Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

A movie I particularly like is “Pirates of Silicon Valley” – a 1999 production about the history of Apple and Microsoft.

It touches on the personal lives of the creators of the two large companies of the 20th century, describing their human flaws and virtues.

In Pirates of Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs is portrayed as a drug-smoking hippie with temper tantrums; an emotional roller coaster that battles family problems, betrays friends and through his garage-based company attempts to take on the world.

This is the brilliant arrogance of Steve Jobs, his defiance of rules and regulations, his spiritual and physical methodology – partially human, partially machine – and the story of his eventual and justified success.

Through his tenure at Apple, Steve Jobs managed to identify the global need for specific types of technology and to create and deliver that technology, time and again, using the Apple wrapper he became famous for.

Unlike inventors and engineers, Steve Jobs was a visionary; instilling and creating the need for things that are far from necessary but not any less brilliant than the electric bulb or the phonograph.

Great minds shine through their vices, but deliver through their psyche and strength of vision.

Bon voyage, Steve.

I’ll save analyzing the dozens of reasons why the former Apple CEO is one of the top technology visionaries of the 20th century.

This is about how Steve Jobs has treated me and my company, Acroplex LLC when I contacted them a month ago about a trademark violation by a third party on iTunes.

Unlike other companies such as Facebook and Amazon, Apple’s response to my request to take down a violator from their marketplace was positive and virtually instant.

The Apple culture might seem distant and artificial to some – even to me, a professed non-Apple fan. I don’t own any Apple gear, gadgets or software. I don’t like iTunes or QuickTime. Still, I respect the largest company in the world, even more so now that they’ve shown that they respect the little guy, me.

Being able to talk to a real person, at the corporate legal department – let alone, on the phone instead of exchanging numerous customer ticket updates – is a big plus. The counsel I spoke to was cordial, professional and showed politeness and understanding that I have yet to experience elsewhere.

Long story short: I will be using Apple’s action and response as an example, as the battle continues with Amazon, Facebook and a couple of other online vendors to take down unauthorized material that violates my trademark.

Thank you Apple, and thank you Steve Jobs.