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Comment by soperj | Hacker News Reader

>One might think Steve Jobs was an arrogant, perfectionist prick

That's because he was, regardless of this story.

> The mythology of him mostly comes from individuals that didn't survive around him. The people who got close knew the rules, knew how to work with him, knew his core desires and what he was trying to achieve. They never really had problems with it.

From the article

Probably because he was, first and foremost, a user.

And users are fucking sick of the shit most companies and devs have been pulling since forever and we would treat them the same were we in a position of power.

And the fact that he was like that + attention deficit made Apple products the fastest and smoothest. Look how laggy flagship Android phones still are, compared to even obsolete iPhone... Fireworks exploding next to you is a tragedy but from miles away it's only beautiful.

The two statements can live in unison you know; you can be a prick AND be at the helm of a company that makes products.

But be aware that you don't have to be a prick to make great products; that's cargo cult thinking.

And just because his company makes/made great products does not excuse his behaviour. The two are separate statements.

You haven't used the right flagship Android phones the last few years. Android on a recent Sony flagship feels smoother than iOS on an iPhone X to me.

Your comment is unsubstantiated, but okay. It is extremely unpopular on HN to like Steve Jobs for some reason. The way reputation works is that if you're extremely rude to 100 people but are helpful for millions, people will still remember you as an asshole. People only see the mistakes, not the overwhelming successes, and that is an empirical fact, turned proverb at this point...

Also see Tall Poppies

There’s this thing, or entity, that seemingly everyone is talking about. If I can point out even one contrary thing about it, I win. (or feel like I have)

There's a whole book that substantiates this. Commissioned by Jobs himself no less.

If you’re a dick, it doesn’t matter how successful you are, you’re still a dick.

It's perfectly acceptable to both like a company's products and dislike the person at the helm.

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