Ashton Kutcher To Play Steve Jobs In Upcoming Film

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Ashton Kutcher To Play Steve Jobs In Upcoming Film

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday April 1, 2012 @06:28PM from the am-I-being-punked? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Variety is reporting that Ashton Kutcher – who you likely recognize from That 70s Show, Punked, and Two and a Half Men – has been tapped to play Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in an indie film titled 'Jobs', based on a script from Matt Whiteley. The film will chronicle Steve Jobs from wayward hippie to co-founder of Apple, where he became one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of our time."

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demi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:31 · Score: 0, Offtopic

The idiot. I would've stayed with Demi. WAY hotter than most chicks her age.
1. Re:demi by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2012-04-01 18:37 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  BURN!
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
2. Re:demi by symbolset · 2012-04-01 19:11 · Score: 1
  
  Drama queen shoulda stuck with Bruce.
  
  --
  Help stamp out iliturcy.
3. Re:demi by gmhowell · 2012-04-01 19:25 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The idiot. I would've stayed with Demi. WAY hotter than most chicks her age.
  But nowhere near as hot as the younger chicks Kutcher is capable of getting.
  
  --
  Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
4. Re:demi by crutchy · 2012-04-01 22:50 · Score: 0
  
  is capable of getting
  becomes "dreams of getting"
  
  there... ftfy
5. Re:demi by paiute · 2012-04-01 23:31 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  The idiot. I would've stayed with Demi. WAY hotter than most chicks her age.
  Most chicks her age are dead.
  
  --
  If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
6. Re:demi by PopeRatzo · 2012-04-02 00:11 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Most chicks her age are dead.
  Will somebody please mod this funny?
  My wife had to walk over to my office to find out why I was laughing like an idiot (she was not nearly as amused for some reason).
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
7. Re:demi by Jafafa+Hots · 2012-04-02 00:31 · Score: 0
  
  He's a right-wing nutjob.
  
  --
  This space available.
8. Re:demi by Nidi62 · 2012-04-02 01:00 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  My wife had to walk over to my office to find out why I was laughing like an idiot (she was not nearly as amused for some reason).
  Enjoy the couch tonight, buddy.
  
  --
  The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
9. Re:demi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:18 · Score: 0
  
  *nods in agreement*
10. Re:demi by Yvan256 · 2012-04-02 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  More than BURN, dude! Where's the Stupid Helmet?
11. Re:demi by Tsingi · 2012-04-04 00:38 · Score: 1
  
  My wife had to walk over to my office to find out why I was laughing like an idiot (she was not nearly as amused for some reason).
  Way to roll, now THAT is funny.
First by neo00 · 2012-04-01 18:31 · Score: 5, Funny

of April?
1. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:34 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, ~yawn~
2. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 19:06 · Score: 0
  
  Posted by samzenpus on Monday April 02, @06:28AM
  
  Surely even taking the timezone into account this was posted after mid-day on April 1st, thereby making the fool the person that posted it. That might be wrong, but it's too damn early here to figure out what time it actually was.
  At least it's not fucking pink ponies again.
3. Re:First by rhook · 2012-04-01 19:52 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Posted by samzenpus on Sunday April 01, @23:28
4. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:29 · Score: 0
  
  Editors are getting lazy... takes 26 hours to get the story submitted!
5. Re:First by mjwx · 2012-04-01 20:38 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  of April?
  This may be true...
  
  It's the 2nd of April here in Oz and it's been reported on ABC news
  
  I dont think that even Ashton Kutcher is a big enough douchebag to do proper homage to Jobs.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
6. Re:First by master5o1 · 2012-04-01 21:54 · Score: 1
  
  Not all countries seem to have that pre-midday rule. US being one that doesn't. (According to wikipedia).
  
  --
  signature is pants
7. Re:First by Patchw0rk+F0g · 2012-04-01 21:55 · Score: 2
  
  At least it's not fucking pink ponies again.
  In this case, I'd take the fucking pink ponies. I'm not a Jobs fan, per say, but NO ONE should be posthumously represented by Ashton Kutcher.
  
  --
  When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. ~~ Hunter S. Thompson
8. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 22:12 · Score: 0
  
  Not really.
  young Jobs not unlike, Kutcher.
  http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Steve-Jobs-the-Greatest-Entrepreneur-of-Our-Time-2.jpg
9. Re:First by crutchy · 2012-04-01 22:52 · Score: 1
  
  wtf... who in their right mind would look that up on wikipedia? that actually made me chuckle out loud. dude... your nick should be "masterBate"
10. Re:First by crutchy · 2012-04-01 22:54 · Score: 1
  
  they should have cast Anthony Field. wasn't Jobs known as the black wiggle?
11. Re:First by master5o1 · 2012-04-01 22:56 · Score: 1
  
  I was reading the April Fool's Day page yesterday.
  
  --
  signature is pants
12. Re:First by crutchy · 2012-04-01 23:15 · Score: 1
  
  fair call
13. Re:First by PopeRatzo · 2012-04-02 00:13 · Score: 1
  
  I was reading the April Fool's Day page yesterday.
  Don't feel bad, I was there yesterday too.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
14. Re:First by PopeRatzo · 2012-04-02 00:16 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I'm not a Jobs fan, per say, but NO ONE should be posthumously represented by Ashton Kutcher.
  Given his acting skill, I believe Ashton Kutcher might be perfect for representing a posthumous Steve Jobs.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
15. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 00:38 · Score: 0
  
  I dont think that even Ashton Kutcher is a big enough douchebag to do proper homage to Jobs.
  Then you should play Jobs.
16. Re:First by assertation · 2012-04-02 01:11 · Score: 2
  
  Dated April 02
  http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/04/report-ashton-kutcher-to-play-steve-jobs-in-movie/1#.T3mlMtlAqnA
17. Re:First by macshit · 2012-04-02 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they can get Uwe Boll to give acting a shot...
  
  --
  We live, as we dream -- alone....
18. Re:First by Phil06 · 2012-04-02 02:01 · Score: 2
  
  Douché
  
  --
  "...and yet, I blame society" Duke - Repo Man
19. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 03:06 · Score: 0
  
  I heard they were considering Will Smith to play the role.... dunno what happened to that.....
20. Re:First by AlienIntelligence · 2012-04-02 04:41 · Score: 2
  
  At least it's not fucking pink ponies again.
  In this case, I'd take the fucking pink ponies. I'm not a Jobs fan, per say, but NO ONE should be posthumously represented by Ashton Kutcher.
  Nor, non-posthumously,
  -AI
  
  --
  For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
21. Re:First by hobarrera · 2012-04-02 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  I hadn't even heard of it before (Argentina). I'm inclined to think most countries *dont* have such a rule.
22. Re:First by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 06:00 · Score: 0
  
  If you want fucking pink ponies you'll need to go to a pr0n furry website.
23. Re:First by owenjstock · 2012-04-02 08:11 · Score: 1
  
  u mad bro? http://mylittlefacewhen.com/f/60/
24. Re:First by wickedskaman · 2012-04-02 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  THIS.
  
  --
  Sand's overrated... it's just tiny little rocks.
If only Michael Bay would direct... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:32 · Score: 1

Then even more of my childhood can die.
1. Re:If only Michael Bay would direct... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:45 · Score: 0
  
  Then even more of my childhood can die.
  or Uwe Bol
2. Re:If only Michael Bay would direct... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:11 · Score: 0
  
  How dare you speak that name here.. the gods will not forgive you.
3. Re:If only Michael Bay would direct... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 23:04 · Score: 0
  
  Ha ha, we already did. We love Uwe Boll! How do you think he keeps working?
4. Re:If only Michael Bay would direct... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:24 · Score: 0
  
  He has a buttload of money.
5. Re:If only Michael Bay would direct... by Tarlus · 2012-04-02 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  Did fictional depictions of Steve Jobs have an impact on you as a child?
  
  --
  /* No Comment */
Pointless, likely by Stormwatch · 2012-04-01 18:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

Will this movie offer anything that "Pirates of Silicon Valley" didn't? I doubt it.

--
Circumcision is child abuse.
1. Re:Pointless, likely by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 19:00 · Score: 1
  
  I actually rewatched it after hearing about this news. A lot has happened since '99. Most of the interesting stuff happened before that though. So, no.
2. Re:Pointless, likely by martin-boundary · 2012-04-01 19:16 · Score: 1
  
  Will this movie offer anything that "Pirates of Silicon Valley" didn't?
  
  Johnny Depp as the quirky but lovable captain Larry Ellison of HMS Oracle?
3. Re:Pointless, likely by Stormwatch · 2012-04-01 19:19 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Just thought of something else. Don't the other players have interesting stories too? Commodore and Atari immediately immediately come to mind. I mean, Jobs was an adopted child, call him a waaambulance: Jack Tramiel is a friggin' nazi death camp survivor. That's academy award material!
  
  --
  Circumcision is child abuse.
4. Re:Pointless, likely by Stormwatch · 2012-04-01 19:20 · Score: 1
  
  So immediate that there was an echo.
  
  --
  Circumcision is child abuse.
5. Re:Pointless, likely by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2012-04-01 19:20 · Score: 1
  
  Johnny Depp as the quirky but lovable captain Larry Ellison of HMS Oracle?
  Interestingly enough, Johnny Depp is going to be in this movie - as Captain Jack Sparrow.
  
  --
  #DeleteChrome
6. Re:Pointless, likely by citizenr · 2012-04-01 20:04 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Just thought of something else. Don't the other players have interesting stories too? Commodore and Atari immediately immediately come to mind. I mean, Jobs was an adopted child, call him a waaambulance: Jack Tramiel is a friggin' nazi death camp survivor. That's academy award material!
  This clip
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PPeHExUbqs
  has some interesting stories from the Commodore 64 days told by Bil Herd.
  
  --
  Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
7. Re:Pointless, likely by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:16 · Score: 0
  
  Jack Tramiel was also the idiot who ran Atari in to the ground. HA
8. Re:Pointless, likely by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:22 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds like a porn movie - "Butt Pirates of Silicon Valley"
  Speaking of which, I'm not so sure Ashton Kutcher ISN'T in one of the following porn movies:
  A Clockwork Orgy
  Pulp Friction
  Missionary: Impossible
  On Golden Blonde
  Girlz n the Hood
  Throbbin' Hood
  Riding Miss Daisy
  When Harry Ate Sally
  Sex Trek: Deep Throat Nine
  Apollo 13 Inches
  Who Reamed Roger Rabbit?
  Little Oral Annie
  Black Cock Down
  Star Whores
  Big Trouble in Little Vagina
  I Know Who You Did Last Summer
  ET: The Extra-Testicle
  Good Will Humping
  Lust of the Mohicans
  Battlestar Orgasmica
  Lost in Penetration
  Charlie's Anals
  Enema of the State
  Fatal Erection
  Intercourse With a Vampire
  Lawrence of a Labia
  Thighs Wide Shut
  Men In Black Men
  Three Willys
  Pron: Legacy
  Sex Toy Story
  Womb Raider
  Remember The Tight Ones
  Ejacula
  Chitty Chitty Gang Bang
  Indiana Bones/In Diana Jones and
  -The Raiders of the Lost Arse
  -The Temple of Poon
  -The Ass Crusade
  Robocock
  Cum In 60 Seconds
  Night of the Giving Head ...
9. Re:Pointless, likely by jamesh · 2012-04-01 21:26 · Score: 1
  
  Will this movie offer anything that "Pirates of Silicon Valley" didn't? I doubt it.
  I don't recall anyone uttering a phrase beginning with "Dude, where's my -" in "Pirates of Silicon Valley". If they can slip Steve Jobs saying that in the new movie then I'd watch it.
10. Re:Pointless, likely by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 22:22 · Score: 0
  
  Jack T. was brilliant he own Commodore then the Pwned Commodore with the rights to the graphic chips in the amiga.
11. Re:Pointless, likely by crutchy · 2012-04-01 23:09 · Score: 1
  
  of course!
  
  there will be a whole new series of sequels, with the first titled "Patent Wars: The Stubborn Menace", starring Darl (McBride) Vader of the Imperial SCO Fleet battling the slightly more well-dressed than scum Novell Alliance.
  
  Then there will be "Patent Wars Episode II: Attack of the Apples", with an army of black-skivvy-wearing fanboi clones in an epic battle against the Jedi masters of Samsung... "fong pei!!"
12. Re:Pointless, likely by necro81 · 2012-04-01 23:32 · Score: 1
  
  Well, other than the triumphant years of Jobs' return to Apple? Yeah, probably nothing. I'd put Noah Wyle up against Kutcher any day.
13. Re:Pointless, likely by afgam28 · 2012-04-01 23:37 · Score: 1
  
  Pirates of Silicon Valley ends with Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997. Are you aware that Apple under Steve Jobs have done a lot of things since 1997?
14. Re:Pointless, likely by helix2301 · 2012-04-02 00:07 · Score: 1
  
  I agree Pirates of Silicon Valley was great it told Steve Jobs life story.
  
  --
  http://www.thetechnologygeek.org
15. Re:Pointless, likely by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 00:31 · Score: 1
  
  You probably copypasta'd this but it gave me a good laugh in the morning regardless XD
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
16. Re:Pointless, likely by jamstar7 · 2012-04-02 01:40 · Score: 1
  
  That was my thinking as well. Noah Wyle nailed the role down tight in 'Pirates'.
  
  --
  Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
17. Re:Pointless, likely by bbbaldie · 2012-04-02 01:47 · Score: 1
  
  POSV is one of my all-time favorite geek films, I rate it up there with Sneakers and War games. Noah Wyle absolutely captured the hard edge of Jobs.
18. Re:Pointless, likely by timeOday · 2012-04-02 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  But everybody has Apple products right now, so they feel an immediate tie-in to the Apple story, like they're part of it. Plus everybody loves a winner. Go Team!
19. Re:Pointless, likely by wildstoo · 2012-04-02 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry to be a pedant, but the stories are from the C16/C128 days and beyond. Herd joined Commodore after the C64 was released (83 or 84, I can't remember).
20. Re:Pointless, likely by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 05:38 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, so there's stuff about Bittorrent and Megaupload too?
21. Re:Pointless, likely by 19061969 · 2012-04-02 05:42 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, it's odd isn't it? Pirates of Silicon Valley ended up with a giant Bill Gates on a screen looking down on tiny Steve Jobs like he would an obediant, well-trained puppy.
  And since then, Jobs went on to business mega-stardom and Bill Gates became a genuine hero by trying to rid the world of lots of nasties like Malaria and Polio.
  
  --
  bang goes my karma... again...
What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:37 · Score: 4, Insightful

I still don't get why Steve Jobs is revered. To me he was just another guy who wanted to make a lot of money at the expense of loyal fans of products that were not even designed by him.
1. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:43 · Score: 1
  
  I have a much harder time working out why Ashton is revered!
2. Re:What's the hype? by Tablizer · 2012-04-01 18:46 · Score: 1
  
  Because he showed Microsoft and Google how to do gizmos right.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
3. Re:What's the hype? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-04-01 19:40 · Score: 2
  
  I'd explain why to you, but I don't feel like going over the history of the iMac, iTunes, the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
4. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 19:41 · Score: 1
  
  He managed to sell the idea that he was like a messiah of tech. It's marketing all the way down.
5. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 19:45 · Score: 0
  
  you completely missed the point. "HE" didn't show anyone how to do anything right, some very bright engineers he has working for him showed MS and google how to do gizmo's right. why it is atributed to jobs has always mystified me as well, we don't revere other CEO's because they had some smart people working for them, why should jobs be any different?
6. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 19:53 · Score: 0
  
  Those were all products designed and developed at Apple, they were certainly not designed, developed or engineered by Jobs though, jobs was merely the CEO. So why do you believe the CEO should be revered for products created by some brilliant engineers that happened to work for him? why not revere the actual people that were the genius's that came up with the ideas and engineered the products?
7. Re:What's the hype? by Dr+Max · 2012-04-01 19:54 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Like it or not he made a huge amount of money telling certain types of people what to like. So much money in fact that he has influenced many other tech companies and their products for better or worse. Personally I don't like the man, or what he did one bit, but i do respect his power to lead a cult and make coin.
  
  --
  Rocket Surgeon.
8. Re:What's the hype? by rvw · 2012-04-01 19:59 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  I have a much harder time working out why Ashton is revered!
  Why he is revered, is that so difficult? Why he is chosen is maybe a bit more obvious after seeing this...
9. Re:What's the hype? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-04-01 20:15 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  It was his vision and it all started after his return.
  You could make the same argument about George Lucas. When you liked Star Wars, it was Lucas and not McQuarrie, Kirshner, or Muren , and when the prequels came out it was Lucas and not Church or Tzu that took the blame. I realize the word 'Insightful' appears next to your post if you take Jobs down a notch, but that doesn't change the fact that if he didn't return, millions of households across the US woukd be very different today. This is inescapable no matter which word associated with him you redefine.
  If you really think Steve wasn't that B of D, then you have to say Bill Gates wasn't, either. Go ahead, perjure yourself anonymously in case somebody wants to spend a mod-point on you. Educate me on how Steve wasn't really that involved even though his success was legendarily unique. The worst case scenario is I eat some humble pie and learn something in the process, I'll take those odds.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
10. Re:What's the hype? by Morty · 2012-04-01 20:20 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Engineers design to specs and requirements. Jobs tended to specify the high-level requirements. The engineers who worked for him are very clear on this -- Jobs was a micromanager who pushed hard for certain elements of design and usability. The Jobs approach was unique, and resulted in the distinctive Apple products of the 70s, 80, and 2000s. Unlike most CEOs, Steve Jobs had a close personal hand in the the successes and failures of Apple.
  NB: I'm not a big fan of either Jobs or Apple. But his contributions are pretty clear.
11. Re:What's the hype? by imakemusic · 2012-04-01 20:31 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Well he had to shout at them until they did it. Surely that counts for something?
  
  --
  Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
12. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:41 · Score: 1
  
  Gates had coding skill, and a pretty good eye for business; Jobs is a salesman (a very good salesman) and maybe a cult leader.
13. Re:What's the hype? by Richard_at_work · 2012-04-01 21:15 · Score: 0
  
  He's 'revered' (your choice of words, not mine) because of *how* he went on to make all that money and drag Apple from the brink of bankruptcy and being a failed company to one of the largest and most successful companies in the world in just over a decade and a half.
  It takes a die hard hater to not see the brilliance in his management of Apple from 1996 onward. He controlled the company a lot tigher than most CEOs would but made it work, and put in place a workplace environment that allowed other very significant minds to flourish (Ives is a heck of a good example - basically untouchable within Apple, reported to Jobs and had as much freedom as Jobs).
14. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-01 21:19 · Score: 1
  
  But when Jobs had his own company, Next, his micromanaging created the "perfect computer", in Steve Job's mind, that few could afford. He added hundreds of dollars to the price because he insisted that the case be a perfect cube and perfect cubes could only be manufactured by one company in the US.
  Apple fired him once and re-hired him when that had a management team that could hold him in check. Steve jobs pushed harder on anything that could be patented to keep others out of the market, keep prices high and make more money for Steve Jobs. It was not about innovation but money. Steve Jobs is a marketer.
15. Re:What's the hype? by Sitnalta · 2012-04-01 21:27 · Score: 2
  
  Because he made a company that's richer than most sovereign nations.
  True, if he were born today he'd just be a cocky asshole with little or no future. But he WAS born in the right time with the right skills, and did something notable. Which is true for all billionaires.
16. Re:What's the hype? by Morty · 2012-04-01 21:41 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Sure, Steve Jobs made big mistakes, too. Not just the NeXT, either. During his original stint at Apple, the Apple Lisa was a total faillure. And he did some pretty nasty things in his personal life. He certainly wasn't perfect, and he made some pretty collosal mistakes. All that said -- Apple's major succcesses have come to significantly outweigh their failures, as evidenced by the current market for iPhones, iPads, etc. A lot of that success can be attributed almost directly to the vision and ideals of Steve Jobs. I'm not an Apple fan myself, but I can understand why the Apple fans revere him.
17. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:43 · Score: 0
  
  Revered is the word used in the initial post about Ashton playing the part of Steve Jobs.
  The fact that he did not have respect for his employees makes me believe that he is not somebody who deserves respect either.
18. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 22:18 · Score: 0
  
  that he's responsible for the most successful tech company in the world is one, yeah, I know, Woz is a godking in these parts, but Apple didn't fall apart without Woz, but it came damn close to dying off before jobs returned. That's one.
  He may not have designed the products themselves, but he knew good (and bad) design when he saw it, and ultimately any design required his approval, plus, he evidently knew how to run a business, there's another.
  And third, I guess, since Larry Ellison has a bunch of movies about him (see the Iron Man franchise, I'm convinced the Tony Stark of the movies was modeled after Larry), it's only fair that Steve get one, too.
19. Re:What's the hype? by sqldr · 2012-04-01 22:46 · Score: 1
  
  Because he showed Microsoft and Google how to do gizmos right.
  Which makes for a rivetting film. He also showed a lot of people how to take as much as you can from open source, give hardly anything back, and patent the crap out of evolutional uses of it.
  
  --
  I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
20. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 23:48 · Score: 0
  
  Apple became successful when it became more like Microsoft. Big successful companies exist due to business decisions, not perfect products. Steve Jobs failed hard when he tried the "cutting edge products without business strategy" route. Steve Jobs was about as visionary as Bill Gates is. He did have a knack for design that Gates doesn't have, but they shared an intense business acumen and a rather trivial outlook on the technological future. "Creative entrepreneur" is a fitting title, if it means that the creativity is applied to the business. Regarding the products, Steve Jobs was demanding, not creative.
21. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 00:10 · Score: 0
  
  Those were all products designed and developed at Apple, they were certainly not designed, developed or engineered by Jobs though, jobs was merely the CEO.
  And Adolf Hitler was merely the "leader," right? Because all of that stuff would've happened with somebody else in charge.
22. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 00:39 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Not to mention that he accidentally stumbled into history's greatest moneymaker, the App Store. Originally he was going to release the iPhone with no ability to run 3rd-party apps whatsoever (apart from web apps which was and still is more of a punchline than a solution as a replacement for all native apps - even ChromeOS has full offline capability), which would have made it nothing more than another quirky footnote in tech history, but then he caved to overwhelming developer pressure to allow 3rd-party apps on the device. This also led to the popularization of curated computing, the most damaging event in computing history.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
23. Re:What's the hype? by Truedat · 2012-04-02 00:53 · Score: 1
  
  I still don't get why Steve Jobs is revered. To me he was just another guy who wanted to make a lot of money at the expense of loyal fans of products that were not even designed by him.
  I suspect you must have heard every argument from all sides by now, so I'm not sure if yours is a genuine question. On the off chance that it is, from my perspective he is a genius engineer who helped bring products into the mainstream that I absolutely love.
  Yes I know the slashdotterati won't like me referring to him as an engineer, but he had to bring together many different parts such as product devopment, marketing, content, licensing, prototyping, negotiating and all kinds of politics. That's a much better engineer than I will ever be, since at least my components (classes, design specs etc) don't conspire against me - much ;)
  I can't see how you can commit to that kind of life without being a control freak and possessing other sociopathic tendencies, but when he directed it at the "bad guys" it was pure joy. For example when he met up with michael eisner from Disney after the success of toy story and said to him: "we Pixar guys are the real thing, you Disney guys are shit". Awesome.
  Also I think you are dead wrong when you think he was driven by money, at least any more than anyone else would be in his position. At any time he could have cashed in instead of nearly blowing his fortune with NEXT and Pixar, he took enormous risks there and nearly blew his fortune. Also why would a man on a death sentence commit the last of his energies to apple if it was just about the money? On your other points you may or may not be right but I firmly believe you are well wide of the mark when it comes to money as the primary motivating factor.
24. Re:What's the hype? by Anne_Nonymous · 2012-04-02 00:55 · Score: 1
  
  >> I still don't get why Steve Jobs is revered
  This is the zeitgeist. We hate corporations, business, and anyone who makes more money than us. Except for Steve Jobs, because he gives us shiny, shiny playthings.
25. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 00:55 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I have even less respect for Jobs than Thomas Edison. Both exploitative businessmen with negative contributions to society that overshadow the positive, but Edison at least had more tech skill and actually did some inventing himself, and his negative influence didn't have such long-lasting effects.
  Also I think that Jobs wasn't even a great businessman any more than George Lucas is a great filmmaker. Like Lucas, he needed to be surrounded by critical peers to keep his crazier ideas in check, and without this moderating influence things went all to hell (see: NeXT, a lot of early Apple projects). Another example of poor business skill is his quest to destroy Android at all costs because he thought it was a "stolen product." He was an artist and not a techie, when another product showed any hint of influence from one of his own he didn't see it as normal tech evolution, he saw it as plagiarism.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
26. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 00:58 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  This is something all the Jobs-worshipping Apple fanboys overlook. He was a notorious asshole boss, known to berate employees until they were reduced to tears or fire employees at the end of an elevator-ride chat if they shared an idea he didn't like. These sudden firings were known to Apple employees as "being Jobs'd."
  And the guy bought a new Mercedes every 6 months so that he wouldn't have to put plates on it under California law, and then parked in handicap spots everywhere he went. That tells you a lot about him.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
27. Re:What's the hype? by VortexCortex · 2012-04-02 01:05 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  I take it you've got tons of respect for Hitler as well...
28. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:12 · Score: 0
  
  In my book, Jobs is a great fashion designer.
  He probably wrote down in a piece of paper what he wanted something look like, then somebody under him would translate that to an actual product.
  Then off to China to be mass manufactured in sweat shops.
  I still say he's just an asshole with a good fashion sense (or at least the same fashion sense that fashionista's love).
  A.C.
29. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:15 · Score: 0
  
  This is something all the Jobs-worshipping Apple fanboys overlook. He was a notorious asshole boss, known to berate employees until they were reduced to tears or fire employees at the end of an elevator-ride chat if they shared an idea he didn't like.
  This is something all the Jobs-vilifying Apple hateboys overlook. Even the people he berated admit that he made them create their best work.
30. Re:What's the hype? by assertation · 2012-04-02 01:16 · Score: 1
  
  I've had a few toxic bosses and coworkers in my life, so I too am lukewarm about revering an asshole. Like it or not, he WAS a talented business man and a significant innovator.
31. Re:What's the hype? by inpher · 2012-04-02 01:20 · Score: 1
  
  The App Store makes almost no money for Apple, as evident by their latest numbers (PDF):
  Revenue for Software, Service and Other Sales (including sales from the Mac App Store in addition to sales of other Apple-branded and third-party Mac software and Mac and Internet services.) account for $729M, divided by the $28,270M they made the fourth quarter makes it about 2.6% of their total revenue, this does not account for costs for maintaining the infrastructure and paying for bandwidth. Revenue growth is smaller than for many other categories. However, it does add value to the devices that make up their real income.
32. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 01:30 · Score: 1
  
  Oh that makes it all okay, he forces the best out of people in the process of mistreating them, so it's not bad.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
33. Re:What's the hype? by Dr+Max · 2012-04-02 01:32 · Score: 1
  
  I respect the power and loyalty he was able to command, but that doesn't mean I like how he used it (just like with steve jobs).
  
  --
  Rocket Surgeon.
34. Re:What's the hype? by nine-times · 2012-04-02 01:35 · Score: 1
  
  Next, his micromanaging created the "perfect computer", in Steve Job's mind, that few could afford...Steve Jobs is a marketer.
  So you're saying that he was bad at marketing, but all of his success came from his amazing skill at marketing?
  Either way, I don't think it's necessarily much of a criticism. "Steve Jobs didn't invent things, he merely knew how to make products that people really wanted to buy!"
35. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  1) I'd hardly call $729M "almost no money"
  2) Without apps, their hardware sales (which is where they really make the money) would probably be a lot lower. I can say my wife and I never would have each bought an ipod touch (the only Apple devices we've ever owned) without the apps feature. I can't imagine we're even close to being the only ones to feel that way.
36. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  > Because he showed Microsoft and Google how to do gizmos right.
  provided the gizmo is being held properly?
37. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:42 · Score: 0
  
  For the same reason everyone hates Bill Gates.
38. Re:What's the hype? by jamstar7 · 2012-04-02 01:53 · Score: 1
  
  The App Store makes almost no money for Apple, as evident by their latest numbers
  Except you need an iPhone to run those trivial donut money-generating apps. iPhone is seen to have 'got there first' with 3rd party apps to do just about anything, just like the Mac is seen to have 'got there first' with GUIs and mice, even though they scammed the ideas from Palo Alto.
  
  --
  Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
39. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 02:11 · Score: 0
  
  > This also led to the popularization of curated computing, the most damaging event in computing history.
  Linux has been during package curation since long before the App Store. It's still evil, though.
40. Re:What's the hype? by Lazy+Jones · 2012-04-02 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  This is something all the Jobs-worshipping Apple fanboys overlook. He was a notorious asshole boss, known to berate employees until they were reduced to tears or fire employees at the end of an elevator-ride chat if they shared an idea he didn't like. These sudden firings were known to Apple employees as "being Jobs'd."
  So basically that's how he built a successful company and products so masterfully craftet that the competition is flattering them through imitation? Every boss should be like that it seems. ;-)
  
  --
  "I love my job, but I hate talking to people like you" (Freddie Mercury)
41. Re:What's the hype? by thesandtiger · 2012-04-02 02:53 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I think the problem is the idea of "revered" - I mean, maybe some people do "revere" him, though to me that seems a bit silly.
  Jobs was an amazing businessman and had a genius for marketing, no doubt. He's certainly comparable to other legendary business types on those notes, and may be the best in history in those areas.
  One thing I note on slashdot is that a lot of people get pissy when the business people who make things happen get any credit, and instead they want to focus on the geeks who invented stuff. And that makes a certain kind of sense, to be sure - I mean, what Woz did was impressive, and it's hard to be a good businessman without a good product.
  The problem is this:
  What would have become of things if it were just Woz? I sincerely doubt that Apple would have been anything but one of those things that barely anyone outside of a handful of people remember, kind of like some people nowadays remember some really neat but obscure BBS software from back in the day.
  Woz made things that Jobs was able to work with to make Apple huge. Without Woz and his kit, I think Jobs would have almost certainly found some other opportunity to get involved with and turn into something huge.
  I don't think Woz, by himself, would have done much but make really neat stuff to give away. Which is really nice of him, but he would be completely obscure by this point in time unless someone like Jobs came along and brought his stuff to the masses.
  Personally, I have a lot more respect for the Woz than I do for Jobs, but even so I cannot deny that without a Jobs-type Woz would just be some bearded nerd who makes cool shit that nobody outside of certain very small circles ever heard of.
  
  --
  Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
42. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  Sure and every factory should be like Foxconn.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
43. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  What package curation has been done in Linux? Protip: If you say repos, you'll make yourself look like an idiot.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
44. Re:What's the hype? by Tarlus · 2012-04-02 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  "Steve Jobs didn't invent things, he merely knew how to make products that people really wanted to buy!"
  And if people didn't initially want to buy those products, his charisma on stage made them more compelling. I've only ever owned one Apple product (iPod) but I always watched his keynotes to see his energetic, funny and always interesting demonstrations Apple's newest gizmos; something he did very well.
  
  --
  /* No Comment */
45. Re:What's the hype? by Jmc23 · 2012-04-02 03:13 · Score: 2
  
  That's interesting, the hairpart shows the extroversion of their talents. The eyebrows shows one to be a lover and the other to be a hater.
  
  --
  Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
46. Re:What's the hype? by ElitistWhiner · 2012-04-02 03:24 · Score: 1
  
  Building humanity into everything that you do is a worthy life endeavor, building human touches into objects people can appreciate, building bridges that people need beyond products are touchstones that are the marque of SteveJobs.
  Generations will pass before its accepted and understood what SteveJobs ' designed' after products mimicking feature failure after feature failure trying to replicate Steve's ' products' are similar but remain lacking and unsatisfying...products - which fail for reasons, primarily in conceptualization.
  Seeing ' exactly' what is needed AND such a solution which does not exist, is SteveJobs legacy. Jobs ' vision thing' was not about product...it was about " soul". SteveJobs wanted to answer the simple question whether its possible for ' objects' to have attributes of human values, qualities and virtues.
47. Re:What's the hype? by IorDMUX · 2012-04-02 03:35 · Score: 1
  
  Hey there now. You should really put a warning on a link that contains that much concentrated smugness.
  
  --
  >> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
48. Re:What's the hype? by junkgoof · 2012-04-02 03:47 · Score: 1
  
  Difference is most control freak bosses will tank all their projects. Jobs was able to control freak to success. Sigh, my clueless ex-PHB is reading his biography and taking the lesson that control freakiness is good (dude, stick to scapegoating and work on the neglect, it will be better for everyone, or duct-tape yourself to your chair). It's not good if everything fails when you touch it. You can (should?) get away with too much involvement if you are a genius in matching technology to consumers.
  Jobs' legacy: millions of talentless managers having more impact on greater failures.
  
  --
  You got me into this! You were the ideologue! I'm only a poor assassin! - Twenty evocations, Bruce Sterling
49. Re:What's the hype? by swillden · 2012-04-02 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  What package curation has been done in Linux? Protip: If you say repos, you'll make yourself look like an idiot.
  How are repos not curation? They may use different standards about what to include or exclude than you might like, but the process is absolutely curation.
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
50. Re:What's the hype? by hcs_$reboot · 2012-04-02 04:27 · Score: 2
  
  And Kutcher even holds an apple to add to the ressemblance.
  
  --
  Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
51. Re:What's the hype? by Sebastopol · 2012-04-02 05:00 · Score: 1
  
  "Telling people what to like."
  Awww, someone feels left out.
  
  --
  https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
52. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  Haha you fell for it. Repos are not curation because there is no limitation on which repos you can use, much like a jailbroken iPhone and the various jailbreaker app stores, to put it in terms you might be familiar with.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
53. Re:What's the hype? by l0ungeb0y · 2012-04-02 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  Why is Jobs so revered?
  Because he had VISION.
  Because he was willing to take RISKS.
  Because he did NOTHING HALF-ASSED.
  Your lack of respect someone who's not a hands on engineer is a mirror to engineering's perception that management and MBA types have no respect for them. Just because some one's occupation is different than yours does not make their efforts or contribution any less significant. How many companies have you founded? How many of those companies have become household names? How many of those have become the most valuable companies in the United States?
  If you really want to see a story of vision and risk, look at Pixar. He took that from Lucas who had no clue what to do with it and turned it into an animation powerhouse which singlehandedly brought 3D Feature Length Animated Movies into the mainstream. Did he do the animation? Did he write the stories or create the characters? Did he take part in day to day production or management? No. But he saw their abilities and desire to innovate, he took the risks and he did everything he could to help them in their success. And like he did to Apple with NeXT, when Disney bought Pixar, Pixar essentially took over Disney Studios and he himself took over the entirety of Disney.
  The guy has immense talent and skill in his area of expertise that is deserving of respect and yes, even hype -- why do you begrudge him that?
54. Re:What's the hype? by ragefan · 2012-04-02 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  Last I checked, no one has to jailbreak their Linux install to run their own applications. You can in fact unpack the source, compile and run just about any software from within ~. One only needs root to install it globally.
  Repos generally only provide supported packages and are not a walled-garden. In fact many distros make it trivial to create custom repos.
55. Re:What's the hype? by idji · 2012-04-02 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  Because
  - he made the largest IT company in the world.
  - he was not a geek, and appealed to "arty" types - so way less competition for "reverence".
  - he marketed things that the market didn't know it wanted.
  and probably lots of others.
56. Re:What's the hype? by swillden · 2012-04-02 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  Last I checked, no one has to jailbreak their Linux install to run their own applications. You can in fact unpack the source, compile and run just about any software from within ~. One only needs root to install it globally.
  Repos generally only provide supported packages and are not a walled-garden. In fact many distros make it trivial to create custom repos.
  But curation != walled garden. I'd say they're almost orthogonal.
  
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  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
57. Re:What's the hype? by swillden · 2012-04-02 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  Haha you fell for it. Repos are not curation because there is no limitation on which repos you can use, much like a jailbroken iPhone and the various jailbreaker app stores, to put it in terms you might be familiar with.
  You don't know what curation means. You are also free to visit many different museums. Does that mean their collections are not curated?
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
58. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 06:25 · Score: 0
  
  ...and at the same time, he did not see what he did with other peoples' products and ideas as plagiarism.
59. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 06:30 · Score: 1
  
  No I think you don't understand what "curated computing" means, it's basically synonymous with "walled garden computing." It's where a central authority decides which apps are available for a platform. Linux repos are curated but not an example of curated computing (since users are free to add, remove and create and share repos, and apps can be freely installed directly on the device as well).
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
60. Re:What's the hype? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-04-02 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  I wish I had something meaningful or interesting to add, but I don't. I just wanted to say I appreciate your post.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
61. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 06:43 · Score: 0
  
  Read his biography. He did even less than that. Most of the time he just told people "design me something good" and then decided which things he liked and which ones he didn't. When someone presented him an idea he liked, he usually just told someone it was shit and they were shit for thinking of it, and then took credit for it a week later.
62. Re:What's the hype? by Uberbah · 2012-04-02 06:55 · Score: 1
  
  This is something all the Jobs-worshipping Apple fanboys overlook.
  
  "All" of them? How many actual "Jobs-worshipping Apple fanboys" have you actually met? When was the last time you saw one?
  "Fanboys" are like the Loch Ness Monster. Lots of people claim to have seen it, but when pressed offer no evidence.
63. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-02 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  Designing an overly expensive computer is not marketing, as I said in my earlier post. Jobs keeps getting accolades because he is such an innovator but he is not an innovator, he is a marketer.
  
  "Steve Jobs didn't invent things, he merely knew how to make products that people really wanted to buy!"
  That is not what I am saying. A more accurate statement would be "Steve Jobs didn't invent things, he merely knew how to convince people to buy things that other people built".
  Jobs biggest contribution to Apple was the concept of the closed system. Make Apple hardware and software a bit different so that it can be patented and defend those patents vigorously so that anyone who ever buys Apple hardware much come back to Apple to upgrade. Great for Apple not so great for the consumer. His biggest marketing triumph was his ability to convince people to pay more for Apple products due to the illusion that geeks don't but Apple; artists do.
  Here is a quote from Jobs about multiple app stores "“So there will be at least four app stores on Android, which customers must search among to find the app they want and developers will need to work with to distribute their apps and get paid. This is going to be a mess for both users and developers." It appears that Jobs has little concept of choice.
64. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-02 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  You need to read the report better; You are quoting the figures from the Mac App store. This is what Note 7 says"Includes sales from the Mac App Store in addition to sales of other Apple-branded and third-party Mac software and Mac and Internet services." The Mac App store is different from the App Store that iPhones and iPads use.
  Note 3 says "Includes sales from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore in addition to sales of iPod services and Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories." with revenue of 1,678M$. There is no break out for revenue from the App Store.
65. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 07:30 · Score: 1
  
  I see plenty on the Internet, I know a few IRL but I haven't seen them in a while.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
66. Re:What's the hype? by Uberbah · 2012-04-02 07:53 · Score: 1
  
  Then you'll have no problems citing some examples.
67. Re:What's the hype? by pluther · 2012-04-02 07:54 · Score: 1
  
  But when Jobs had his own company, Next, his micromanaging created the "perfect computer", in Steve Job's mind, that few could afford. He added hundreds of dollars to the price because he insisted that the case be a perfect cube and perfect cubes could only be manufactured by one company in the US.
  That seems unlikely, partly because it's not really that hard to make a cube, so more than one company would be able to make them. The other reason is that the NeXT was not actually a perfect cube. It had ridges and lots of jutty-out-parts. And the "pizza box" version wasn't a cube at all, but more pizza-box shaped.
  I think what really killed the NeXT was the lack of piracy. When I was selling them, there were lots of complaints about the price. Until I pointed out all the software that came with it. If you had to pay for the software necessary to use an "IBM-compatible" at the time, the price would easily add up to more than what the NeXT cost. This was a compelling argument to companies and university faculty and staff who had to purchase their software, but not to the students who would pirate everything.
  
  --
  If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
68. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 08:04 · Score: 1
  
  On the net or IRL? If on the net I'd recommend Slashdot user bonch right off the top of my head. I can search through the Apple-related discussions and find more.
  IRL, I'm not giving real names of people I know, but you can find some in any Apple store or Starbucks.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
69. Re:What's the hype? by swillden · 2012-04-02 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  No I think you don't understand what "curated computing" means, it's basically synonymous with "walled garden computing."
  Only if you re-define the word "curated". In the mid to late 90s "curated browsing" was a fairly common term, referring to the big collections of links that people collected and published. Yahoo's directory was a large-scale set of curated links. The notion of curation is a very old one and applying a very restrictive subset of the meaning of the word in this particular context seems jargonistic to the point of being misleading.
  
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  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
70. Re:What's the hype? by GameboyRMH · 2012-04-02 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't just make the term up, it's almost as old as iOS:
  https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=curated+computing
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
71. Re:What's the hype? by swillden · 2012-04-02 10:11 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't just make the term up, it's almost as old as iOS:
  That old, huh? Five whole years! Sorry, the term "curated" has been around for centuries; you can't just redefine it on a whim.
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
72. Re:What's the hype? by nine-times · 2012-04-02 10:25 · Score: 1
  
  Designing an overly expensive computer is not marketing
  You may be making the classic mistake of confusing marketing and advertising. Marketing includes developing the idea of a product to have a feature set and price point that is attractive. For example, the decision to make the new iPad have a higher resolution screen and faster processor while maintaining the same price point instead of developing a smaller, cheaper iPad to combat the Kindle Fire-- that's a marketing decision.
  And yes, Steve Jobs was brilliant at marketing. He had an amazing sense of "what users want from a device" that was unique in the tech industry. The original iPod was "lame" because it lacked WiFi, but Jobs knew that WiFi wasn't going to be important for users at that time. He understood that full multitasking wasn't as important to the iPhones success as battery life was.
  And no, Jobs was not focused on providing people with the most choice possible. He was focused on giving people the best solution, whatever he thought the best solution was. Obviously some people are happy with that, and are fine with letting someone tell them, "Here is the best solution! Do it this way!" rather than having to wade through several mediocre and poor solutions, hoping to find one that they're happy with.
  Choice is complicated. A greater number of choices doesn't always improve the situation.
73. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-02 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  When you mold something there is an inner mold and an outer mold. When the molding material sets the inner mold is withdrawn from the outer mold. If you look closely at any standard molded item you will find one end is slightly larger than the other. This allows the inner mold to come away from the mold material very quickly. As an exaggerated example, think of a cone pressed into clay. When you withdraw the cone a very little bit it no longer touches the clay. If the sides form a perfect cube the mold will be in contat through the entire withdrawal process. Think of the same thing but use s cylinder. During the withdrawal process the sides of the cylender are always in contact with the clay. This causes increased friction requiring more power, slower production rates and higher failure rates. One small adjustment in the design, 88 degree corners instead of 90 degree corners, could have save a significant amount of money but Jobs insisted on his design.
  
  Until I pointed out all the software that came with it.
  How many other companies wrote software for the Next? How many other hardware companies made hardware for the Next? Could it be possible that businesses and institutions did not want to purchase large numbers of computers from a start up headed by someone that was ousted from Apple?
  Try this article.
74. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-02 12:48 · Score: 1
  
  Advertising is an aspect or marketing. Design is not an aspect of marketing. Marketing is taking a product and presenting it to people in such a way as the name is placed into their heads so that when the consumer is thinking about purchasing an item the brand is already in their head. Marketing is about visibility. This is different than Sales as sales in influencing the purchase decision.
  For industrial design, Jonathan Ive (who was Knighted for design) did most of it for Apple. It all goes back to this, when Jobs had free reign to design his own computer, the NeXT, he failed miserably.When he was brought back to Apple to do the marketing for Apple he shone.
  
  He was focused on giving people the best solution, whatever he thought the best solution was.
  This is where we come into what "best" means. To Jobs the best solution is something he can sell and entice people to come back for more so that Jobs can make as much money as possible. I am not saying making money is bad but Jobs didn't design most things he sold.
  
  Choice is complicated. A greater number of choices doesn't always improve the situation.
  Conversly a single "choice" does not improve the situation either.
75. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 12:53 · Score: 0
  
  You must be one of those creationist types.
76. Re:What's the hype? by Dr+Max · 2012-04-02 12:56 · Score: 1
  
  How do you come to that conclusion? Some people like to be told what to like (arguably apples strongest card, you don't have to think about specs you just buy the next Iversion) and some people like to fiqure it out for themselves and weigh up the options from multiple companies. Every one that dosen't join a cult dosn't feel left out of the cult (they are gratefull for not giving all their money and possesions to a clown with charisma and working for free in a compound) even if they point out that the cult is telling people what to like.
  
  --
  Rocket Surgeon.
77. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 13:31 · Score: 0
  
  Mr. Gates had something Jobs NEVER DID: Actual technical skills in computing.
78. Re:What's the hype? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-04-02 13:41 · Score: 1
  
  So?
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
79. Re:What's the hype? by Tablizer · 2012-04-02 17:25 · Score: 1
  
  During his original stint at Apple, the Apple Lisa was a total failure.
  
  Jobs only had limited control over the Lisa project, as I remember from The Book.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
80. Re:What's the hype? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 18:17 · Score: 0
  
  Why bring your wife into this?
81. Re:What's the hype? by Kyusaku+Natsume · 2012-04-03 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  Or Pixar and modern 3D movies.
  
  --
  Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
82. Re:What's the hype? by nine-times · 2012-04-03 03:51 · Score: 1
  
  Design is not an aspect of marketing. Marketing is taking a product and presenting it to people in such a way as the name is placed into their heads so that when the consumer is thinking about purchasing an item the brand is already in their head.
  Not that Wikipedia is a good authority, but you may want to read this: Marketing
  You may think that Marketing is just about presentation, but that's not the official meaning, and it's not how most successful businesses think about it. Marketing is the whole process that includes the development of an idea for a product and creating a design and feature set that will be appealing to a market. And in that sense, Jobs was very involved in marketing.
  By all accounts, Jobs was very involved in product design and development. He did not design the products all by himself, but he was involved in deciding what features they should have, whether a product was small enough, light enough, the right colors, had the right features, was easy enough to use, etc. Yes, you can more directly credit Ive with the designs, but Ive didn't work all by himself either.
  When Jobs had free right to design his own computers at Apple, he hired Jonathan Ive and worked with him on the designs. Sometimes "creating" as a CEO includes hiring the right people, creating the right environment for them to work in, authorizing them to make positive changes, and knowing when to say "no".
  
  This is where we come into what "best" means. To Jobs the best solution is something he can sell and entice people...
  For all the criticisms you could make, this one doesn't seem valid. If anything, it would be more appropriate to criticize him for being an egomaniac who believed Apple's products were God's gift to the world. By all accounts, he sincerely believed that Apple products were the best, and there are even documented cases of Jobs saying, in effect, "Well we could sell a bunch of these, but I don't think it's good enough so I refuse to make that product."
  
  Conversly a single "choice" does not improve the situation either.
  Well I'll stick by my claim that choice is complicated. There are times when I'd rather have a single good option than having 5 sub-par options. There are other times when I'd rather have 5 sub-par options. For the most part, I'd rather be limited to 5 decent options than 5000 options, 5 of which are decent and 4995 terrible choices without knowing for sure which is which.
83. Re:What's the hype? by Sebastopol · 2012-04-03 04:56 · Score: 1
  
  It is obvious how I come to that conclusion.
  You're pretty textbook, what these days is called a "techno hipster." Your unabashed contempt for everyone you perceive as less enlightened then you is a clear giveaway. Your passive-aggressive attempt at sounding objective is paper thin. Nope, you are superior enough to understand the twue technology, while the rest are sheep. Just like the hipsters that stroll around talking about 80's video games and vinyl. You feel left out and threatened because you want the sheep to approve of your authority. Otherwise you wouldn't have been such a poassive-aggressive c0ck-knocker in your posts.
  
  --
  https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
84. Re:What's the hype? by jklovanc · 2012-04-03 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  Not that Wikipedia is a good authority, but you may want to read this: Marketing [wikipedia.org]
  It is interesting that the word "design " is nowhere in that article. Take a look at the link to product marketing which differentiated it self from product management. Product management includes R&D. Marketing is about creating need in a consumer and Jobs was great at that.
  I just read a Wikipedia article that points out that Jobs stole most of a bonus from Wozniak in the early days of working together.
  Why do you think that there is a "new" iPhone every year. The term is planned obsolescence; make something just different enough so the people will buy the new one and consider last year's model obsolete. Was the iPhone 4s really an significant upgrade? No, but it was "new" so people bought it; even those who had an iPhone 4.
  
  "Well we could sell a bunch of these, but I don't think it's good enough so I refuse to make that product."
  The "good" in that statement could also be replaced with "proprietary". Have you heard the story about the company that wanted to make an external batter backup for the MacBook. They went as far as purchasing wall warts from Apple and attaching the cords to their batter packs. Apple, at Jobs direction, threatened to sue. Since they were a small company and could not afford the lawyers they stopped manufacture. Yet another example of Jobs greed.
  There is a reasons that Apple computers still only have 12.5% of the desktop market; single source price controlled systems that are difficult if not impossible to upgrade or repair. Look at replacing the battery in an iPad or iPhone. It requires delicate dis-assembly of the item to make that happen. In the instance of the iPad, glue must be melted and the screen taken off to get to the battery.Why did they do that? To increase profit from licensing to authorized repair depots and nothing to do with usability to the consumer.
  Apple definitely was the first developer and best marketer of viable tablets and smart phones. They then took that innovation and used it as a stick to keep everyone else out of the market. More money for jobs, less choice for the consumer.
85. Re:What's the hype? by Dr+Max · 2012-04-03 21:46 · Score: 1
  
  Your reading far too much into my comment. What has more likely happened is my blunt view of the situation is conflicting with you're own narrow minded perspective in which you long for my approval of the shiny new ithing you just bought. Not receiving the respect and admiration you think you deserve for purchasing apple, scared you have been fooled with hype, you lash out with weak ego defences.
  
  --
  Rocket Surgeon.
86. Re:What's the hype? by Uberbah · 2012-04-04 02:31 · Score: 1
  
  If on the net I'd recommend Slashdot user bonch right off the top of my head. I can search through the Apple-related discussions and find more.
  Piece of cake then, as many Apple stories are posted by site editors.
Kill me now. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:40 · Score: 0

I want to die.
The title was very telling by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:46 · Score: 0

Ashton Kutcher stars in "Dude, Where's My iPad?"
1. Re:The title was very telling by Tablizer · 2012-04-01 18:48 · Score: 1
  
  TSA: "Oh, sorry, it's up your....."
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
2. Re:The title was very telling by Hognoxious · 2012-04-01 22:39 · Score: 1
  
  That's definitely the wrong way to hold it!
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
3. Re:The title was very telling by Tablizer · 2012-04-02 11:55 · Score: 1
  
  But strangely, the reception is better that way
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
Geez.... by david999 · 2012-04-01 18:48 · Score: 0

Ashton Kutcher is so bad on Two and a Half Men. What were they thinking of using him to portray Steve Jobs?
1. Re:Geez.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:01 · Score: 0
  
  ashton kutcher is no where near as bad as steve jobs.
2. Re:Geez.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:31 · Score: 1
  
  Ashton Kutcher is so bad on Two and a Half Men. What were they thinking of using him to portray Steve Jobs?
  
  ashton kutcher is no where near as bad as steve jobs.
  It takes a minor asshole to play a whole ass.
Ashton Kutcher, who? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 18:52 · Score: 0

oh... Oh... that human place card for Sir Charlie Sheen..
1. Re:Ashton Kutcher, who? by hcs_$reboot · 2012-04-01 22:13 · Score: 1
  
  Steve Jobs could play Steve Jobs (e.g. the obvious LOTR where Andy Serkis portrays Gollum thanks to CGI) and we'd see the real Jobs face at any age (and would probably cost less than Kutcher ). The question is: is it likely that having Ashton Kutcher star in the movie will generate more profit? Or, in other words, are most people interested in seeing the real (but missing) Jobs life, or the very alive Ashton Kutcher?
  
  --
  Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Cant he play himself? by Barsteward · 2012-04-01 19:33 · Score: 1

what??? you mean.... Steve didn't resurrect after 3 days???

--
"The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
1. Re:Cant he play himself? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:03 · Score: 0
  
  News Flash: No-one did.
2. Re:Cant he play himself? by Barsteward · 2012-04-01 21:53 · Score: 1
  
  Mithras did - the guy from whom Jesus stole his identity
  
  --
  "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
Blue Boxes? by Ungrounded+Lightning · 2012-04-01 20:18 · Score: 1

Are they going to include how Jobs and Woz raised seed capital by selling "blue boxes" (long distance call billing bypass devices) to organized crime? (As documented by Esquire magazine.)

--
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
1. Re:Blue Boxes? by gl4ss · 2012-04-01 22:56 · Score: 1
  
  which is what sums up the bullshit that IP laws are and how the rules are different. circumvent drm and sell the solution and you're thrown into jail now, do it with friends and you're thrown into jail for organized crime.
  dud of a movie though if they don't include that, it's one of the most exciting times of woz and steve's careers - and it could contrast nicely with jobs yelling about ip theft and stealing pixars movies/pirating music in later stage in the movie, if they interlaced the scenes nicely.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
so what you're saying is... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:32 · Score: 0

this movie will suck, too?
only the good? by Gravis+Zero · 2012-04-01 20:38 · Score: 1

i get the feeling this film is going to leave out the unflattering parts of what he did and did not do in his lifetime. got absurd amounts of money? help some people with it!

--
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Wrath of Apple fanbois by Pecisk · 2012-04-01 20:47 · Score: 1

And thousand of fanbois goes "nutso" because Ashton isn't "deep" enough to play first class prima donna Jobs :)
If serious about that (and I don't know if this ain't still April Fools) Ashton have really good look alike similarity to early Jobs, he has good screen energy (yeah, I know it gets wasted on lot of useless things, but still - he has charisma), and I guess he is really aching to prove himself as good actor. And material is interesting - Jobs was complex persona. Maybe it will work, I don't know.
Anyway, as any artistic rendering - you can watch it, you can pirate it, you can ignore it. Your choice.

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user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
1. Re:Wrath of Apple fanbois by Infernal+Device · 2012-04-02 01:42 · Score: 1
  
  And thousand of fanbois goes "nutso" because Ashton isn't "deep" enough to play first class prima donna Jobs :)
  If serious about that (and I don't know if this ain't still April Fools) Ashton have really good look alike similarity to early Jobs, he has good screen energy (yeah, I know it gets wasted on lot of useless things, but still - he has charisma), and I guess he is really aching to prove himself as good actor. And material is interesting - Jobs was complex persona. Maybe it will work, I don't know.
  Anyway, as any artistic rendering - you can watch it, you can pirate it, you can ignore it. Your choice.
  It isn't because he's not deep.
  It's because Ashton Kutcher is a bad actor.
  
  --
  "My God...it's full of trolls!"
RDF by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 20:48 · Score: 0

It's the reality distortion field again!
Re:Booooooooring by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:43 · Score: 0

Slasdhot editors got to be rich somehow and internet ad clicks means they don't have to get out of their sofas.
Just like everything Apple... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 21:50 · Score: 0

Just like everything Apple, it will probably break all expectations/records no matter what the critics say ;-)
DUDE! Wheres, my Apple? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 22:07 · Score: 0

Not to mention such movies as New Year's Eve, No Strings Attached, Killers, Valentine's Day, Personal Effects, Spread, What Happens In Vegas, Miss Guided, Boog and Elliots Midnight Bun Run, Open Season, Guardian, and Bobby, not to mention loads more....
Re:Booooooooring by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-01 22:10 · Score: 0

Ashton Kutcher is also a Venture Capitalist inversing in it startups:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZJxkh5y8bA
should have went with by PieceOfShitAndroid · 2012-04-01 22:53 · Score: 1

neil patrick harris
then i would watch
You're all missing the point by mrsam · 2012-04-01 23:00 · Score: 1

The focus of the movie will be the less-known romance Steve Jobs had with Ada Lovelace. That's why they chose Kutcher. He's the natural choice for something like that.
Well, by gsgriffin · 2012-04-01 23:43 · Score: 1

That blows...

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jsut athnoer menagiensls ltitle psrhae for you to dcoede. Why do we wtsae our tmie dnoig tihs?
Dude I lost my iPhone... by dicobalt · 2012-04-01 23:54 · Score: 1

in a bar!
His failures made him who he was. by alexander_686 · 2012-04-02 00:26 · Score: 1

Jobs had a lot of failures - and he was kicked out of Apple for good reasons. Next was also (financially) a failure.
Then came Pixar (a hardware company when Steve joined) and the turn around at Apple.
I am not a fanboy of Apple, but you have to respect what he did. He had a bold vision - which he always had. But then he executed and managed people to get there. He couldn't do that initially at Apple. He had to leave to mature.
1. Re:His failures made him who he was. by Pseudonym+Authority · 2012-04-02 03:33 · Score: 1
  
  But then he executed [...] people to get there.
  Jesus Christ dude, you CANNOT call a man a murderer without showing some proof.
2. Re:His failures made him who he was. by Uberbah · 2012-04-02 06:44 · Score: 1
  
  Jesus Christ dude, you CANNOT call a man a murderer without showing some proof.
  The Jobs Chronicles?
Wrote this awhile back.... by RevWaldo · 2012-04-02 00:29 · Score: 1

...and in my head ABSOLUTELY I pictured Kutcher playing Jobs!

==============

Apple headquarters, main boardroom. It is full of executives in suits and ties.

John Sculley: Right, all those in favor, say 'aye'.

(all hands go up)

Everyone: Aye!!

(Steve enters, wearing jeans, sneakers, and a denim shirt. His hands are full.)

Steve: Alrighty, folks, I got pizzas and Shastas. Now let's get this meeting started! (silence.) What?

Front of the building.

(Steve is bum-rushed out the front doors. Lying on the ground, a large duffel bag is tossed to him. )

John Sculley: Just take your 400 million dollars and get out of our sight!

(The doors close as the executives walk away inside. Steve gets up, brushes himself off, picks up the bag.)

Steve: (yelling at the doors) Fine! I don't need you guys anyway! I'm gonna start another computer company that'll knock Apple on its ASS! It'll have PostScript-driven grayscale displays! Magnesium casings! I'll sell 'em to colleges for $10,000 each! AND THEY'LL BE GLAD TO PAY IT!

.

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Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
Who cares?! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 00:44 · Score: 0

I just want to know who's going to play Dennis Ritchie?
1. Re:Who cares?! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:33 · Score: 1
  
  I just want to know who's going to play Dennis Ritchie?
  Denise Richards.
Dude... by mschoolbus · 2012-04-02 00:47 · Score: 1

Dude, where's my iphone?
Dude~! by rullywowr · 2012-04-02 00:49 · Score: 1

Dude, where is Woz?
perfect by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 01:04 · Score: 0

douche playing a douche
Oh dear lord by EmagGeek · 2012-04-02 01:08 · Score: 1

I don't even want to think about how this is going to turn out.
Brilliant casting! by WillyWanker · 2012-04-02 01:25 · Score: 4, Funny

Get a douchebag to play a douchebag! Genius!
1. Re:Brilliant casting! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 02:49 · Score: 0
  
  A great way for mac fanboys to take their already overly positive view of Jobs and supplement it with what is sure to be a highly positive reflection in this fictional movie which they will take as truth. When will the common idiot stop idolizing Jobs and give the true tech icon, Mr. Gates, some more credit not only for what he did with technology but his incredible world changing generosity.
2. Re:Brilliant casting! by FrankDrebin · 2012-04-02 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Get a douchebag to play a douchebag! Genius!
  Insanely great!
  
  --
  Anybody want a peanut?
im no fan of ashton by james_van · 2012-04-02 02:11 · Score: 1

but he did a pretty good job in butterfly effect. he is "capable" of being a good actor with depth, and i think he could pull of a convincing steve jobs. however, i do whole-heartedly agree that he is a giant douche
Too bad... by rsmith84 · 2012-04-02 02:17 · Score: 1

Noah Wyle already nailed it in "Pirates of Silicon Valley". No-talent BURN!
An interesting choice by Rambo+Tribble · 2012-04-02 02:18 · Score: 1

But, can Kutcher even do mean-spirited?
One giant douchbag plays another... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 02:31 · Score: 0

Very appropriate. They could not have found a bigger douchbag to play the biggest douchbag in the world, steve asshole jobs.
most revered!!?!??!?!?!??!??!?!? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 02:35 · Score: 0

WHEN ARE YOU PATHETIC APPLE FANBOYS GOING TO STOP CRYING ABOUT YOUR MESSIAH ASCENDING BACK TO HEAVEN!?!?!
Steve Jobs is dead... no amount of movies... no matter how poor of quality the lead actor is... won't bring your messiah back to you....
This is considered newsworthy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 03:01 · Score: 0

So there is a movie being made purely to cash in on someones death (if jobs was alive still no one would be making this) for the sake of publicity and money, about a man who is is a celebrerity and treated/considered to be better than us common and non celeberity people, and played by a guy who honestly cant act worth a shit.
Why is this news on a supposed tech type site? Doesnt this belong on well, a movie based website?
shouldv'e been Christian Bale by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 03:07 · Score: 0

Ashtun Kutcher sucks at acting since he's just a professional pretty boy i.e. model, not a serious actor. If Hollywood were going to give a Jobs biopic the respect it deserves they would have had Christian Bale do it.
Here I am... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 03:16 · Score: 1

.. with a bucket load of mod points, ready to hand out +1 Funny left and right for this story.
But now I'm just sadly disappointed.
how do they avoid Isaacson material? by peter303 · 2012-04-02 03:57 · Score: 1

Most of the published material on Steve's personal life is from Isaacson's recent bestseller. I dont think a biopic would be that interesting without it.
Interesting by antdah · 2012-04-02 04:30 · Score: 1

But I find it very hard to believe someone will ever come close to Noah Whyle's excellent portrayal of Jobs in Pirates of Silicon Valley. That really is a superb movie. (And as far as I know, very historically accurate as well!) In fact, I'd rather see POSV released on Blu-ray than another movie solely about Jobs.
1. Re:Interesting by The+Archon+V2.0 · 2012-04-02 06:05 · Score: 1
  
  That really is a superb movie.
  I loved it. I really should watch it again.
  
  (And as far as I know, very historically accurate as well!)
  IIRC Woz said at the time that the details for events he personally witnessed were generally accurate though a number of Apple employees were folded into one or two characters. That, however, isn't surprising. (It's the same cost concerns that leads to Ebert's Law of Economy of Characters.)
actor Justin Long a better choice by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-02 04:45 · Score: 0

Justin Long was great playing (an implied) S.Jobs in the "Get a Mac" TV commercials. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_a_Mac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Long
Played a believable nerd in "Live Free of Die Hard" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Free_or_Die_Hard
And an inspirational leader/dreamer in "Accepted" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accepted
Ashton will probably do a good enough job, but he is too tall and doesn't look like Steve.
Yet another reason by mark_reh · 2012-04-02 05:56 · Score: 1

to not go see that movie. How did Ashton Kutcher manage to get himself a career as an actor? Rob Schneider could probably do a better job than Kutcher, as could any of a thousand other people, many of whom aren't even actors.
Same reason Zuckerberg is revered by walterbyrd · 2012-04-02 06:59 · Score: 2

He made a lot of money. Does not matter if you are a total scumbag, if you make money, you are revered. It's the American way.
I wonder if the film will protray Steve Jobs as an idea theif, and patent troll? Or would that be too accurate?
Charlie Sheen by goombah99 · 2012-04-02 07:18 · Score: 2

I was hoping for Charlie Sheen for the win.

--
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.