Jeff Wexler Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 Prominent British international business newspaper Financial Times today announced that it has selected Apple CEO Steve Jobs as its "Person of the Year" for 2010, marking yet another accolade for the company and its leader that have seen remarkable success over the last decade. A rebuttal of F. Scott Fitzgerald's much-quoted aphorism that there are no second acts in American life does not come more decisively than this. When Steven Paul Jobs first hit the headlines, he was younger even than Mark Zuckerberg is now. Long before it was cool to be a nerd, his formative role in popularising the personal computer, and Apple's initial public offering on Wall Street - which came when Mr Jobs was still only 25 - made him the tech industry's first rock star. Now, three decades on, he has secured his place in the foremost ranks of the West Coast tech titans who have done so much to shape the world around the turn of the millennium As with many profiles of Jobs, the article focuses on Jobs' salesmanship and attention to detail, aspects of his personality that can drive the company to achieve remarkable design standards but also result in him being viewed as a "stern taskmaster" obsessing over the every aspect of Apple's products. The iPad is the culmination of an approach that he has seemingly been perfecting for his entire career. Those who have laboured under him describe him as a stern taskmaster who understands the art of the possible, rather than a long-range visionary. That means pushing relentlessly forward rather than milking old successes – even ones as significant as the iPod. Earlier this month, Jobs was named Marketwatch's CEO of the Decade, mirroring a similar honor bestowed on him by Fortune in late 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Feeley Posted December 24, 2010 Report Share Posted December 24, 2010 CEO of the Decade absolutely makes sense. But Person of the Year? What about Julian Assange, maybe Zuckerberg, or Nick Pittsinger, reportedly the guy who used Paulstretch to turn Justin Bieber's pop tune "U Smile" into a 30-minute ambient masterpiece? It's harder to find now than this summer, but here's a link to an excerpt: 800% Slower Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted December 26, 2010 Report Share Posted December 26, 2010 That is amazing, taking that song and time-stretching it out by 800%. Compare that to the original song on YouTube (starts about 1:30 in): Pretty astonishing to think that they both came from the same source. Hey, at least at 800% slower, the Auto-Tuned vocals don't bother me as much... --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfisk Posted December 26, 2010 Report Share Posted December 26, 2010 Sounds like Sigur Ros. I think there could be way better choices for "person of the year" than Steve Jobs, but I guess it depends on your perspective. I can see if you think long term in terms of what his company has done to advance computing technology and how we communicate, then it's a big deal. CEO of the Decade absolutely makes sense. But Person of the Year? What about Julian Assange, maybe Zuckerberg, or Nick Pittsinger, reportedly the guy who used Paulstretch to turn Justin Bieber's pop tune "U Smile" into a 30-minute ambient masterpiece? It's harder to find now than this summer, but here's a link to an excerpt: 800% Slower Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted December 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2010 Sounds like Sigur Ros. I love Sigur Ros --- just watched the DVD "HEIMA", the long form documentary/music video/movie that they did in 2007. Amazing. - Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfisk Posted December 27, 2010 Report Share Posted December 27, 2010 I love them too. It's the first band I've heard in a long long time that actually makes me feel something. I love Sigur Ros --- just watched the DVD "HEIMA", the long form documentary/music video/movie that they did in 2007. Amazing. - Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Joachim Posted December 27, 2010 Report Share Posted December 27, 2010 F. Scott Fitzgerald's much-quoted aphorism that there are no second acts in American life Was there ever an aphorism that was any less true than this one? The very fabric of America is based on second chances. What great entrepreneur has not had a story about how they survived failure after failure before building their empire? How many actors have seen their careers fade away only to find their way back to popularity? John Travolta anyone? Leslie Nielson? Michael Vick is a candidate for MVP. Just saying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Yeah, I'm waiting to see if Mel Gibson works his way back to winning a Best Actor award. Now that would be a second act. --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfisk Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 He'll probably do a re-boot of Mad Max. Yeah, I'm waiting to see if Mel Gibson works his way back to winning a Best Actor award. Now that would be a second act. --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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