They will be releasing a new updated steve jobs in about 6 months....

Even though I don't think he deserves the level of praise he has received from some commentators and has helped produced a world of fawning sycophants who are slaves to technology, I couldn't imagine another one of him coming along very soon. His achievements are undoubtedly remarkable and imagine what he could have achieved if his all his efforts were directed to something a bit more humanitarian. A cynic might say that without a share price and balance sheet to gauge his progress it would have been hard to get his interest.

Re the topic going off topic in the direction of sports, Dovetail's comments about the difficulties of getting kids to participate are very relevant. They have so many electronic gadgets nowadays that I couldn't even have imagined owning in my youth because they hadn't even been thought of back then. If the weather was nice my parents would want to know why we weren't outside enjoying ourselves. We even got exercise back then when we had to change channels as there were no remotes and only 3 channels to choose from. We were amazed to get a 4th channel in 1982!!

I hope his death for some at least is a chance to see just how much technology has taken over our lives and what is good for us and what we could do without. The key is what we could be missing by being a slave to it both financially and evidently emotionally in the case of some fanatics.

There are so many parrallels that I can see between Apple fans and avid Festool fans. Festool don't have a Jobs to create the hype but still manage to create a similar brand loyalty that I think is misplaced to a degree. How many times have new users to the forum and Festool been warmly welcomed with a reference to the green slippery slope. It is no mistake that the most loyal Festool fans see aspects of ownership as a downwards spiral. Something is wrong when a drill, saw or router etc becomes that important to someone. I was speaking to a very learned religious man last weekend over lunch and he made the point that when you stop believing in religion you will believe in anything. I was going to contest his views as I am not religious but it wasn't the place to have that discussion. On reflection and particularly after seeing the reaction to Steve Job's death I would struggle to put forward a case.

  

If they could just reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity, (string theory?) that would be something.

Perhaps the existence of giant squids answers all our questions.
Tim

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Andy, I'm curious where you place on the graph that results when you take this Political Compass Test.
[/quote]



Andy,

Don't even click on the link.   The questions are all framed in such a way that you can't even answer the way you'd like too.  It's the marxist, progressive, communist agenda in full swing. 

It's just a plain setup.

Chris...

Crazy! I took the test and guess from the result that I either don't exist or am a nobody! Dead center
Maybe I am just the center of the target.
Not having a no-opinion point swings the results.

Well, for what its worth, I think Steve Jobs did make a difference... especially for Apple shareholders.  He was not a saint for sure, but neither have so many others like him been.  The media, as always, is going a bit overboard on how he "invented" computers and "invented" the mouse yada yada (they have to fill airtime with something).  That is not Steve Jobs' fault, and having lived and been an enthusiastic participant in the whole computer revolution, I am pretty sure that in time the hoopla will settle down and he will take his proper place in history... good, bad or indifferent.

I'm even more curious what all our respective political aspirations would evolve into if we actually got the chance to implement our own ideology. That can be the only acid test and where all us armchair thinkers would soon discover how massively flawed we are.

Re my politics I would love to think that I'm apolitical and just try to think outside the box. I guess everyone thinks that to some extent though. I can definitely say that I hate aggression but thrive on friendly provocation and welcome any opportunity that enables me to think differently than I had before. I absolutely adore being wrong as it is the only way that I have ever learnt anything of value in my life. I marvel at individual human achievement and endeavour but totally despair of our collective ability to keep going in a direction that can only end in tears. I think all political systems are fundamentally flawed and haven't voted for years. I would like to but no-one has floated my boat but I would fiercely defend myself against anyone who tried to deprive me of my right to vote.

The short answer is Ghandi but it is so easy to skew that test either consciously or sub-consciously to align yourself with someone you really aren't.
 
 

I don't mean to come off as a cold fish, but a couple of thoughts from my poor little brain:
1. He was a narcissistic billionaire that most likely none of us have ever met, and probably wouldn't care for his domineering personality if we did.
2. It's a shame that anyone dies from cancer, but come-on people, he peddled cell phones and music for a living (very successfully) and regularly employed business practices that some compared to those previously accused of monopoly in this country.
3. This man that everyone is nearly worshipping saw to it that ALL OF HIS COMPANY'S PRODUCTS were manufactured, assembled, and packaged in other countries. If he had opened an Apple plant and put 7000 U.S. citizens to work then I might be willing to think highly of him.
4. It's tough to accuse a consumer of paying too much for ANY shiny toy if you're hanging out in THIS forum. 
3. I am both an Apple fanatic/enthusiast and only use Microsoft products when I need it for other proprietary software to function (My Cabinetware) so I am not Apple bashing.
4. I do hope that Apple can successfully carry on without him, but...
5. He's just some dude. His name rarely came up until he died, and in my opinion, Rembrandt he ain't.

I'm sure that most would consider my opinion to be uninformed and presumptuous, and they're probably right, but I am not going to mourn for deceased Billionaires that would actively have me thrown out of their gated communities during their lifetimes, lol. Most people watch too much T.V.

Great article Tim, that's what I was driving at.

The T.V. remark was a little off base, and I apologize. My wife and I make it a point to avoid any type of entertainment with commercials or news programs, and this sort of sensationalism is exactly why. I should employ my usual practice of keeping such comments to myself. No offense meant to anyone.

Don't have any opinion about all these opinions, but:
Just a minor point, but he lived on a regular street and if his bio is to be believed used to leave the back door open.

Let's keep in mind the Foxconn plant in China that makes all of the Apple products.  Their employees have a high suicide rate with insanely low pay, extremely long hours with no breaks.  You live on premises so you don't get to see your family.  The suicides were on the job (when is there any down time?) deaths. 

All of this is from the US's driving business to find manufacturing alternatives overseas finding low-balled bids out of China who darn near enslaves their workers (read workers not employees).  It's Apples management that sought out cheap manufacturing sites, and Steve Jobs being who he is might have hand picked Foxconn for the job. 

Interesting test. I came out way down the y axis but in the middle of the x axis. The closest to me was the Dali Llama, however I was more conservative economically and more libertarian.

Easy answer -- change the American mindset.  Demand quality first, price second, made in America and be willing to pay for such goods.  No need for import embargos and tariffs.  Just change your attitude.

Wow, I just saw pigs flying!

Did he wave?

Well, not to get anybody depressed or so, but pretty soon the jobs simply won't exist anymore. The company, Foxconn talked about here is going to replace a large part of it's 1,2 million workforce by robots the next 3 years. So even the Chinese workers will be out of a job.

http://www.economist.com/node/21525432

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/us-foxconn-robots-idUSTRE77016B20110801

I saw this comming 25 years ago, with technology advancing as it does, it's only natural. What I don't get is why China can do this, but not America, which is supposed to be richest country of the world. Or Europe for that matter.