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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  October 31st, 2011 at 04:15 PM  | 

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IMG 0275I read historic biographies. They are the books I like most. I don’t have much time for fiction, so I would at least like to read something well written about someone real who did something historic. John Adams by David McCullough remains one of my favorites. William Pitt by William Hague is another.

I sat down last week on my iPad and began reading, until my hard copy arrived, Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. Wow.

I am am Apple fan. I have, right now in my office, my iMac, iPhone, iPad 2, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Airport Base Station. Throughout the house there are plenty of other Apple gadgets. Growing up, most of my friends were hackers who wanted to rip open a computer, take it apart, and play. I just wanted to use the computer. I wanted a Mac.

My school education happened in Dubai at the Jumeirah American School. Encounters with computers came in the first grade with the Apple II. By fourth grade, all the students in my grade were required to take Logo programming on an Apple IIe. By my ninth grade year I routinely used the Apple IIgs and occasionally got to dabble on a Mac.

Jobs was in exile by then.

This biography gives a historic account of a man who had and will continue to have a profound impact on the world. It is weird to encounter a historic biography about a man only just buried. But it is historic nonetheless.

Jobs was more than a bit of a jerk, but he was also brilliant and able to pull out of people some of their best work. He was on many patents not because he per se invented the product or process, but because he perfected them in a way others could not.

The biography really gets me focusing as well on what I want to do when i grow up — exactly what can I accomplish and how do I accomplish it. The end result is not to be another Steve Jobs, but the best you that you can be. While not all the management tips would be useful, e.g. berating someone until they cry in front of a crowd, many of them are, including going on intuition as much as reasoned thought.

You don’t have to be an Apple fan to appreciate this biography. It is a reasonable and non-technical read about a man who changed all of our lives.

Along the way, and I don’t mean this to be a political point, I kept thinking of other people like Rush Limbaugh. He’s a Jobs fan, i know. But one thing they have in common is a quest for perfection. Jobs and Rush both developed products no one knew they needed and now we can’t live without them. Along the way, they’ve kept refining and perfecting their products.

It really is amazing to see this evolution of genius over time. There’ll never be another Rush Limbaugh. He is why I’d rather guest host his show than have my own national show. You’ll never even have a chance to be number one as long as he is around.

The most impressive thing about Steve Jobs is that not only was he number one while he was around, but he worked very, very hard to ensure his company would stay number one after he left. There’s a valuable lesson there. Jobs had a tough time coming to terms with not being indispensable. But, once he did, he made sure his company would be indispensable to many of us.

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  • wennejunk

    His greatest contributions may yet be in his final words, as relayed by his sister in her eulogy.

    From Fox: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/30/steve-jobs-final-words-revealed-by-biological-sister/?test=faces

    Before embarking, he?d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life?s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them,? she recalled. ?Steve?s final words were, Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.

    One can certainly read into that what they will.

    I will read into it the words of a man passing from this life into the next and expressing wonder at what he sees on the other side.

    He wanted to believe in a God and an afterlife. I think he got his wish.

    Perhaps that small bit of wonderment will help move others towards a belief beyond the here and now.

  • sbm1

    I like my Ipad and all, and the sonos system I have hooked up at home lets me get radio stations from all over the world….but how exactly did he change all of our lives, and I assume you mean for the better (although that assumption may be wrong).

    I listened to music before, actually starting in 1986 on a yellow walkman….I think I prefered the world before people had earbuds in their ears on buses…..I didn’t use to watch movies I brought with me on a train, now I can…with all computers today I can edit movies and such that I didn’t have the machinery, understanding or patience for before.

    But let’s be honest, they are all toys…it is like saying that the Bild newspaper changed all our lives because they basically invented the Barbie doll (well before Mattel stole it)…or that the cabbage patch doll inspired a dance move that got me laughed at by some girls in high school and a mercy kiss by another….

    I have taken to disabling the itnernet at work, and having a seperate computer to access that on, so it is not the default, and we get 30% more work done.

    and the Ipod, by more efficently distributing music, and making it easier to manage what you have….has contributed to the downfall of an industry that used to generate ungodly profits but turn out lots more quality acts than what is happening today.

    He made nice shiny toys…he was a perfectionist, and the first real aesthete in the high tech field…but he didn’t change all of our lives…and if you really think he did, you need to visit the 3rd world more often!

  • leonidas83805

    While I admire Steve Jobs for acheiving the American Dream… something that seems more diffcult every year for those who are born into the corporate-governement aristacracy, I find it disheartening that Apple seems unwilling or unable to make ANY of their great “American” products in America. Unfortunately the ChiPhone, ChiPad and ChiPod are all made in China (look att eh back of the devices) if they wish for Americans to contiinue buying these products they should consider making at least some of them in the U.S. instead of subisidizing our enemies – the Chinese government. Giving aid and comfort to our enemies is not patriotism.

  • notinkansas

    Not only that, but what kind of a man was he? What was his character like? How did he treat other people? No one ever addresses that. It would be nice to know that he was generous and helped others achieve their own greatness by being inspirational and kind but we never hear about that.

  • J. Leg

    Before Steve Jobs came on the scene, the idea of a “personal computer” was a joke, because no one had any idea what they would use them for.

    Steve had the vision to see what we’re doing right now: communicating with each other using them in an interface that’s easy to use, on products that are small enough and accessible enough for the average person to use.

    He didn’t invent it, but I dare say, that had Steve Jobs not been around the concept of “using a computer” would be completely different.

    If that’s not revolutionary or life changing in the day and age we live in, I don’t know what is.

  • tncdel

    See:

    http://www.newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/Steve_Jobs.php

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    And at a competitive price?

  • aesthete

    I must have missed that announcement.

    A *rival* is not an enemy.

  • uhangtight

    he complained to Obama about the last time Jobs met with the O was to tell him how hard it was in the US to start a company. How easy it was to start a company and create jobs in China versus the US due to regulations. He stressed to the O that O’s administration needed to change this. And, now a year later???? Yeah exactly, the O listened to the only guy who really knew about creating jobs in the US, oops wrong again. Jobs created jobs but O has Immelt helping him to figure out how to create jobs. Something tells me O doesn’t really want to create jobs. Something tells me he needs this to accomplish what he intended all along: Class Warfare.

    Class Warfare doesn’t sell unless you have large population of jobless.

  • uhangtight

    China is our enemy. Just because they now have all of our companies making stuff there doesn’t mean they are no longer our enemy. Just because they bought our debt and our descendents will be enslaved to these Chinese Masters before they are born, you think they are not our enemy? No, they are our enemy and they have out smarted us as we are now their slaves until we pay off the debt.

    Communism is the natural born enemy of a Republic. Even if ‘we are their trading partners’, we were just too stupid to see what was coming and allowed our Elected Officials to sell us to the highest bidder.

  • etlib

    Much of this is fundamentally changing the way we interact and do things. There are some fundamental changes in society taking place because of things Steve Jobs did. Perhaps as fundamental as the automobile, airplane, … Just becuse you do without has no more significance than the fact that some people choose to do without cars and never fly.

  • leonidas83805

    China has been conducting information warfare against the US governement our allies and US, EU and Japanese corporations since the late 1990′s

    http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=241:critical-energy-infrastructure-security-and-chinese-cyber-threats&catid=106:energysecuritycontent0510&Itemid=361

    “Some of the more startling issues that have surfaced are:

    Chinese and Russian infiltration of the US electricity grid

    In 2009, the U.S oil companies Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips were the targets of cyber attacks. Data was leaked as a result of cyber espionage, and the perpetrators could have been Chinese hackers.

    In February 2010, the European Union?s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) was the victim of fraudulent cyber attacks. The registries in 13 European countries were forced to close.

    According to a recent survey by McAfee, ?the most victimized sector was oil and gas, where two thirds of executives report distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks?. Twenty-seven percent in the power sector and thirty-one percent in the oil and gas sectors reported being victim of extortion through cyber attacks.”

  • leonidas83805

    Since 2005, chinese cyber attacks against U.S. systems have increased at an alarming rate…

    http://www.carlisle.army.mil/DIME/documents/MilitaryReview_20081231_art009[1].pdf

  • leonidas83805

    http://www.examiner.com/civil-rights-in-jersey-city/china-developing-super-electromagnet-pulse-bomb-to-use-war-against-u-s

    “China is gearing up for war against the United States and their top weapon is a super electromagnetic pulse bomb that can blanket the U.S. and send America back to the dark ages in less than one second.

    Past reports from Chinese military websites and Asian newspapers have outlined a several attacks that China could launch to win a war against the more technologically and militarily advanced United States.”

  • leonidas83805

    http://tech.mit.edu/V129/N11/long3.html

    “The incident took place on Sunday about 75 miles off the coast of Hainan island, just south of the Chinese mainland. The U.S. vessel, the Impeccable, was conducting a surveillance mission that involved towing sonar equipment designed for anti-submarine warfare, Pentagon officials said.

    The Chinese vessels sailed within 25 feet of the U.S. ship, waved flags and ordered the Impeccable to leave, Pentagon officials said. Two of the Chinese ships blocked the Impeccable after it requested safe transit, while Chinese sailors dropped pieces of wood in its path and tried to hook the cables towing the sonar equipment, the officials said.”

    “The surveillance mission, focused on undersea warfare, may be of particular interest to the Chinese military, which has invested heavily in a new fleet of diesel-powered attack submarines. Pentagon officials say that while the diesel variety is not as potent as the Navy?s nuclear fast-attack submarines, the submarines are cheaper and can be purchased in greater numbers, giving the Chinese the potential to overwhelm U.S. defenses at sea.”

    “The incident, less than two months after the inauguration of Obama, immediately drew comparisons to Chinese actions just weeks into the first term of President George W. Bush.

    In April 2001, a Chinese jet-fighter buzzed a Navy surveillance airplane in international airspace over the South China Sea, causing a midair collision that killed the Chinese pilot and resulted in the detention of the 24-member American crew for 11 days after their plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island.

    That episode presented the new Bush administration with its first foreign policy challenge.”

    Neither George W. Bush (who will never be the leader George H.W. Bush was) nor arrack Obama has the courage or leadership to take a hardline stance against China and chose to pander to them instead and sell out the interests of Americans so they and their lobbyist friends could continue Bill Clinton’s Pro-China (Most Favored Nation trading status policies). Clinton, Bush 43 and Obama along with their friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress are the pimps and the interests of the American people prostitued to the johns (China, Saudi Arabia, et al.) for almost 20 years at their own personal financial gain… treason? traitors? Would we have tolerated this conduct from our “leaders” in the 1980′s with Russia, in the 1940′s with Nazi Germany or in 1776 with England?

  • leonidas83805

    “I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” unfortunately there seem to be more “domestic” enemies than “foreign” enemies these days and most these treasonous enemies of the American people are at 1600 Pennsylvannia Avenue, East Capital Street and 1 First St NE in Washington DC. I hope and pray someday the true patriots, our military officers and enlisted who REALLY serve our country and REALLY know what “leadership” is may live up to this oath save us from our domestic enemies, the spineless traitors in Washington most of which have NEVER served our country and do not believe in SERVING our country and only believe in serving THEMSELVES….

    http://oathkeepers.org

  • Menlo

    I would criticize him for that myself, but I do not know if he made the decision to move it to China or if he had any control over it when it was done. As big a corporation as it is, I suspect there would be other managers or business analysts who chose China, and I would be surprised if any one individual had a final say.

    While I don’t think they are a military threat to the US, their culture poses a serious danger to the US that goes beyond macroeconomic numbers (which in China’s case are probably as fake as everything else they put out). It’s very frightening to know that over 80 percent of the APIs for medicines sold in the US are manufactured in China.

    They are certainly a threat to their own people that is highly understated in relation to other countries. Even though we cannot change that, I don’t think Americans should get to profit off of it, especially if they can’t profit off of other nations for such reasons.

  • leonidas83805

    It now seems that our only hope in ever getting “our country back” is if some patriotic Generals or Admirals arrest the Presidental traitors (current and former), Congressional traitors (current and former) , Judicial traitors, and lobbysit traitors in Washington DC, restore the Constitutonal Democracy of government y the People and for the People and then try them for teason and give them their “just reward” for what they have done. The RNC and DNC have already taken the steps necessary with electronic voting in which there are no paper trails to prove who voted for who, to use the Secretaries of State and local elections officials to manipulate elections database to maintain the status quo for themselves and they WILL NOT allow ANY election against incumbants to jeopardize their hold on power. I have voted my whole life since I turned 18 however now that I have seen the light that all the elections are rigged by the various parties whoever is the County Clerk or State Secretary of State who really DECIDE the elections NOT us I will no longer be wating my time participating in this fraud. If one is concerned about election fraud one should investigate Diebold, the County Clerks and the State Secretarys thats where the real fraud is. with no paper ballots it now almost impossible to prove fraud by the electioneers who work for the DNC and RNC politbureaus.

  • leonidas83805

    The current government is the enemy of the People end elections are an exercise of futility voting new crooks in to replace the crooks we voted out who serve the same masters… the DNC and the RNC and the lobbysists who are THEIR masters which they faithfully serve once elected not their “constituents”. Has a Congressman ever returned your call unless you have the wherewithall contribute (bribe) at least $10,000 or run hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ads against their opponents for them they could care less about your “concerns”.

    Americans who want to restore and protect our democracy from the tryannical corrupt government should follow the Constitution, become part of a “well-regulated militia” and have at least one rifle on hand while they still can… BTW Herman Cain said the 2nd Amendent was a “States rights” issue????

    “For example, in an interview with CNN?s Wolf Blitzer earlier this year, Cain expressed strong support for gun rights: ?I support, strongly support, the Second Amendment. I don?t support onerous legislation that?s going to restrict people?s rights in order to be able to protect themselves as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.?

    But in answer to a follow-up question asking whether states or local governments should be allowed to impose gun control restrictions, Cain said, ?Yes. The answer is yes, that should be a state?s decision.?

    http://gunowners.org/a09302011.htm

    “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

    My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will…

    My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit…

    My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will…

    Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.

    So be it, until victory is America’s and there is no enemy, but peace!”

  • leonidas83805

    “In April 2001, a Chinese jet-fighter buzzed a Navy surveillance airplane in international airspace over the South China Sea, causing a midair collision that killed the Chinese pilot and resulted in the detention of the 24-member American crew for 11 days after their plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island.”

    Reagan would have NEVER tolerated this aggression against the US now would have Bush 41 and doubt they would have allowed US companies to give aid and comfort to our enemies either (do we trade with Cuba? what have they done against the US in the last 10-20 years as compared with China?). Starting with Clinton, then Bush 43 then Obama, the Chinese smell blood in the water – the weakness of these “leaders” who lack the spine to defend the United States “from all enemies” as stated in their “oath”. One of the things I liked about Trump was that he seemed to have to courage to take China… he talked the talk we will never know if we had the cajones to walk the walk (unlike the current and last two Presidents).

  • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

    .

  • sbm1

    They are one of the main manufacturers of Apple Products. They are a Taiwanese company, but most of their large scale production facilities are in China. So the products are made in China, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of people making these goods in China, but the largest company is definitely not chinese owned.

    America hasn’t had any expertise in manufacturing electronics in at least 30 years, or when is the last time you saw a Magnavox or Zenith television? The Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese have been the main players in Consumer Electronics. Apple is the first meaningful American name brand in non computer consumer electronics in decades.

    And if you look at the profitibality of Apple vs. Foxconn vs the Chinese salary, you see the much mor sensible business decision was to have a scalable production model that is not in your own hands….

    Remember an Ipod is only mass consumable because it costs under $500, same with a Iphone or an Ipad….if it were actually made in a country with wages of more than $8,000 a year, it would either be in a price range that it wouldn’t be a mass market item, or it would be made through automation.

    Germany has maintained a good manufacturing base, and it has done so by dropping anything resembling low cost manufacturing decades ago…first to Italy, then to Eastern Europe and Turkey, then to Asia…they know there is no money to be made in that stuff, adn they do manufacturing that makes sense…top of the line automobiles (where more than half of the parts are manufactured outside of Germany by a whole range of OEM’S (Bosch is the largest and most well known)), very specialized machine building and the like.

    So don’t pine for an Ipod factory in Ohio…..

  • leonidas83805

    Just more evidence them them Dems whore us out to forign interests and multinational corporations just as much as the RNC. Franksly I dont see the light of difference between them in their actions on in their rhetoric. Clinton = Bush = Obama all screwed the miiddle class and shipped jobs to Mexico, China and now Panama, Columia and South Korea all are traitors and should be tried and convicted for treason along with their traitor “friends” in Congress and the Supreme Court who have whore us out to the lobbyists who bribe them with millions of dollars. I find it amusing while the rest of the economy has suffered and we are at 18% ACTUAL unemployement (not counting the underemployed like myself) the only groawth sector is the lobbysists and political advertiasing and the personal wealth of the pigs in the white House, Congress and the Supreme Court. Because the have gottem kickbacks from the mulitnational corporations the ship our jobs to Mumbia and Manila or doled out in H1B visas to political allies in our crony capitalist system controlled by the treasous governement to people whose “Socialist” governments paid for their college educations and dont have to take out student loans and we have to compete with them is not “Fair Trade” in the labor markets its not a bad if one has millions and dollars in the bank in spending $100,000 to $200,000 so their kid can get a good education (Masters plus to survie in the “new” economy) is no big deal but if you have to take out loans for $200,000 so your kid can go compete with someone on an H1B visa that got their education for free is not how America should work the Germans are not this idiotic they actual value their citizens and put their citizens first we should be about putting Americans frst then IF unemployed is under 5% or 6% or whatever number is acceptable grant H1B visas and work permits as needed to the extent it does not harm the people who are already citizens. I have no issues with immigration itself – our country was built on sensiible immigration. Almost all of us (exept Native Americans) are from immigrants and its part of what makes us great but not this way. NO MORE INCUMBENTS make them UNEMPLOYED take away their healthcare, their pensions and their enefits we pay for then pass laws barring ANY of them from LOYING ever better yet illegalize lobbying. People used to despise lawyers and joke that 100 laywers at the bottom of the ocean is a good start. While I have no love for blood-sucking attorneys while are frequantly also scumbag politicians I would suggest that a 100 lobbyists at the bottom of the ocean are a start if they take they current scumbags in the White House, Congress and Supreme Court with them all the better.

  • leonidas83805

    While US moves toward fascism and a totalitarian dictatorship starting with Bush 43 and contnuing with Obama restriicting First Ammendment and Second Amendment rights every chance they get I give resepect to Erik Erickson and Red State for allowing dissent against the tyrants in Washington who seek to enslave us once they end the 2nd Amendment as a prelude to ending the 1st Amendment as we more toward the New World Order under UN control with fake elections in a psuedo Democracy like the other banana republics status quo in Washington seeks to turn us into so they can personally profit in increased wealth and power from our enslavement I only hope and pray organizations like OathKeepers are strong enough to help defend us defend ourselves from the tyranny coming. Semper Fidelis.

  • jrmax13

    attacks of 9-11 singlehandedly changed our society in a way that we are just beginning to realize. I suppose by necessity the Federal/State/Local authorities were given wide-ranging powers directly after the attacks. I worry about the slippery slope of losing our Freedom Of Speech. If you have been in the military — thank you for your service to our country.

  • gekster

    Ingredients: For the Meatballs:

    1 1/2 lbs 93% lean ground beef
    1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
    1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
    1/2 tsp pepper
    1 tsp oregano
    1/2 tsp onion powder
    1/2 tsp garlic powder
    1/4 cup fresh parsley
    1/4 cup dry white wine

    For the Soup:

    1 onion, finely diced
    2 tbsp cooking oil
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 cup dry white wine
    3- 32 oz cans fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
    4 quarts water
    1 inch cheese rind (such as Parmigiano Reggiano)
    2 cups fresh baby spinach
    6 oz pastina, or other small pasta
    Juice of a lemon

    first
    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the meatball ingredients and mix well.

    second
    Form the meat mixture into a ? inch size meatballs and place on a sheet pan. Cook in the oven for 12 minutes. Set aside.

    third
    Meanwhile, in a large soup pan, add the onion, oil and salt. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the onions have softened. Add the wine and reduce for 2 minutes.

    forth
    Add the chicken broth, water, and cheese rind and cook at a slow boil for about an hour.

    fifth
    Add in the meatballs, spinach, pastina and lemon juice. Serve when the pastina is cooked through.

  • jrmax13

    Those are some thought-provoking sentences. I do have a suggestion about the style of it though. Try breaking it up into smaller paragraphs. For the older folks like me — having it all in one big “block” strains the eyes. I particularly agree with your idea that far too many of our jobs have been shipped overseas.

  • jrmax13

    Up late are we? Some of that Saturday Night Sinner? Now you know you have to be spit-polished shined with some of that thar slickem, smellem stuff on by 0830 sharp! You know how you and Xas always tease about my crystal ball? Well, my advice to you after taking another gander is as follows: Wear thick leather gloves to church and keep them on when handling the reptiles.

  • gekster

    ingrediants
    1 lb fresh asparagus
    Non-Stick Cooking Spray
    ? tsp salt
    freshly ground black pepper to taste
    2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs such as basil,
    parsley or sorrel
    ? fresh lemon

    1. Preheat oven to 400?F.
    2. Clean asparagus by snapping the stems (simply bend the spear and allow it to break naturally)
    3. Place asparagus on a sheet tray and lightly coat with the spray.
    4. Roast in the oven until just tender, 4 to 8 minutes. The exact time will vary depending on thickness of the asparagus.
    5. Season with salt and pepper. Top with herbs and squeeze lemon over the asparagus.
    6. This tastes great warm, cold or at room temperature.

  • nathanalbright

    Relying on coups to preserve “our country” is a horrible strategy. It would be admitting that our republic was a failure, and would place in power authoritarians who would have no qualms about killing and imprisoning tens of thousands of opponents without any fear of repercussions. It would be like Pinochet in Chile in the 1970′s. We can do a lot better than that. If ballots do not succeed and we have to resort to bullets, our republic has failed and we are in a lot more trouble than just the current tenant in the White House.

  • nathanalbright

    n/t