I never said it was a coincidence that Apple was hugely successful. But, those at Apple that made it what it is would not appreciate so many attributing so much to Jobs. I doubt it makes his family feel comfortable either.
"they just coincidentally happened to gain superpowers when he was there"
I do not believe that they gained superpowers, literally or figuratively. I do think Jobs had incredibly talented people working for him. He was a great leader. But, he didn't do it all himself.
To me this is like U.S. citizens attributing too much to the president. They think the president started an unfair war, the president is getting them universal healthcare, the president caused the economy to falter. One man does not cause these things, and although leadership and charisma are important, even critical, just as critical are all of the others who do these things, and those around them that relay their messages.
Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio also had incredibly talented people working for them — many of the same incredibly talented people who worked for Jobs — but they didn't manage to take the company anywhere but down.
And I don't how how many people at Apple you know, but all the ones I've heard from are just as superlative about Steve's contribution to the company. I haven't yet heard a one take umbrage at the recognition he gets (this was true even before he died, so it's not simply "don't speak ill of the dead").
I'm not trying to downplay the contributions of everyone else — certainly, Steve could never have done it without them — but I don't think you're giving him the credit that his accomplishments deserve, simply because he didn't have the precise role in the process that you personally respect.
I like to think he had mowed grass. That is what a common man does in the U.S., and it would be a sign of his humanity. I also like to think he just wore the shoes because he was sick, in pain, and he needed a comfortable pair of shoes.
He was a great man. But, he wasn't perfect. He basically took credit for Woz's creation, backed the losing Lisa (and prior to that the Apple III) rather than the Mac and jumped ship to the Mac when the Lisa tanked. The OS X technology was written by NeXT before Apple bought them. iPod (etc.) was a design win and a business win, but Jobs just helped hire good people. He makes a great front-person, was a stellar businessman, and helped make Silicon(e) Valley what it is today. He seems to have been a great father and husband also. My heart goes out to his family and friends for their loss. But seriously- the man was a front man for great technology that people use.
Jobs was taken off the Lisa team before it even shipped (he joined the Mac in 1982, the Lisa did not ship before '83)
> The OS X technology was written by NeXT before Apple bought them.
Of course, what would have been the point of buying NeXT otherwise? NeXT was founded by Jobs.
> iPod (etc.) was a design win and a business win, but Jobs just helped hire good people.
Most of them he actually brought with him from NeXT (the NeXT acquisition has often been referred to as a takeover). Or he found rotting inside Apple itself (Ive had been working for Apple for 5 years before Jobs came back and put him in charge of Industrial Design). And Jobs's main role has never been to be in the production trenches (it's easy to see that from Folklore.org), I don't understand what you're trying to achieve taking down irrelevant strawmen.
> But seriously- the man was a front man for great technology that people use.
What you're trying to achieve is apparently being high as a kite.
Bulldonkey. Javascript on client side will continue for the foreseeable future which means those developers would want to use the same language to do server-side. Just because it hasn't taken hold, doesn't mean it won't.
"they just coincidentally happened to gain superpowers when he was there"
I do not believe that they gained superpowers, literally or figuratively. I do think Jobs had incredibly talented people working for him. He was a great leader. But, he didn't do it all himself.
To me this is like U.S. citizens attributing too much to the president. They think the president started an unfair war, the president is getting them universal healthcare, the president caused the economy to falter. One man does not cause these things, and although leadership and charisma are important, even critical, just as critical are all of the others who do these things, and those around them that relay their messages.