[matt4077]

I think a discussion on Steve Jobs' morality is among the least productive uses of this excellent essay.

Yet I'll add that people are complicated. In terms of his accomplishments, it is undeniable that Jobs was a force for good. As for his motives and methods, I have no trouble believing that Jobs (and the vast majority at Apple) used the image of counterculture in good faith, even while they changed it into a sort of hollowed-out version streamlined for capitalism.

Yet there are some positive strains of this myth Apple created that have an impact on them until today: the willingness to focus on small segments of the market or to quickly abandon legacy technology come to mind. Their affinity to the arts and humanities is also still palpable, and certain political decisions, such as their willingness to invest in clean technology or to support the LGBTQ community also seem to be rooted in spirit of the revolutions in the 60s.

[emacsgifs]

> I have no trouble believing that Jobs (and the vast majority at Apple) used the image of counterculture in good faith, even while they changed it into a sort of hollowed-out version streamlined for capitalism.

This is exactly as I understand it too... Except this being a fairly good example of what counterculture circles generally call, a complete sell out.

It's complicated of course, how else does one stay relevant long term without also being extremely wealthy / i.e. the ability to broadcast a message to many many nodes? Put another way. Money talks.