Iconoclasm

[quasigeostrophy]

I’ve been thinking about writing a post about the passing of Steve Jobs ever since he did so on my birthday last Wednesday.  All of the public outpouring of grief and remembrance started rubbing me the wrong way after a while, to the point where I even asked on Facebook when the beatification ceremony was going to happen.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  The man died way too young from a horrible form of cancer I would not wish on anyone, and I am not in any sense pleased at his passing, but he was no saint.

This post says a lot more, so I’m saved from a lengthy post of my own, but even this author doesn’t go into the early days and how Jobs’ split with Steve Wozniak happened.  I can confirm many of this author’s claims, as in my previous career I knew and worked with several people at Apple during the ’90s and early ’00s, but I haven’t kept myself directly informed since leaving that career in late 2003.  Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I have never owned an Apple product, but a friend’s Mac SE/30 helped me with my first M.S. and was my main computer for several years, and I had to know Macs inside and out in my previous career.

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s fine to be sad and to mourn the man’s death, and even to celebrate the products he helped bring to market if you enjoy those products, but don’t forget that a lot of the time he was a jerk.

Originally published at Abnormality Locality. You can comment here or there.