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Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

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Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#291

Post by niels_olson »

billmcneale wrote: post #118
niels_olson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually see his assertiveness as a sign of how much Jobs respects the potential of his competitors and the ruthlessness with which the market will walk away from his company's products if he doesn't sell, and just how much obligation he has to employees who sacrifice so much to make it look like magic.

You have a strange definition of "respect". Maybe behind closed doors and in board meetings, Jobs will admit that Android is a very fierce competitor that is taking market share away from Apple. But on the public front, he shows nothing but disdain for competitors and he spends much more time on stage disparaging them than he used to. Bashing competitors is not just poor form, it's usually the sign of a business losi…

> you have a strange definition of respect

here's my off-the-cuff attempt.

respect: appreciation for another's abilities, experience, and potential.

Sign of respect: modifying one's behavior based on another's abilities, experience, and potential.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#292

Post by rbarooah »

bane wrote: post #264
rbarooah wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're oversimplifying. The misquote of the Samsung executive is the only thing he said that might be dishonest. Unlike the original statement by Samsung that they sold 2 million devices. The fact is that executives in the industry make misleading statements all the time. These statements end up in headlines and do influence people. This is fact. Does this mean I like it? Of course not. Do I think it would be better…

Other than the Samsung quote, Jobs didn't lie. Here's the ones you must have missed then, from the article: "First dual core tablet to ship in volume." ">90% market share".

Those aren't lies.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2287053

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#293

Post by rbarooah »

tscrib wrote: post #221
dasil003 wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These stories of people running across streets frantically computing with their open laptop during the dead of winter invite so many more questions than just the survival of the device.

"when I was young, we'd walk 25miles to school, in the middle of winter, uphill both ways, with our laptops open and running..."

"At least you had a hill to walk up. In my day we had to use our laptops in an icy hole covered in tarpaulin just to keep the things from overheating"

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#294

Post by extension »

tptacek wrote: post #218
martythemaniak wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because calling out someone's bullshit is now "abusive behaviour". Listen, people here aren't retarded - they don't need someone to try and explain why Jobs lied. He lied because he can make himself and Apple look better if he told the truth. It's the same reason most other people lie and it's so transparent a toddler can see through it. No one's gonna stop you from posting low quality Apple fluff, but don't ex…

The problem with your comment is that it begs for a response in kind. The tone on the thread changes, from tendentious to outright hostile. Users click into threads and see high-ranked comments with that tone. They write their own comments like that. Oh, look. Now we're Reddit.

I think he used just the right amount of vitriol to best make his point. He's adding something valuable to the discussion and that's all that really matters to me. It's not tone that leads to Reddit, it's too many posters with too little to say.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#295

Post by dvdhsu »

rphlx wrote: post #265
bad_user wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy Apple products in general (with only one exception) and I think this presentation was of really poor taste, being in total agreement with the article. That said ... I have an iPhone 3GS and I couldn't care less that it has lower resolution, a 600 MHz processor and only 256 MB of RAM. I totally prefer it over any Android high-end device available right now, because it runs smoothly, it has all the apps tha…

Have you really tried a recent Android device? Many highly technical people (ok, programmers/nerds) prefer it after they dig into it vs an iPhone. Notifications, Google Nav, 3D + Vectorized Google Maps, Chrome-to-Phone, a real filesystem with SFTP/FTP/HTTP sync apps, widgets, python via SL4A, free dev tools for Windows/Linux/Mac, awesome 3rd party ROMs, swappable batteries, SDCard, bigger screens, tight Google voice…

You can get roughly half of those features after you jailbreak your iPhone.

Faster JavaScript is coming in 4.3. As to whether or not it will be faster than Ginger, I haven't used the beta (4.3) yet.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#296

Post by bad_user »

rphlx wrote: post #265
bad_user wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy Apple products in general (with only one exception) and I think this presentation was of really poor taste, being in total agreement with the article. That said ... I have an iPhone 3GS and I couldn't care less that it has lower resolution, a 600 MHz processor and only 256 MB of RAM. I totally prefer it over any Android high-end device available right now, because it runs smoothly, it has all the apps tha…

Have you really tried a recent Android device? Many highly technical people (ok, programmers/nerds) prefer it after they dig into it vs an iPhone. Notifications, Google Nav, 3D + Vectorized Google Maps, Chrome-to-Phone, a real filesystem with SFTP/FTP/HTTP sync apps, widgets, python via SL4A, free dev tools for Windows/Linux/Mac, awesome 3rd party ROMs, swappable batteries, SDCard, bigger screens, tight Google voice…

My wife has an Desire HD. It is great, and a developer's dream indeed (you can run frikin' Python on it :)). I also think the iPhone 4 is too expensive and doesn't provide enough value for the extra money over the 3GS or over a cheap Android, like LG Optimus One.

I was just making a point that faster processor / bigger RAM doesn't necessarily translate in a better experience; and more companies should focus on experience.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#297

Post by rbarooah »

extension wrote: post #294
tptacek wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with your comment is that it begs for a response in kind. The tone on the thread changes, from tendentious to outright hostile. Users click into threads and see high-ranked comments with that tone. They write their own comments like that. Oh, look. Now we're Reddit.

I think he used just the right amount of vitriol to best make his point. He's adding something valuable to the discussion and that's all that really matters to me. It's not tone that leads to Reddit, it's too many posters with too little to say.

What point did he make other than the vitriol itself?

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#298

Post by jodrellblank »

egor83 wrote: post #56
rbarooah wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how the 90% market share statement is wrong unless you include boxes sitting in warehouses or returned products as 'sold'. What's wrong with the price comparison? I agree that the smooth/small thing was underhanded, although let's not forget that that statement was made as Samsung admitted that they hadn't actually sold 2m devices as they had previously claimed.

1) I don't see how the 90% market share statement is wrong From the article: Apple sold 14.8 mln iPads. Samsung sold 2 mln Tabs. Do you imply that these figures are not correct? If so, please provide better data. But if we use these figures, Apple has 14.8 / (14.8 + 2) ~ 88% market share, and a claim about "> 90%" is outright wrong. Please note that no other competitors were included in this count. 2) What's wrong wi…

But if we use these figures, Apple has 14.8 / (14.8 + 2) ~ 88% market share, and a claim about "> 90%" is outright wrong.

But you can't just pick your own figures and then say "because Apple didn't look at the market the same way I am, they are lying".

The only way it's a lie is if you use the same distinctions they do (which we don't know) and the same figures they used (which we don't know) and then show that they said different figures than their analysis resulted in (aka a lie).

Otherwise, when you say "lie" and "wrong" what you really mean is "they used different criteria", and that's not lying.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#299

Post by othermaciej »

Silhouette wrote: post #246
rbarooah wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By that measure, all of the major players are losing steam.

You mean Apple, Microsoft, Google, RIM et al? Yes, I think it's a pretty fair assessment to say that they are all losing steam. Their basic problem is that smartphones and tablets have gone from being the cool new toys of yesteryear to being mainstream, expensive tools, with just a soupçon of "too clever for your own good". I saw an interesting debate a few weeks ago on HN. Some people saw these generic tools as the…

Your perspective is interesting. But I think it weakens your argument to claim you would short these stocks in theory, but actually won't. The market price is determined by people who are confident enough in their beliefs to act on them. And those people collectively seem to think market-cap-weighted bundle of AAPL, MSFT, GOOG and RIMM is a good bet. If you are not confident enough to act, then that significantly discounts the evidentiary value of your opinion.

Re: Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth

#300

Post by rimantas »

jrockway wrote: post #236
rimantas wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to elaborate, how was Google bashed in the demo of Garage Band, iMovie, Smart Cover? Was Google even mentioned?

I chose that wording to parody the comment I was replying to. When you see wording in a reply that is very similar to wording in the original comment, you should switch your language processing unit from the "analyze exact literal meaning" mode to the "read for entertainment value" mode. From a strictly literal standpoint, Jobs made a lot of jabs at the competition for iOS, which is phones and tablets running Android…

OK, point taken.

The misquote thing is interesting. It causes (rightfully, I guess) a lot of noise, but to be fair: Jobs is not the author of misquote IIRC, and then we don't know if that version of the quote is a lie, Samsung does not give the numbers. Choosing to quote incorrect version over the "smooth" version knowingly is indeed fishy, no matter the factual accuracy.

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