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points by bluedino 1 day ago | 0 comments
Similarly, "Steve Jobs invented the ____"
[–] ahartmetz 1 day ago
For most of these, invention wasn't even the right word. An invention is usually a new technology that solves a pre-existing problem. Most of Steve Jobs' "inventions" were just product development.

I'm sort of OK with calling the iPhone an invention because it was a big improvement in several areas at the same time, but apart from that?

[–] Lerc 9 hours ago
Job's contribution was having the vision to let the engineers make the things they felt they could make if given the support.

That's why iPhone clones turned up almost immediately. Management said to their devs, ok now Apple has done it, you can make that thing you've been wanting to make for ages. The capability was there, what was missing was the belief that something better was possible and needed.

[–] shepherdjerred 1 day ago
I think the iPod is also fair to attribute to him.

My understanding is that he often came up with ideas for products and 'forced' engineers to find a way to make it possible. He wasn't very technical, but in a way that was a strength.

[–] ahartmetz 21 hours ago
IMO, the iPod wasn't that much better than other MP3 players.
[–] bigstrat2003 1 day ago
I've never understood why people give Jobs so much credit. He didn't make anything. He was a salesman. Now, as a salesman, he was phenomenal, one of the best in history. But without the engineers who actually made things, he would've been nothing.
[–] satvikpendem 1 day ago
The engineers wouldn't have made world changing products without his guidance. There are many books about this, even by the employees themselves such as Creative Selection and Insanely Simple, which talk about how Jobs' product vision simplified much of the UI and UX and therefore product for regular users when engineers instead wanted to add more features and complexify the product. Steve was not just a salesman handed a product and asked to sell it.
[–] homarp 23 hours ago
Steve Jobs said no. No to 'stupid' ideas and no to 'cannot be done'. That leads to some products being bad (eg mac cube) and other to be interesting to build on (iphone with no app SDK).