4 ms·

I see people write this all the time, and it makes me sick. Bill Gates decided he made enough money at Microsoft and wanted to pursue other things. That's fant

I see people write this all the time, and it makes me sick. Bill Gates decided he made enough money at Microsoft and wanted to pursue other things. That's fantastic, for him and millions of others. Steve Jobs has decided to do what he loves until he can't any more. That's also fantastic, for him and for millions of others. They're both making positive changes for lots and lots of people. Who are you, or anyone else, to criticize that? I don't see why these two need to be directly compared this way, as if Gates is finally showing his soft side means Jobs should too.

whyenot 16y ago
Steve Jobs releasing some new shiny thing that makes the lives of some very affluent people (on the global scale for wealth) magrinally better, doesn't compare, is not even in the same ball park, as ensuring that hundreds of thousands of people don't go blind in central Africa. That is my belief, and of course I understand that not everyone else shares it.
- johnthedebs 16y ago
  I can appreciate that point of view, though I don't totally agree. The problem I have is that they're no longer doing the same thing - it's like comparing Bill Gates to Donald Trump. It might have made sense to compare Bill and Steve while they were working in the same field, but why bother any more?
- uid0 16y ago
  > Steve Jobs releasing some new shiny thing that makes the lives of some very affluent people (on the global scale for wealth) magrinally better, doesn't compare [...] Aren't all people equal?
  - jbm 16y ago
    My moral compass has always been tilted towards meeting the needs of people before their wants. That said, I have read some awful things about the Bill Gates foundation so I'm a bit wary of taking his side.
- beambot 16y ago
  I actually believe that the iPhone will have a _huge_ (indirect) impact on subsaharan Africa, in a manner similar to traditional cellular technology. Principally, the iPhone seems to have hastened the development of low-cost hand-held medical diagnostic equipment, including digital stethoscopes, portable ultrasound, eye examination, remote disease diagnosis, etc Sometimes it takes a revolutionary product targeting affluent individuals to help drive innovation for everyone else.

whyenot 16y ago

Steve Jobs releasing some new shiny thing that makes the lives of some very affluent people (on the global scale for wealth) magrinally better, doesn't compare, is not even in the same ball park, as ensuring that hundreds of thousands of people don't go blind in central Africa. That is my belief, and of course I understand that not everyone else shares it.

johnthedebs 16y ago
I can appreciate that point of view, though I don't totally agree. The problem I have is that they're no longer doing the same thing - it's like comparing Bill Gates to Donald Trump. It might have made sense to compare Bill and Steve while they were working in the same field, but why bother any more?
uid0 16y ago
> Steve Jobs releasing some new shiny thing that makes the lives of some very affluent people (on the global scale for wealth) magrinally better, doesn't compare [...] Aren't all people equal?
- jbm 16y ago
  My moral compass has always been tilted towards meeting the needs of people before their wants. That said, I have read some awful things about the Bill Gates foundation so I'm a bit wary of taking his side.
beambot 16y ago
I actually believe that the iPhone will have a _huge_ (indirect) impact on subsaharan Africa, in a manner similar to traditional cellular technology. Principally, the iPhone seems to have hastened the development of low-cost hand-held medical diagnostic equipment, including digital stethoscopes, portable ultrasound, eye examination, remote disease diagnosis, etc Sometimes it takes a revolutionary product targeting affluent individuals to help drive innovation for everyone else.