Steve Jobs Bill Gates – A comparitive study

Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

It is a sad day indeed. Lets get some things straight first. I am not an Apple devotee…and I am far from being a fanboi. But I do respect the man because he showed me the fundamentals, which were embodied in the Apple IIe that my dad bought for me in 1984. That computer changed my life, made me what I am today…and it is thanks to this man, Steve Jobs.

Rest in peace Mr Jobs. Thanks for everything

Think different: be a rebel

I have been accused of being many things: an uncompromising SOB, a person who wants to do things his own way, someone too frank and outspoken. At first I thought it was just me. Truth be told, I would rather have it out in the open than carry hidden agendas. In short, I do not beat around the bush and so I may seem like I am too much of an “in your face” kind of person. Well, I would hardly consider that a virtue…until I came across this passage above

Now, before all you guys accuse me of being an Apple fanboi or zealot…I am not. I do not own a Macbook, Mac Pro or even an iPhone. My wife has an iPad that I play with occasionally but that is about it. I have always been a PC guy with a strong interest in Linux and open-source. But i do give credit where it is true. It does not mean that I hate Steve Jobs. On the contrary, I admire him. I have got nothing against Steve Jobs…its his fan club that I cannot stand

Anyway, the passage above resonated with me. I have been a rebel and I acknowledge that. I am not the easiest of people to work with but I am to the point and I hate back stabbing. If I do not like what you propose, I will tell you straight-off. But I also believe in thinking out of the box…going against the grain…doing what no one else would do. And so, I conform to the kind of person that the Apple message above is referring to.

Read it…and be inspired. I know I was.

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple

Way back in 1984, my dad bought be an Apple IIe computer, along with a Super 5 drive and a monitor. He wanted us to be competent on the computer. I knew the company, Apple, then. Everyone knew. What I did not know about was its enigmatic founder, Steve Jobs. But as I grew up, I got to know more about Steve Jobs, how he was booted out of Apple in the 80s, founded NeXT, bought Pixar, and re-joined Apple in the late 1990s. He turned Apple around…I respect him for that, even though by that time I was a fervent user of anything but Apple. He made a Apple a force to be reckoned with, with the itroduction of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. He re-designed the notebook computer and PC, doing it his way. The thing is, a couple of years ago, he went for an organ transplant. His health was not good and he became very thin.

In any case, today I heard the news that Steve Jobs had resigned. It is not known if he resigned because of ill-health. He keeps his life very, very private. He did say though, in a letter he penned:

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”

Yes it has. Tim Cook, the COO of Apple, has been made CEO. Steve Jobs was immediately pulled into the board of Apple as Chairman. Lets see how this unfolds over the next few days or even weeks.