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Steve Jobs' Missing License Plate

An anonymous reader writes "One of the famous stories about Steve Jobs is that he used to drive around in a Mercedez Benz sports car with no license plates, and that he would sometimes park in Handicapped spots on Apple's Cupertino campus. Jon Callas, who used to work on OS security at Apple, explains how Jobs was able to do this legally."

10 of 579 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Legal loopholes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple may have a penchant for absurd lawsuits against other companies, but it's never sued any customer who jailbroke their phone. Nor anyone who installed OSX on a hackintosh, for that matter.

  2. Re:Some should of keyed that car in the handicap s by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to the article, people did key his car for that

  3. Re:What does "flaunt law" mean? by Enry · · Score: 3, Informative

    He had cancer for 20 years?

  4. Re:"Someone like Jobs"? by EvanED · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you RTFA you'd know that he's done it since the early 80s.

  5. Re:Legal loopholes by amliebsch · · Score: 4, Informative
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    If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  6. Re:"Someone like Jobs"? by schwit1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's not just private companies required to have gimp spots. I own a condo in Falls Church Virginia, aka The People's Republic of Falls Church. A few years back our HOA was told that a repaving permit for our parking lot would not be granted unless we added a couple of handicapped spots. We had to take the 3 closest spots to the condos and make them into 2 handicapped spots. We lost our visitor spots and we had some seriously pissed off owners who wanted to take the city to court on 5th amendment grounds. BTW, the gimp spots are used maybe once a month.

  7. confirmation bias by spottedkangaroo · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have to admit, I thought he was an asshole before I read that...

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    Imagine if you weren't allowed to use roads because a bus company complained about your driving 3 times. --skunkpussy
  8. Re:We need a lot less handicapped spots... by phantomlord · · Score: 5, Informative

    My dad had a brain aneurysm and stroke, leaving his left side almost entirely paralyzed, and I'm his primary caretaker. You'll see my pickup (not a big work truck, but it could just as easily be - not everyone can afford multiple vehicles) parked in those handicapped spots. Frankly we need a few feet between cars to make room for his wheelchair even without a lift (I keep it in the bed of the truck and lift it in and out myself). We've been stuck in parking lots without handicap spaces, where I have to stop where people drive through, get him out of the truck, move him over to the side, pull into a tight parking space and then go fetch him, reversing the process to get back out. While doing that, he's also had one impatient person sideswipe him in his wheelchair because they just couldn't bear to wait the couple minutes that it takes to complete the process.

    You may also see me parked in the handicapped space, get out of the truck all by myself and walk in somewhere. I never abuse the sticker, in that case, my dad is already inside and I parked there for when I bring him back out. Same thing if you see me walking to my truck by myself, chances are I was either dropping him off or I had to run back to my truck to get some paperwork we forgot or something.

    My sister has brain problems too... looks perfectly normal but goes into seizures randomly throughout the day. She has a sticker because a parking lot is a dangerous place to fall and seize in (see my dad getting hit in the wheelchair). No, she can't drive. Don't be so quick to judge people when you don't know their circumstances. Yes, there are plenty of people that abuse them (and yes, they are very easy to get), but there are a lot of legitimate people that do need those spots even if you can't tell from watching them for the 30-60 seconds it takes for them to walk inside.

    --
    Don't leave your mind so open that your brain falls out. Don't close it so much that you cut off the blood.
  9. Re:"Someone like Jobs"? by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually you can't really judge by how they look. I use those spots all the time when I drive my mom and at first glance it would look like she is just fine, but if anyone followed her they would notice she goes straight to the carts which she then uses almost like a walker. she had a bad flu two years ago that ended up causing blood clots that killed portions of her lung so she needs the extra assistance of the cart and if she had to walk any real distance to get TO the cart she'd probably face plant. also long walks put too much strain on her and she'll be so winded you'd think she had been running a race, not walking through a parking lot. Now if there isn't a handicapped spot I'll let her out right in front of the door and then go find a parking spot and meet her inside, large lots are just too much for her.

    So don't judge a book by its cover friend, there are plenty of diseases like heart and lung that don't make you look crippled on the outside but can cause serious enough problems that those parking spots are required for safety reasons.

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    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  10. Re:We need a lot less handicapped spots... by phantomlord · · Score: 5, Informative

    Say I dropped my dad off at physical therapy... I'll pull into a handicapped spot, take him out of the truck, and wheel him into the building. He's in there for an hour, so maybe I go run a few errands and then come back to pick him up, again parking in a handicap space when I get back. In both incidents, I used the handicap space for unloading or loading a handicapped patient during that parking time - something that definitely isn't abuse. I almost never drop him curbside since he needs me to get wherever anyway (he's too dangerous with left-field neglect (doesn't see the left side of his field of vision) for a powered chair in public, though he has a scooter for around out yard). My complaint was having to park in the part of the parking lot you drive through to transfer him because the non-handicap spaces are too narrow for the wheelchair then having to leave him while I finish parking in a proper space.

    One thing that DOES really irk the hell out of me... is when people park in a handicapped space an the handicapped person stays in the car while an able-bodied person runs into a store or whatever. THAT is abusing the sticker unless the disabled person is going to come into the store themselves at some point (maybe they were finishing eating because they have to be careful how they swallow, maybe they had to deal with a colostomy/incontinence issue or something, maybe they need to adjust their brace(s), etc).

    I'm also not sure where all these open handicapped spots are that people complain about. It can often be difficult to find spots in the place where you need them the most - namely hospitals (40 or so total in a 6 floor parking garage at our main local hospital) and small doctors offices (3 at his primary care doctor, 2 at his podiatrist, etc). Even the Walmarts, malls, home improvement stores, etc here are often full. Then again, according to the census, 38% of the regional population is considered "disabled," which I just find to be insane (census currently provides an (X) but last time I checked and the data was available, it was 38 or 39, which I only remember because it floored me then).

    --
    Don't leave your mind so open that your brain falls out. Don't close it so much that you cut off the blood.