[TheOtherHobbes]

That seems like a very balanced way to put it.

I don't think he was evil. So far as we know he didn't run underage sex trafficking rings, or flood US cities with crack.

I think he was complicated and damaged and did some evil things to people close to him. But he also had some exceptional talents, and he facilitated a lot of developments that probably wouldn't have happened without him.

Those don't necessarily cancel out, but it's reasonable to wonder where tech would have gone if he was still alive.

[rbanffy]

I wish he had a happier, more peaceful life, even if at the cost of having a phone with buttons or having to use a Thinkpad.

[yoasif_]

He used a Thinkpad: http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2209

[rbanffy]

When he came from NeXT, yes. He switched to Powerbooks as soon as he deemed them passable.