"I have a nuanced opinion of Steve Jobs" (taverner)

[Tess Anderson]

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Taverner  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-07-11 12:48 PM
Original message
I have a nuanced opinion of Steve Jobs
 Edited on Fri Oct-07-11 12:54 PM by Taverner
I actually had the (dis)pleasure to work for Mr Jobs. I was at one meeting where he drove a man to tears after screaming at him. I was at another meeting where he was the most friendly person in the world. He had a temper that would change on a moment's notice. The word at Apple was "if you see Steve in an elevator, wait for the next one." He was famous for looking at an employee, then their badge, and then asking "So...what do you do for me?" If you answered incorrectly, you were fired that day, or so the legend goes.

At the same time, he did save Apple. When he came back, Apple had some success with this new iMac, but for the most part they were becoming has beens. OS8 and 9 were jokes, and their sweet spot, education and art, were dropping their products in droves. The merger of NeXT and Apple was what saved the Mac, and it was a genius move. The old OS was terrible, always crashed, and was snail compared to the versions of Linux and Windows out at the time. Within two years of OS X, this all changed.

Of course, part of what made Apple profits during this time was Steve's move of manufacturing from Elk Grove, CA to China, being yet another nail in the coffin of American Manufacturing.

He donated to a lot of Dems, and was personally progressive. But he ran Apple like a robber baron. Layoffs were common, and Apple was notorious for paying employees less than market value because they had the "privilege" of working for Apple.

Not that any of this would matter to the Apple fanboys and fangirls. For them, they might as well have been working for Merlin the Magician. IN their eyes, Apple could do no wrong. Every gadget was a huge innovation in their eyes, even though Apple never really "invented" anything. They just knew how to market it.

Steve was a Vegan, and a big advocate for animal rights, health, and freedom of speech. Apple did not have a "porn police" department like other tech companies, which regularly spy on what sites the employees go to. Nope, all he cared about was leaks - he wanted to own the message. Porn, hey, if it floats your boat and you get your work done, more power to you. Not all of you agree with that, but I see it as a trust relationship.

At the same time, Jobs fought unions, and never let them in Apple. Even the security, which was outsourced, was non-union.

When dealing with Capitalists, and Mr Jobs was most definitely that, you have to take a nuanced view. Was he Jay Gould? The guy who famously said "I can always get one half of the working class to kill the other." No, he wasn't. But a capitalist values capital above all else. Grow or die. Capital is the only resource worth having to a capitalist. Everything else is overhead.

But then again, one of the most famous Communists, Friedrich Engels, was a partner at a mill. That's about as capitalist as you can get.

So...in conclusion...there is no conclusion. People are enigmas sometimes. And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
 
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[jukin]

Steve Jobs doesn't care what a loser like you thinks.

I was in the Printed Circuit Board manufacturing business up until 1995. California was a bigger market than all of europe. It only took the envirofascists 5 years to drive that business out. That dear DUmbass is why Apple began manufacturing outside of California. Sure cheaper labor is a part maybe a 4 but regulations were a 9.

[BEG]

What a load of crap. 

[GOBUCKS]

Taverner  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-07-11 12:48 PM
Original message
I have a nuanced opinion of Steve Jobs
I actually had the (dis)pleasure to work for Mr Jobs. I was at one meeting where he drove a man to tears after screaming at him. I was at another meeting where he was the most friendly person in the world.

Oh, yeah, it was back in the early days, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and DUmmy Taverner were starting up Apple.

The two Steves recognized the need for an intravenous drug addict in the executive suite, to represent that significant segment of their customer base.

I think DUmmy Taverner lost his spoon today, so he cooked up in a measuring cup.

It must have taken a motherload of heroin to bring on this hallucination.

[franksolich]

Oh, yeah, it was back in the early days, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and DUmmy Taverner were starting up Apple.

The two Steves recognized the need for an intravenous drug addict in the executive suite, to represent that significant segment of their customer base.

I think DUmmy Taverener lost his spoon today, so he cooked up in a measuring cup.

It must have taken a motherload of heroin to bring on this hallucination.

Thanks, sir; you took the words right out of my mouth only seconds before I was to utter them.

I'm curious; what sort of skills, training, and education could the Taverner primitive possibly have had, that would've gotten him a job at Apple?

I'm suspecting he's just regurgitating what he read in the newspapers.

[GOBUCKS]

Thanks, sir; you took the words right out of my mouth only seconds before I was to utter them.

I'm curious; what sort of skills, training, and education could the Taverner primitive possibly have had, that would've gotten him a job at Apple?

I'm suspecting he's just regurgitating what he read in the newspapers.

DUmmy Taverner's closest contact with Steve Jobs came when he stole an iPod Shuffle from another junkie at the methadone clinic.

[Delmar]

Taverner   (1000+ posts)             Fri Oct-07-11 01:02 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. He was, yes. But at the same time - he did let employee innovation flourish. Sometimes.
   
I remember the project that had a codename I forget, but we all called "Secret Squirrel." It was what became mac.com, an early attempt at social networking, offline backups and webmail. He just gave out a few very vague instructions, hired a bunch of contractors, and let them run with it. In the end he was pleased, and the contractors all got huge bonuses.

Also, the invention of the Mac was more or less run by the group. Jobs knew what he wanted, but he trusted his employees to find a way to get there. Once again, vague instruction and employee led. How else would one of the sounds be called "sosumi?" (so sue me)

Laying it on a little thicker now.  He must be disappointed that as of yet nobody has marveled at his close association with Jobs. 

[franksolich]

Laying it on a little thicker now.  He must be disappointed that as of yet nobody has marveled at his close association with Jobs.

The Taverner primitive alleges to have been born in 1971.

Let's see.....he was 20 years old in 1991, 30 years old in 2001.

Does anybody remember about when all these great events transpired at Apple?

Wouldn't the Taverner primitive have been a tad bit too young to have been in on them?

[Chris_]

He's pulling a nadin. Everything he's said is either common knowledge, gossip, or urban legend, and is hardly top-secret information.

[Duke Nukum]

Taverner  (1000+ posts)        Fri Oct-07-11 12:48 PM
Original message
I have a nuanced opinion of Steve Jobs
 Edited on Fri Oct-07-11 12:54 PM by Taverner
I actually had the (dis)pleasure to work for Mr Jobs. I was at one meeting where he drove a man to tears after screaming at him. I was at another meeting where he was the most friendly person in the world. He had a temper that would change on a moment's notice.

This is from the movie The Pirates of Silicon Valley. Pretty good movie. I guess, having seen the movie, I could say I was in the room too.

But like all movies based on fact, I have no idea how much of it is actually factual. But I was there, in my apartment, watching it. At least that much is true.

[franksolich]

This is from the movie The Pirates of Silicon Valley. Pretty good movie. I guess, having seen the movie, I could say I was in the room too.

But like all movies based on fact, I have no idea how much of it is actually factual. But I was there, in my apartment, watching it. At least that much is true.

Good one, sir.

Awesome.

[Duke Nukum]

The Taverner primitive alleges to have been born in 1971.

Let's see.....he was 20 years old in 1991, 30 years old in 2001.

Does anybody remember about when all these great events transpired at Apple?

Wouldn't the Taverner primitive have been a tad bit too young to have been in on them?

Maybe he was the spunky paperboy Mr. Jobs hired to be the coffee boy? Assuming coffee is vegan.

[franksolich]

Maybe he was the spunky paperboy Mr. Jobs hired to be the coffee boy? Assuming coffee is vegan.

Okay, I nadined it, because if the Taverner primitive was really born in 1971, it strikes me he was too young to have had those experiences he alleges to have had.

In the late 1970s, Jobs—along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and others—designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series.

In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh.

After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its interim CEO from 1997, then becoming permanent CEO from 2000 onwards. After resigning as CEO in August 2011, Jobs was elected chairman of Apple's board of directors and held that title until his death.

Unless the Taverner primitive was (a) an awesome child prodigy or (b) is lying about when he was born, it seems to me he's stretching things a little too far here.

[ChuckJ]

Okay, I nadined it, because if the Taverner primitive was really born in 1971, it strikes me he was too young to have had those experiences he alleges to have had.

Unless the Taverner primitive was (a) an awesome child prodigy or (b) is lying about when he was born, it seems to me he's stretching things a little too far here.

A member of DU being untruthful? Surely you jest.

[Doubleplusungood]

The Taverner primitive alleges to have been born in 1971.

Let's see.....he was 20 years old in 1991, 30 years old in 2001.

Does anybody remember about when all these great events transpired at Apple?

Wouldn't the Taverner primitive have been a tad bit too young to have been in on them?

I'm a year older than he claims to be and Apple 2s were common in schools by the time I was in junior high. His tale seems a bit on the tall side.

[JohnnyReb]

A member of DU being untruthful? Surely you jest.

Let me tellya something. I was there when the first real computer was invented, the Abbey-Cuss by the Chinese. I was instrumental in it's development. Without me it would have never happened and civilization would have been sat back thousands of years....I drilled the holes in all the marbles. What? You don't think that's a great accomplishment? Well, you just try holding a marble and drilling a hole in it.

[Delmar]

   
I remember the project that had a codename I forget, but we all called "Secret Squirrel."

Secret Squirrel is probably the codename for the gerbil Taverner stuffs up his keester.

[BlueStateSaint]

Secret Squirrel is probably the codename for the gerbil Taverner stuffs up his keester.

 

H5!

[Chris_]

This is from the movie The Pirates of Silicon Valley

I was going to mention that, but I wouldn't want anyone here to get the impression I'm some sort of nerd.

[Duke Nukum]

I was going to mention that, but I wouldn't want anyone here to get the impression I'm some sort of nerd.

Like anybody on the internets isn't some sort of a nerd already 

[thundley4]

DUmmie Brigid  likely has a closer connection to Jobs than Tavener did.  At least she is truthful about it.

Brigid   (1000+ posts)             Fri Oct-07-11 06:41 PM
Original message
No Country for Old Women
   
I just got something to eat at the food court at the mall. I didn't have enough cash on me, so I used my debit card. The guy behind the counter pulled out a tablet-type device and swiped my card through the little slot on top. He had to tell me the thing was an ipad. Then he had to show me how to take my forefinger and use it to sign my name on the screen. I really am getting old!

[GOBUCKS]

Taverner   (1000+ posts)             Fri Oct-07-11 01:02 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. He was, yes. But at the same time - he did let employee innovation flourish. Sometimes.
   
I remember the project that had a codename I forget, but we all called "Secret Squirrel."

Another mother load. I wonder if this was before or after Taverner was the nodding junkie who helped algore invent the internet.

[jtyangel]

I was going to mention that, but I wouldn't want anyone here to get the impression I'm some sort of nerd.

Too late

[Splashdown]

I'd like to be there when TomInTib and Taverner share war stories over a beer. It would end up with Taverner refusing to allow Steve Jobs to go into the building or something.

[67 Rover]

Brigid   (1000+ posts)             Fri Oct-07-11 06:41 PM
Original message
No Country for Old Women
   
I just got something to eat at the food court at the mall. I didn't have enough cash on me, so I used my debit card. The guy behind the counter pulled out a tablet-type device and swiped my card through the little slot on top. He had to tell me the thing was an ipad. Then he had to show me how to take my forefinger and use it to sign my name on the screen. I really am getting old!

And with that act of stupidity it will take months to clear up all the CC fraud she just subjected herself to.  CC readers are on the counter visible for a reason, this gives the consumer some confidence that it is actually a legit card scanner and not an RFID skimmer. It also allows for some privacy when inputting your pin number.  I would not have given the person behind the counter my card to run through some "tablet-type "device the guy at a food court pulled out from hiding.