[DrJokepu]

How? I mean, could you elaborate that idea please? I don't see how Mr. Jobs being unpopular in some circles would imply that Mr. Gates became popular.

[jbooth]

Everyone loves character arcs and comeback stories.

Creating new villains means there's room for the old villain to be rehabilitated. Even if neither of them have changed a lot as people over the last 10 years, the media perception becomes the reality.

[pedalpete]

I agree with you Doc, this isn't a zero sum game.

However, as Jobs is so closely tied to the recent success of Apple, and Gates is still seen as Microsoft even though he hasn't been an employee for many years.

[mtts]

He's still an employee, but he's no longer the CEO.

[Keyframe]

Bill Gates = { it celebrity, celebrity, rich, geek god, arch rivalry 'Mac vs PC', extreme public philanthropy, ...}

Steve Jobs = { it celebrity, celebrity, rich, geek god, arch rivalry 'Mac vs PC', ...}

Intersection = Bill Gates ∩ Steve Jobs = { it celebrity, celebrity, rich, geek god, arch rivalry 'Mac vs PC' }

Difference = { extreme public philanthropy }

So this difference goes hand in hand with arch rivalry 'Mac vs PC'. aka 'My penis is bigger than yours' to everyone but the subjects themselves.

[rbanffy]

For some extremely narrow definitions of "geek god", that is...