Which Tech Genius Do You Respect the Most?

[Schadenfreude]

Al Gore, he invented the internet.

Bill Gates, he has done amazing philanthropic work.

 

[Josh]

That's a big boat.

Ballin Allen's little 400+ foot yacht.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Of your very very limited list, Probably Bill Gates due to his philanthropy.

However, if you mean respect their genius/intellect, then I'd think people more along the lines of Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, or James Gosling

 

[Quasmo]

Geniuses? Isn't Zuckerberg autistic?

I doubt he could paint a picture if his life depended on it.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Bill Gates, he has done amazing philharmonic work.

Yes, he's quite the underrated bassoonist.

 

[olds]

Leo Laporte

 

[The Boston Dangler]

as a lying, cheating, stealing, tax dodging, children ignoring, fake buddhist douchebag once said, "you're holding it wrong."

 

[Printer Bandit]

as a lying, cheating, stealing, tax dodging, children ignoring, fake buddhist douchebag once said, "you're holding it wrong."

 

[Deeko]

A) In terms of overall respect, of course the answer is Gates with his philanthropy.

B) In terms of tech skill, how quickly people forget Microsoft's early days - Gates WAS, in fact, a genius developer. He just happened to be a very good business man after that.

C) lol @ considering Microsoft putting a start up out of business as being evil, outweighing his philanthropy. Its business - and frankly, the entire premise is absurd. "Anyone can sign a check for charity" - sure, but not anyone can (or would) sign multi-billion dollar checks for charity. On top of that, he's not just throwing money around willy-nilly...he is working full time to make sure his billions produce the most good they possibly can. How many people in history can say that? Ohh...but he put a wannabe millionaire's web start up out of business, causing that guy to have to get a job somewhere else! What a cold, heartless man!!

 

[Capt Caveman]

I honestly don't like any of those guys. They all come across as snooty, arrogant individuals who would probably be a terror to work for. Also, they're all college dropouts.

Yet still vastly more intelligent than yourself.

Bill Gates, he has done amazing philanthropic work. If you can't respect this, you are a moron.

 

[Fern]

Sir Thomas Dolby if we're talking about modern times.

Fern

 

[Analog]

 

[WildHorse]

Tied for equal 1st place (modern era):

Carver Mead

Richard Feynman

 

[Kaido]

I like the Woz a lot. FusionIO is a beast.

 

[videogames101]

Bill Gates, he has done amazing philanthropic work.

 

[SamurAchzar]

Bill Gates, he has done amazing philanthropic work.



No, actually, it's a tie-up between Henry Nicholas of Broadcom and Larry Ellison of Oracle. When people ask me of a role model it's the second.

Jobs is the living^H^H^H former proof of the existence of genuine, Ayn Rand-ish human greatness, and I admire him for this.

 

[zinfamous]

Steve Jobs, he has done amazing orphan-starving work.

 

[SamurAchzar]

Somehow I don't think squandering your money away is a single qualifier for human greatness.

However, starting Apple, Pixar, NeXT, THEN going back to Apple and revolutionizing about 3 industries, and taking it from near bankrupt to the spot of the biggest company in the world, is. Sorry if this is what impresses me and not feeding the starved in Africa.

 

[Locut0s]

Steve Jobs, he has done amazing orphan-starving work.

:biggrin:

 

[zinfamous]

Somehow I don't think squandering your money away is a single qualifier for human greatness.

However, starting Apple, Pixar, NeXT, THEN going back to Apple and revolutionizing about 3 industries, and taking it from near bankrupt to the spot of the biggest company in the world, is. Sorry if this is what impresses me and not feeding the starved in Africa.

what about the education of children in your own country?

what about working to end AIDs and Malaria around the world?

I'm sorry that your aspirations are so...profoundly shallow and remarkably transient.

 

[wirelessenabled]

Dennis Ritchie

Unix and C Wow!

Grace Murray Hopper co-inventor of Cobol. The business use of Cobol really got the computer era revved up.

 

[Locut0s]

And people are right these are business geniuses in the tech world, not tech geniuses. Can't say I know my tech history well enough to name names but I'd probably respect a heck of a lot of the people named in the following wiki articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP_IP#History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_graphical_user_interface
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit#Invention
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_programming_languages

If we are to have a discussion of real tech geniuses then these are the people the list should be drawn from.

 

[Geocentricity]

When I think of respect towards another human being, I could care less about his/her effect/accomplishments on technology/communcation/etc. It is more about the impact on human beings and the generations to come.

I do not respect Steve Jobs as a human being; I do respect Bill Gates in this regard because he has done amazing philanthropic work.

The iCult will claim Steve Jobs/Apple has changed their lives for the better.
The MILLIONS of lives saved around the world can state that the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation are the reason they and their future generations are alive.

iProducts don't change lives, giving a sh*t and doing something about it does.

 

[mb]

Bill Gates, he has done amazing touched me in a special place.

 

[SparkyJJO]

And to think just a few years ago it was "cool" to hate Gates