Quote:
Originally Posted by cHex
But it is also apparent that many people elevate Jobs to impossible heights. They attribute him with inventing things he did not invent (as though his actual achievements need adding to). They claim things exclusively for Apple products that weren't really exclusive. They act as though it was Apple against the world, as though PC's, Atari (music industry) and Amiga (video industry) weren't better choices for applications of their own. These sorts of comments come across as smug, irritating, and condescending, and probably cause some people to question Job's legitimate accomplishments and Apple's actual distinctions.
When I read something like that, I don't nod and move on--I feel like setting the record straight. For example, when I read this:
...I thought back to 1986 when I started using Ventura Publisher on my 386. (And with a graphical interface as well, thanks to GEM.) I was in Asia, and had been forced to give up my Atari as all anybody used in that country in those days were PC's; if I wanted software, upgrades, repairs, or support, I realized there was only one real choice.
This is hardly a charitable response--ignoring several paragraphs of legitimate praise for Steve Jobs and focusing on one sentence, but that's human nature. It's fair to point out that many negative things would go unsaid if some of the false positive things were also unsaid.
Having made that point, let me reiterate that Steve Jobs will be missed, in all his human condition. I am sorry not only for the loss of his friends, family, and fans, but also for my loss, as one who has never owned an Apple product but has long appreciated its impact on the products I do own, and as one who has enjoyed Jobs' impact in animation to boot.
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And DTP originated in 1984 with Mac... GEM VP came later after Apple/Adobe pioneering on personal computers together with release of (relatively) affordable laser printing... and the others you mention still owe the pioneering of Apple with the Mac... and I am not some Apple worshipper as I had several Atari and Amigas (from the first releases onwards) as I was developing and working on multiple platforms... Steve didn't have to be original in anything, he just had to have the genius to put out products that people found easy to use for what they needed to do without also always needing to be a computer geek...