Memories of Steve • Hacker News Board

Re: Memories of Steve

#111

Post by bippi » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 5:37 PM UTC

13hours wrote: post #21

general_failure wrote: post #6

It looks like some people like Steve are charismatic enough to get the complete devotion of very talented people. It's a great personality trait to have and pretty much guarantees success. We all know geniuses in our everyday life like Wozniak, Bob, cook. But how many of us can get these guys be terrified of us, make them change their lives for our visin and make them give us their complete attention... That's the be…

I sort of find it a little sad that very talented people have this god like image of someone like Steve. Without them he would have been nothing, but still he gets all the glory and fear, and they get little respect.

Competent leadership is, I'm finding, incredibly hard to come by. Most tech leaders I've had the fortune/misfortune to be under seem to be of the sort where they were in the right industry at the right time, and they were the only game in town. When it comes to demonstrating leadership and innovation, their ideas end up closer to "The Homer" (car on the Simpsons) than even the worst products Apple has come up with.

Re: Memories of Steve

#112

Post by smlangley » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 5:54 PM UTC

savv wrote: post #57

beaner wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it either and I have no idea why you're being downvoted.

One time when I attended WWDC all the food served was vegan at the main social event. The impression here is Job's food preferences filter down as a mandate for all. At least in this instance.

Then there was WWDC in 2002 where there was a mound of Krispy Kreme donuts for the afternoon snacks.

Re: Memories of Steve

#113

Post by xcntktn » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 6:49 PM UTC

Stories like this one and Glenn Reid's essay[1] about working with Steve on iMovie seem to be vastly more informative than any movie or book on SJ.[2] One of the biggest takeaways from both of these essays is that working with Steve was an iterative process. Pop culture always highlights "eureka" moments where a problem is solved all at once in a brilliant flash of insight, yet when you read these first-hand accounts, the story is the opposite: that making something great is a slow and repetitive process, with lots of follow-up meetings and gradual improvement towards the final product. Eureka moments look good on TV, but in the real world, great things are built by long-term focus and hard work from highly talented people with uncompromisingly high standards. I have no idea how or even if that could be shown in a movie, but I'm very thankful we have these accounts. I hope more people who worked with Steve during his second tenure eventually put their thoughts down in writing and share them so that we can all gain more of these types of insights.

[1]http://inventor-labs.com/blog/2011/10/12/what-its-really-lik...

[2]There's also Andy Hertzfeld's folklore.org, however that is focused on Steve's original tenure at Apple, not the "comeback" from the late-90s on.

Re: Memories of Steve

#114

Post by Dewie » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:07 PM UTC

Tloewald wrote: post #97

Dewie wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anything I'm less technical than most HN users. I certainly was back when the ipod was new-ish. I was probably more technical than the average user at the time, though. I gave concrete examples of the usability of the ipod. I would like it if people argued against those points, rather than some smartass, sarcastic response like the grandparent.

Sarcasm saves a lot of time. Look at how long your second response was without actually getting the point.

"You don't _get_ user experience, twenty years after even Microsoft got it."

Just as terse, no sarcasm.

I don't see how it saves time when it necessitates you to follow up with a wordy response - if you were after saving time, you wouldn't even have responded to my response. But I guess this is yet another case of me not _getting_ something.

Re: Memories of Steve

#115

Post by ForHackernews » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:10 PM UTC

RivieraKid wrote: post #104

bitL wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably common in technology area that due to Dunning-Kruger effect many super talented engineers have low self-esteem and real-life skills, and are attracted by "magical" personalities, forming narcissist-codependent pairs. I see it all around, it's sad, but unless engineers fix their broken "insides", it's going to happen. It's then pretty logical that the narcissistic part of the pair gets all the fame, spot…

Why is the DK effect mentioned in every second thread here?

Because it's a fancy scientific-sounding way for nerds to look down on those stupid jocks who are so dumb they don't even know how dumb they are and thereby buoy our foundering sense of self-esteem.

Re: Memories of Steve

#116

Post by soperj » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:17 PM UTC

chris_wot wrote: post #67

agumonkey wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny, I thought it was the discount price that was the cause, Jobs thinking people will only buy later for cheaper and he'll lose profits (I pictured him making money from Apple's cafeteria)

Jobs wasn't really motivated by money. Not like other people were, at any rate.

Why would he intentionally screw Woz out of money then?

Re: Memories of Steve

#117

Post by dlsx » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:24 PM UTC

lkd wrote: post #71

grogenaut wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and yet you're still alive and (I guess) obese... and he died of not paying attention to cancer. Donuts ftw I guess.

He paid attention, just the wrong kind of attention -- crackpot cuckoo crazy alternative medicine attention. If he had received the recommended surgery immediately upon the initial diagnosis, he very likely would still have been alive.

This statement is so fucking debatable.

You do not know that with even 10% certainty. People like you should properly fuck off with your blanket statements.

Re: Memories of Steve

#118

Post by dlsx » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:31 PM UTC

chris_wot wrote: post #58

beaner wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it either and I have no idea why you're being downvoted.

I can explain. a. It was bought on-campus. b. If he stopped all donut services because of one guy who looked unhealthy, then it again shows how capricious he was. One person who looked a little unhealthy ate a donut on one occasion and he removed donuts from every single store on campus for every single person for no reason other than he didn't like to see someone who looked pasty and obese walking around eating a do…

You are wrong.

The reason why Steve didn't want doughnuts wasn't because they were unhealthy. It was because Steve didn't like doughnuts as a food, and he understood it was actually not food. Because it isn't doughnuts are food for fat dumb fucking slack off losers.

Steve understood this, and he wanted ALL doughnuts to be eradicated off the planet. Because, fuck, you are doing it wrong. Steve was not a sociopath. He was righteous, and he stuck up for what he believed in. Even if you do like doughnuts, Steve was right by banning you from eating them.

Re: Memories of Steve

#119

Post by drcube » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 7:50 PM UTC

lkd wrote: post #71

grogenaut wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and yet you're still alive and (I guess) obese... and he died of not paying attention to cancer. Donuts ftw I guess.

He paid attention, just the wrong kind of attention -- crackpot cuckoo crazy alternative medicine attention. If he had received the recommended surgery immediately upon the initial diagnosis, he very likely would still have been alive.

Didn't he have pancreatic cancer? That's not the kind a little chemo can fix. It has a very high rate of mortality. Patrick Swayze died from it not too long before Jobs.

I'm not defending the new age medicine he opted for first. But I don't think it's what caused his death. Might have hastened it a little is all.

Re: Memories of Steve

#120

Post by SimHacker » Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 8:13 PM UTC

At the National Air and Space Museum reception during Washington DC EduCom in 1988, I took a big bite out of one lobe at the bottom of a three lobed red bell pepper so it looked like an alien's face, and held it up to Steve Jobs, and said "Earthman, give me your seed!"

He looked at me funny, but I couldn't tell if he got the reference to Bizarre Sex #10: http://silezukuk.tumblr.com/post/3151672333 [NSFW]