(Source: hbr.org)
I finally finished reading the bio of Steve Jobs last night by Walter Isaacson, and two things in particular struck me:
1) Jobs was a Psychopath — I’d heard about his legendary rants, but it struck me how often he could be utterly cruel to those around him. To no real end. Jobs knew he was being cruel, but either couldn’t help himself or didn’t care to stop himself.
While he achieved great things, and channeled this personality disorder to ultimate good — he hurt a lot of people in the process and was a real a**hole to be around.
2) Open vs. Closed Systems — Apple saw itself as the champion of the closed computing system. Take the iPhone with it’s a non-removable shell, tightly integrated hardware and software that can only sync to iTunes. Then compare this to the messy but open Android phones. Which is a better system for the long-term?
While not a direct answer — my dear old dad had a good analogy… the closed system blazes the trail and innovates and the open system can then follow-up and popularize the new ideas.
Witness the Apple II, then the PC; the iPhone, then Android. From this vantage point, the two are symbiotic — both necessary to technological progress. [thanks dad!]
Ultimately, I found Steve Jobs to be a deeply flawed genius. He created a great company — that I only hope can stand the test of time. But he sure pissed a lot of people off to do it.
Southern Sky Column In the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China.
Incredible.
— The American Crisis, Thomas Paine
A colleague referenced Paine the other day and I recalled this great line. Simple prose to inspire men to great deeds.
(Source: Wikipedia)
And beware of “foreign” entanglements… or was that Washington?
(Source: potusquotes)
Nerd love.Death Star She Wolf - A little late for Star Wars Day, but I wanted to do this color version based on an old con sketch.