GDP is over $14 trillion). And at last check, Apple has over 90 open corporate positions (i.e. non Apple Store positions) in Austin alone.

Want a job in this country? Get into manufacturing suicide nets for the $1.32/hr slaves at Foxconn

Want a job in this country, then get yourself skilled in something that employers are hiring and paying well for (see the recent thread on software engineers in demand in Austin). Times are definitely tough, no doubt. Steve was no angel, no doubt. Apple is not some altruistic bastion of corporate America, no doubt. But please, if your gonna make arguments, please come with some facts.

Plus, chances are you typed your post on a computer (or other computing device) that was made by one of those slaves.

[Shredding_Gnar78]

dang. some passionate responses there guys. I hope you didn't break your Macbook keyboards or smudge the ipad screens typing that up so furiously.