Can you explain what Steve Jobs' legacy is other creating a bunch of must have gadgets?

[M J]

I friend of mine is against all the hype saying books are far more important and all Apple did were create nice aesthetically pleasing things that people wanted and did not change a generation. The cultural changes were mainly done by sites such as Facebook and Twitter etc.

Please help me win this argument !

[Kristina]

How about, that thanks to the 'aesthetically pleasing things' about 60% of people find their work easier, leading to higher productivity and better results. That in turn, positively benefits their lives and other. Steve Jobs has been able to provide work for thousands. Designers, manufacturers, sellers and countless others. That man enabled our lives in more ways than one. And next time he starts on the whole book thing, bring ebooks into it, lol, what could he say to that?

[mrcead]

Please read to the end...

I think having an argument like that is silly to begin with. Steve Jobs' legacy need not be defended by someone who never knew him personally.

With that said, All he did was bring computing down to the common person's level. That is a massive achievement however, when the average person 10 years ago refused to learn about computers because it was so overwhelming to the non techie which is the majority of the people on the planet. Jobs essentially child proofed computers so that people couldn't hurt themselves with them. Technology is a powerful thing and much like cars, a driver doesn't really need to know how it works in order to use one to live - and that is really true.

While I can't stand Apple products nor their fan-boyish users because they are restrictive to a techie like myself and are insulting to say the least - I fully respect Steve Jobs because he made everyone else a soft techie which is better than a non techie as these soft techies are now pro technology - and he did it in 10 years! He made the world more receptive to computers being integrated in our daily lives and forced the competition to step up it's game. FB and Twitter are only popular because the cool people who typically make everything popular use macs - since they can't use a PC because they are not savvy enough to sort PC problems - no offense.

So you can use that as a point and you will most likely win that argument because no single person has accomplished that task in that short amount of time. SJ and Apple made the entire world love computers with a silly device called the ipod. I just don't like that he double charges for it.

[melodiccow439]

It isn't the gadgets that are his legacy, except in the short run. The Apple computer was the first that was within most people's price range. It wasn't meant for the average person however- you had to be a techie. Look at the photo of what you got for $666.00. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_...t_1976.jpg

You had to buy all the rest of the parts yourself; however, it started the revolution. The next revolution (using a different software system altogether) was the Radio Shack TRS80 1. It was the first to come all put together with a keyboard and monitor and power supply, so all you had to do was take it out of the box to begin using it.

But that would not have happened if not for the Apple. Things would have gone someone else's direction, maybe Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Altair (the first to use Microsoft 4 years before the Apple came out, although Windows would come later), Radio Shack, only 1 year behind Apple in production and marketing, using a user-friendly Z-80 chip, or Commodore.

So it was also the marketing schemes had to be working, become some good computers didn't sell and went under. The Apple was sold with a high profile so it would be noticed--and it was. And so I think, in spite of the gadgets, in spite of being 'the first' to succeed, it was his ability to bring technology's price down to the level of the average buyer.

[yeno89]

I wouldn't agree on "must have"
Steve (rest in peace) was, just like Gates, better in commerce and business rather then science and technology. Many of his gadgets are just borrowed technologies and patents mixed together in a shiny plastic box.
Well now, these boxes, some of you might say they revolutionized their lives, I just think you could have found them better and cheaper with other names. Really now, the Apple's prices are sometimes ridiculous high.
And mind this: is not that I cannot afford them, is just that I'd feel stupid to pay more for the same or less quality... besides, the technology changes and after 1-2 years they're obsolete anyway.