<center><img src = "http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltkcg8HjUW1qbxjw9o1_500.png" /> by Tomoyuki Arima</center>
<p><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koudansha">Koudansha</a>, the largest Japanese publishing house, has just <a href="http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4062171260">defaced the new Steve Jobs biography</a>.</p><blockquote><p><em>"As a designer, I cannot tolerate the fact that they have altered the cropping of the original photograph."</em></p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/tatsdesign/status/128400283805024256">Tomoyuki Arima</a></p></blockquote><p>The editors have shown just how <strong>badly</strong> they are out of touch with Steve Jobs and his values. They have chosen to disrespect Steve Jobs and his beliefs in order to maximize the book's sales.</p><blockquote><p><em>"The fucking irony is that the cover is the only thing Jobs exerted any influence on, and fucking Koudansha decided to deface it."</em></p><p><a href="http://twitter.com/__kiyoto__/status/128377868626575360">Kiyoto Tamura</a></p></blockquote><p>If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates. Koudansha's pursuit of profits at Steve's expense is revolting.</p><p>The worst part about this mess? The fact that this abomination of a redesign will probably increase sales in Japan.</p><p>Sigh.</p>
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*note: A comparison of the cover between various countries can be found here
Also, this is how the book looks like on the shelves with a "cover strip" attached.
Seems weird that they had the original photograph to change. I guess because the font is different they had to have it. I'm sure Steve wouldn't be too upset. He is of course dead...
On October 25 2011 08:12 Megaliskuu wrote: I'm confused...part of his hand gets croped off and its defacing it?
Am I missing something here...
Alterations include the cropping change, font type change, font size change, background color change, addition of icons, and addition of a "cover strip" (shown below) with superfluous headlines that read like an advertisement.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
That son of a bitch! Sorry Haji, I don't really care that much for a picture on the top of a biography. You could say it looks less like the own guy's work, but I'm more interested in what the pages in the book says than the actual cover.
Only thing I don't like is the superfluous headlines as they are way to common when trying to sell terrible books.
This reminds me of those games in magazines where it says spot the difference, and it's really hard to find any unless you look hard.
Yes they changed a little bit, but you make it out that they completely destroyed and disrespected the book, it's not a big deal.... really stupid post.
Edit : I can't believe I just read, this redesign does against everything Steve Jobs stood for, you must be joking right....?
On October 25 2011 08:22 askTeivospy wrote: its more busy and looks like a magazine but
really defacing? Also i don't see how this will increase sales but to me if something increases sales then that is actually the superior product :|
That's perfectly reasonable, as the objective sets the means by which it should be achieved (and we can surely have a difference of opinion).
My beef with this is that the "redesign" goes against everything Apple and Steve Jobs stood for and fought for, whether you buy into their dogma or not. If there is one occasion where others should bend to their will, for me, this was it.
Adding a cover strip is defacement? Please. Would it be "defacement" if Barnes & Noble slapped a 25% off sticker on the cover? Jobs doesn't need 100% creative control over every piece of media that has anything to do with him.
-_- steve jobs sucked and I blame him for the piece of shit that windows 8 looks like it is going to be. I dunno how you can say he didn't focus on profit since everything apple has is about 3-5x the price it should be, at least for computers. Maybe you can argue they didn't sacrifice quality to do that, but I would say that depends on your definition of quality. That 2gb macbook they sold for 1k around a year ago (dunno if they updated it) was clearly a piece of shit and functioned on par with a netbook.
Yeah, it is slightly different and that is kind of annoying, but seriously, this happens ALL THE TIME in every country where they alter things to fit marketing strats.
I hate thie "Steve Job" deification since his death where every little thing that happens Apple people take as a sign of either his brilliance or a great disrespect.
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote: If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates
Then why is apple's shit so ridiculously overpriced?
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
And as an entrepreneur, I'm sure Jobs will understand that cultural/regional differences affect the marketability of items. Personally, I think it looks tacky, but maybe the publishers felt that a magainze-esque feel to the book was better.
Who the fuck cares?
Are you also going to complain that McDonalds doesn't serve beef in India, but has a vegeterian-centric menu instead? Oh my god, they're compromising the Big Mac just to conform to local religious values!!!
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
Yeah all I know is that when I die, if Japan fucks up the cover of my biography one bit I will be PISSED. Sure more people may be reading my life story, BUT AT WHAT COST?
People seem to be making a huge deal about something that really doesn't matter. I'm a graphic designer and I don't even care in the slightest that they altered it for a different country's sales. Maybe I'm just not understanding all the fanaticism for Jobs or something, I dunno. Maybe if it was something more significant than a book cover it would actually seem important.
I'm not sure the 'distortion' justifies this harsh of an outcry.
When I read defacement I think of someone adding mustaches and horns to pictures in library books. Using an iconic photograph on the book, and adding labels on it doesn't seem like defacement to me.
On October 25 2011 08:51 Chef wrote: Haji, are you trolling me?
That sounds about right.
I can understand if you're upset about it, as you see it as a slight to Steve Jobs, but the change doesn't seem to warrant the intensity of the reaction. =/
On October 25 2011 08:30 RebirthOfLeGenD wrote: -_- steve jobs sucked and I blame him for the piece of shit that windows 8 looks like it is going to be. I dunno how you can say he didn't focus on profit since everything apple has is about 3-5x the price it should be, at least for computers. Maybe you can argue they didn't sacrifice quality to do that, but I would say that depends on your definition of quality. That 2gb macbook they sold for 1k around a year ago (dunno if they updated it) was clearly a piece of shit and functioned on par with a netbook.
That's just a difference in opinion in what you intend to pay for in a device.
On October 25 2011 08:30 TheAmazombie wrote: Yeah, it is slightly different and that is kind of annoying, but seriously, this happens ALL THE TIME in every country where they alter things to fit marketing strats.
Have you looked at the link at the bottom? It compares versions in Germany, China, etc and none of them are altered the cover to the extent of what they chose to do in Japan.
I don't view this as a huge omfg deal, but moreso incredibly disrespectful and ironic in many ways. The irony here is obvious, since the way Apple is primarily different from other manufacturers these days (imho) is their attention to minutiae. A lot of the things Apple adds to their products might fall into "no big deal who really cares", just like this crop, but it's their touch. It makes their products more pleasant to use. Hence, irony.
And obviously it's disrespectful to Steve Jobs since, from what I gather, he wanted the cover to be one way, and not the other (and like I said he/apple are adamant about details like this), and now that he's dead, oops nobody cares.
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote: If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates
Then why is apple's shit so ridiculously overpriced?
You could easily argue that if they priced it lower and used completely shitty design / materials, then they'd actually have even higher profits.
But then again, perhaps not. who knows.
On October 25 2011 08:33 LaLuSh wrote: Feels like pseudonews.
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
And as an entrepreneur, I'm sure Jobs will understand that cultural/regional differences affect the marketability of items. Personally, I think it looks tacky, but maybe the publishers felt that a magainze-esque feel to the book was better.
While I certainly can't speak for the man in the grave, I honestly don't think he was the type of guy to jlig.
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
Yeah all I know is that when I die, if Japan fucks up the cover of my biography one bit I will be PISSED. Sure more people may be reading my life story, BUT AT WHAT COST?
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote:If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates. Koudansha's pursuit of profits at Steve's expense is revolting.</p><p>The worst part about this mess? The fact that this abomination of a redesign will probably increase sales in Japan
One would thought that someone with over 24k posts would be more impartial.
Apple sacrifice the user's liberty for design and profits. Is it any better than Microsoft ?
And if you want to be revolted by something concerning the computer world, you might as well be mad at the poor coverage of the death of Dennis Ritchie. He, at least, created something valuable to humanity whereas Jobs was just a good vendor.
On October 25 2011 08:39 MayorITC wrote: You know what's more tasteless?
Steve Jobs was an amazing visionary. There's so much to cover about him, but instead you choose some asinine detail about a biographical book on him.
How can you criticize the Japanese publishing company when you're also defacing Steve Jobs' legacy by stirring up drama to promote your blog?
Do you honestly think this is the only thing I've written about him in the last 3 weeks? I'll spare you the links.
The purpose of my blog is is to inform and to make the reader think about things they may not have before. I'll willingly subject myself to criticism if it means 1% of the viewers has even an inkling of a critical thought as a result of my writing.
If I truly wished to "promote my blog", I would either (a) only post part of the post here, or (b) post only a link, like so many shitty SC2 sites do on these forums. WIn that light, would you care to elaborate how my sharing of my thoughts on a design debauchery defaces the legacy of Jobs? And mind you, it's in everyone's right to disagree with me on my argument in the OP.
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote:If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates. Koudansha's pursuit of profits at Steve's expense is revolting.</p><p>The worst part about this mess? The fact that this abomination of a redesign will probably increase sales in Japan
One would thought that someone with over 24k posts would be more impartial.
Apple sacrifice the user's liberty for design and profits. Is it any better than Microsoft ?
And if you want to be revolted by something concerning the computer world, you might as well be mad at the poor coverage of the death of Dennis Ritchie. He, at least, created something valuable to humanity whereas Jobs was just a good vendor.
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote:If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates. Koudansha's pursuit of profits at Steve's expense is revolting.</p><p>The worst part about this mess? The fact that this abomination of a redesign will probably increase sales in Japan
One would thought that someone with over 24k posts would be more impartial.
Apple sacrifice the user's liberty for design and profits. Is it any better than Microsoft ?
And if you want to be revolted by something concerning the computer world, you might as well be mad at the poor coverage of the death of Dennis Ritchie. He, at least, created something valuable to humanity whereas Jobs was just a good vendor.
Btw, I (and some others) think that this matters. Most of you beg to differ.
Isn't that the whole point of me writing this?
Some of you are saying "what the hell is the point of this blog post", but what exactly would the point of a blog post be if everyone wholeheartedly agreed with it???
Uh.. that OP conflicts with everything I've ever known about Apple and Steve Jobs. He ran point for a company that made little mp3 players that died in six months 10% of the time right? I'm not mixing him up with the pope or something?
I mean I'm all for not speaking ill of the dead but.. whoa man. A) It's a book cover it should mean a pretty awful book if you adhere to the adage. b) I'm sure it's a rather short sided and selective reading of Jobs successes and none of the behavior that drove the other Steve away.
I like you a lot haji you're one of the coolest doods on TL but I'm afraid we completely disagree over the importance of both book covers (unless some form of censorship is involved rather than creative differences) and the importance of Steve Jobs and trendy consumer items.
Some of you are saying "what the hell is the point of this blog post", but what exactly would the point of a blog post be if everyone wholeheartedly agreed with it???
That's why I gave the only thought out response to a blog today in yours ^_^
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
I really couldn't care less. The man was brilliant with marketing. If a publisher which buys the book wants to change it, then they can. Nobody would care if it was Bill Gates.
On October 25 2011 08:08 thedeadhaji wrote:If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time. In this very biography, he recalls how Microsoft has deliberately sacrificed product quality for a superior business model. Apple is not Microsoft, and Steve Jobs is not Bill Gates. Koudansha's pursuit of profits at Steve's expense is revolting.</p><p>The worst part about this mess? The fact that this abomination of a redesign will probably increase sales in Japan
One would thought that someone with over 24k posts would be more impartial.
Apple sacrifice the user's liberty for design and profits. Is it any better than Microsoft ?
And if you want to be revolted by something concerning the computer world, you might as well be mad at the poor coverage of the death of Dennis Ritchie. He, at least, created something valuable to humanity whereas Jobs was just a good vendor.
What I said still stand, I even bolded if for you. Otherwise I can't read Japanese and you didn't post it on TL.
Fwiw I do agree with you on the bolded part. (I'd probably never own only an apple machine for this reason) I signed the FSF petition against the Windows 8 bios certification thing as well for this reason.
I don't crosspost everything I write onto TL, but needless to say I was immensely disappointed by the coverage of Ritche's passing (perhaps even more so because I have had the chance to talk with Brian Kernighan about software patents several years ago when I was a student)
Some of you are saying "what the hell is the point of this blog post", but what exactly would the point of a blog post be if everyone wholeheartedly agreed with it???
That's why I gave the only thought out response to a blog today in yours ^_^
On October 25 2011 09:21 thedeadhaji wrote: I'll willingly subject myself to criticism if it means 1% of the viewers has even an inkling of a critical thought as a result of my writing.
On a serious note, I think the minimalist cover is perfect for Jobs, so I've got to agree about them being out of touch. It's a little insulting to him to fuck with it, but.. whatever. How popular are Apple products in Japan, btw?
If it meant that much they should have negotiated what the cover was going to look like before they sold the publishing rights. That's what Steve Jobs would have done... if anyone is disgracing his memory it is the US publisher selling the rights to his book first and worrying about what it will look like after.
On October 25 2011 09:21 thedeadhaji wrote: I'll willingly subject myself to criticism if it means 1% of the viewers has even an inkling of a critical thought as a result of my writing.
On a serious note, I think the minimalist cover is perfect for Jobs, so I've got to agree about them being out of touch. It's a little insulting to him to fuck with it, but.. whatever. How popular are Apple products in Japan, btw?
My friend who is a designer in Tokyo wrote, "While there is a population of Apple fans in the States who have been with the company through thick and thin for 20+ years, it is safe to say that the vast majority of people who are aware of Apple in Japan were 'converted' not even at the introduction of the iMac, but only after the iPhone"
On October 25 2011 09:49 mucker wrote: If it meant that much they should have negotiated what the cover was going to look like before they sold the publishing rights. That's what Steve Jobs would have done... if anyone is disgracing his memory it is the US publisher selling the rights to his book first and worrying about what it will look like after.
Very good point, didn't consider that at all, thanks.
On October 25 2011 09:28 thedeadhaji wrote: Btw, I (and some others) think that this matters. Most of you beg to differ.
Isn't that the whole point of me writing this?
Some of you are saying "what the hell is the point of this blog post", but what exactly would the point of a blog post be if everyone wholeheartedly agreed with it???
My 2 cents: If your writing just to show differences in opinion, I find it fairly pointless. Its like the media only reporting on stories that excite and wow people so that said people will tune in more often, instead of stories that are actually valuable and important. You are more or less attracting people to your blog post by throwing out a topic that would blatantly stir up controversy.
That being said, if it wasn't the sole purpose of your blog maybe I would be more considerate of your interpretation of the cropping.
On October 25 2011 09:28 thedeadhaji wrote: Btw, I (and some others) think that this matters. Most of you beg to differ.
Isn't that the whole point of me writing this?
Some of you are saying "what the hell is the point of this blog post", but what exactly would the point of a blog post be if everyone wholeheartedly agreed with it???
My 2 cents: If your writing just to show differences in opinion, I find it fairly pointless. Its like the media only reporting on stories that excite and wow people so that said people will tune in more often, instead of stories that are actually valuable and important. You are more or less attracting people to your blog post by throwing out a topic that would blatantly stir up controversy.
That being said, if it wasn't the sole purpose of your blog maybe I would be on considerate of your interpretation of the cropping.
My intention, at least, is to inform the users here that a certain publisher has taken "Creative liberty" with this certain publication, which can be seen in many people's eyes as a disrespect for the very subject of the book being published. (ex: how many of you knew that the cover was substantially different in different countries?)
Next, the reader can choose to either accept my argument that this is a terrible move by the publisher, or reject my claim.
I think that the people who have taken the time to explain why they don't consider this to be a major misstep have constructively contributed to the discussion. (i.e. the position that a redesign that increases the exposure of the book being accepted by Steve Jobs, is at the very least a very valid argument - though one that is ripe for argumentation)
As for the people who simply left "not a big deal", without even explaining their thoughts, I'm not sure what they're looking for in a blog post.
If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time.
Tell that to iTunes, iMac, Airbook Pro, etc. etc. etc.
The deification of Steve Jobs is the greatest trick Apple ever pulled.
edit: As a graphic designer I fucking hate the original cover anyway. Seems like the people have gone "Jesus Christ, his heads too fucking big I can't fit any type anywhere." to which all graphic designers know the answer is,"Shove it in in Helvetica, send them an invoice, lets go get beer!"
On October 25 2011 08:34 cmgillett wrote: sorry but big time bfd
User was temp banned for this post.
I really don't see how this guy was banned.
I mean seriously who the hell would care about this besides Apple fanboys? It took me 2 minutes + a page and a half just to tell what the problem is.
If the man cared about details or even his own products then Apple's stuff wouldn't be such overpriced, un-customizable garbage, or at least have real quality options for the non tech-retardants (No offense meant) who happen understand what a byte is.
On October 25 2011 10:38 koreasilver wrote: I still don't understand why this guy even really matters.
Ignorance is bliss. He and Bill Gates have probably had more influence on your life than most.
Besides the fact that I've never used an apple product in my life, even considering the fact that apple's products may have highly influenced the technology around me and has affected me in that way, that in itself gives me no reason to actually give a damn about Steve Jobs. As far as I am concerned, the people involved with my public transportation systems, the garbage collection services, the people that are involved in providing me the water and electricity in my homes, etc., are FAR more influential and important to me and every other person on his godforsaken planet and I am pretty assured that no one gives a damn about them and would mourn their deaths. Why should I care about Steve Jobs again? Just because he gave people a product that people bought with their money at exorbitant prices doesn't make him important to me in any significant way.
The deification of this man is puzzling and absurd. To the every day man he is as personally important to you as a stranger you might have glanced upon on the bus, or even less than that.
Apparently nobody cares for detail anymore? Some of the reactions to this blog are fucking depressing. Like, unless the earth is shaking thedeadhaji can't make a critical blogpost?
Thanks haji for alerting me to this ironic turn. It's fascinating little stories like this that make my day.
PS. followed on tumblr, despite that so many of your posts are in Japanese. (I'll just scroll past those.)
I was always impartial to Apple products until I studied operating system design in my software engineering courses. Apple products, both the hardware and the software, are designed to such an amazing depth and detail. Every pixel, every bit of data, was thought out thoroughly. Steve Jobs had a microscopic attention to detail and a deep care for visual appeal, so if anyone deserves more than this, it's him.
On October 25 2011 13:13 Chairman Ray wrote: I was always impartial to Apple products until I studied operating system design in my software engineering courses. Apple products, both the hardware and the software, are designed to such an amazing depth and detail. Every pixel, every bit of data, was thought out thoroughly. Steve Jobs had a microscopic attention to detail and a deep care for visual appeal, so if anyone deserves more than this, it's him.
O_o
Would you care to elaborate? (if possible in text, which is a limited means of communication)
I watched all of his presentations and was always mesmerized by his ability to introduce products. The day i heard of his death quite saddened me although you had to kinda expect it (authorizing his book(which was quite a big deal considering he was very outspoken about the non authorized books - selecting his writer, stepping down as CEO)
thedeadhaji thank you for bringing this up,
it is ironic that a man who cared so deeply about every single detail is getting shit on about one of the things he cared about most - but thats business, even Steve cant keep up his iron grip after his death.
If I were a publishing house, I'd do whatever to get more sales. Why not? (unless you get negative publicity like for this)
As kind of eluded to earlier, I'd put more blame on the people handling book rights, those who care about Jobs, etc. than the Japanese publisher presumably correctly targeting the audience.
I've got to say though, that a lot of Asian language books I've seen kind of lack taste with regards to text on covers. Why?
Also, that I've once heard Wozniak speak in person and even without having seen Jobs, omg I can see why one is more famous than the other. x_x
On October 25 2011 08:34 cmgillett wrote: sorry but big time bfd
User was temp banned for this post.
I really don't see how this guy was banned.
I mean seriously who the hell would care about this besides Apple fanboys? It took me 2 minutes + a page and a half just to tell what the problem is.
If the man cared about details or even his own products then Apple's stuff wouldn't be such overpriced, un-customizable garbage, or at least have real quality options for the non tech-retardants (No offense meant) who happen understand what a byte is.
He got banned because he didn't bother to actually respond to the blog. A one line dismissal of something haji put together is not only disrespectful but also a waste of people's time. As the commandments say, think before posting and actually contribute something if you do.
On October 25 2011 14:51 Myrmidon wrote: If I were a publishing house, I'd do whatever to get more sales. Why not? (unless you get negative publicity like for this)
The publisher's name rose to #3 on Twitter's trending topics this evening, due to outrage from a subset of the Japanese internet population.
As kind of eluded to earlier, I'd put more blame on the people handling book rights, those who care about Jobs, etc. than the Japanese publisher presumably correctly targeting the audience.
I think this is definitely a legitimate claim.
I've got to say though, that a lot of Asian language books I've seen kind of lack taste with regards to text on covers. Why?
I wish I knew the answer
Also, that I've once heard Wozniak speak in person and even without having seen Jobs, omg I can see why one is more famous than the other. x_x
That guy is an engineering hero though, omg *drool*.
"If maximizing profits meant a less perfect product, Jobs would choose less profits every time."
That's complete hogwash. This whole story is a joke, he was a businessman not some divine prophet. 'Defacing' his autobiography? They changed the design, such an astounding overreaction could only really come from such a userbase.
So you're protesting because a marketing genius would dislike that an alteration of a cover he designed might enable to sell more copies of the book ? Or do you really think he only cared about the quality of the product, in which case err, well, I don't agree with you lol.
I know Steve Jobs was a person who wanted everything to be the same everywhere, but you just can't sell the same layout everywhere in the world equally well. Hell, it even goes as far as to what the different colors mean to the audience.
On October 25 2011 15:02 thedeadhaji wrote: The publisher's name rose to #3 on Twitter's trending topics this evening, due to outrage from a subset of the Japanese internet population.
Is that a Japanese thing ? Something about the culture and their respect of dead ppl ? I mean in Europe nobody cares if a book is "defaced".
Well to be really honest, the cover isn't nothing close to an artpiece to begin with. The portrait while beeing i guess quite famous is quite shitty, and I actually think crazy japanese consumers own that kind of right to transform anything that's shown to them with their crazy visual mania, because they like it better this way.
Apple is far from beeing any design king, unless you consider their items as work of art.
I mean 70 years from now people will look at the iphones / ipad like a fat big clunky piece of plastic, just like any other phone.
if anything, Steve Jobs was good at marketing that's about it.
edit : however their operating systems were always very powerful and that's very very good
edit 2 : also every piece of biography I ever read on him would always tell the same aka him beeing an arrogant and self illuminated asshole, and that doesn't help
On October 25 2011 10:38 koreasilver wrote: I still don't understand why this guy even really matters.
Ignorance is bliss. He and Bill Gates have probably had more influence on your life than most.
Besides the fact that I've never used an apple product in my life, even considering the fact that apple's products may have highly influenced the technology around me and has affected me in that way, that in itself gives me no reason to actually give a damn about Steve Jobs. As far as I am concerned, the people involved with my public transportation systems, the garbage collection services, the people that are involved in providing me the water and electricity in my homes, etc., are FAR more influential and important to me and every other person on his godforsaken planet and I am pretty assured that no one gives a damn about them and would mourn their deaths. Why should I care about Steve Jobs again? Just because he gave people a product that people bought with their money at exorbitant prices doesn't make him important to me in any significant way.
The deification of this man is puzzling and absurd. To the every day man he is as personally important to you as a stranger you might have glanced upon on the bus, or even less than that.
You asked why he matters, he matters because he was a genius who changed the majority of peoples lives. One of the most innovative people of our time. As important as those people you mention are, they could not do what he did. There's a reason why he's being called the Thomas Edison of our time.
He did more than just make apple products. Look at Pixar and the things they've done for the movie industry. Itunes and what it has done for the music industry. He pretty much opened up a whole new market with tablets. Microsoft used alot of ideas from Apple and this helped develop the computer industry as a whole. It made it competitive and Microsoft had to use some of Apples ideas. Thus making the thing you're probably typing and reading this on better.
You don't have to know somebody personally to admire and respect what they have done and the legacy that they've left. And you don't have to own an i-phone or mac for this man to have influenced your life.
Instead of being so naive do some research and show alittle respect.
I don't think the parallels between Jobs ideals and this unimportant event are necessary or even particularly valid. :s
It's also pretty standard for publishers. Honestly I don't think Steve Jobs would have had a problem with it if people with real expertise told him it'd go over better on the Japanese market.
Why is there a I and an II on the covers? Are there 2 different versions, or are the numbers just differentiating between the title and the back covers,
On October 26 2011 00:41 Monoxide wrote: Why is there a I and an II on the covers? Are there 2 different versions, or are the numbers just differentiating between the title and the back covers,
It appears that they're selling the Japanese version as twovolumes.
I was expecting something offensive. They changed the background and added some words? I'm surprised anyone would care. I guess when it comes to a cult leader like Jobs the smallest thing can be taken offensively.
I like it when we have discussions of this sort. We pour out all that we have got and observe how it affects the viewpoints of other people; it's just like going to the spa – a place where we can get rid of all of our impurities and come out anew, a place where we can detox from the bullshit of the world, a shoulder on which to cry the living hell out of our souls.
It’s a good experience nonetheless, but tomorrow we won’t give a shit anymore.
is not receiving any attention at all since his recent death, despite being (very arguably) as influential, if not very much moreso, than Steve Jobs. It's quite sad, in my opinion, that people are pissed about a publishing company not paying attention to the design of Jobs' autobiography, but at the same time are completely oblivious to the death of one of the founding fathers of modern computer science.
not to deface this blog but the fact that people seriously think that the CEO of a company that sells overpriced computers "sacrificed profits for design" is rather funny. You can't seriously say Apple sacrifices profits for design when their computers are routinely hundreds of dollars more expensive than their hardware-equivalent PC counterparts.
is not receiving any attention at all since his recent death, despite being (very arguably) as influential, if not very much moreso, than Steve Jobs. It's quite sad, in my opinion, that people are pissed about a publishing company not paying attention to the design of Jobs' autobiography, but at the same time are completely oblivious to the death of one of the founding fathers of modern computer science.
not to deface this blog but the fact that people seriously think that the CEO of a company that sells overpriced computers "sacrificed profits for design" is rather funny. You can't seriously say Apple sacrifices profits for design when their computers are routinely hundreds of dollars more expensive than their hardware-equivalent PC counterparts.
In my AMA thread, someone asked me who was more important: Steve Jobs or Dennis Ritchie.
I replied, "Dennis Ritchie, without any shred of doubt."
On October 25 2011 15:02 thedeadhaji wrote: The publisher's name rose to #3 on Twitter's trending topics this evening, due to outrage from a subset of the Japanese internet population.
Is that a Japanese thing ? Something about the culture and their respect of dead ppl ? I mean in Europe nobody cares if a book is "defaced".
On October 25 2011 12:27 JWD wrote: Apparently nobody cares for detail anymore? Some of the reactions to this blog are fucking depressing. Like, unless the earth is shaking thedeadhaji can't make a critical blogpost?
Critical blogpost is one thing, saying something is "defaced" when most of the people can't even notice the difference is a little bit on the overreacting side, don't you think?
Also I find it ironic that people rage over the fact that somebody tries to maximize profit from a book that is about a person who made his career by maximizing profit.
Believe it or not, I'm encouraged by the fact that 80% of you are flaming me, since it means that you're not just blindly believing what I say.
Sadly I would answer Boblion by saying that the Japanese are a society that is prone to bandwagoning.
On October 25 2011 20:48 Boonbag wrote: Well to be really honest, the cover isn't nothing close to an artpiece to begin with. The portrait while beeing i guess quite famous is quite shitty, and I actually think crazy japanese consumers own that kind of right to transform anything that's shown to them with their crazy visual mania, because they like it better this way.
Apple is far from beeing any design king, unless you consider their items as work of art.
I mean 70 years from now people will look at the iphones / ipad like a fat big clunky piece of plastic, just like any other phone.
True. we're probably going to have shit embedded in our bodies so we don't have to carry anything around
edit 2 : also every piece of biography I ever read on him would always tell the same aka him beeing an arrogant and self illuminated asshole, and that doesn't help
I would never want to be a manager like Steve Jobs, and I don't think I have the personality traits to do the kinds of things he did to people. ( I wrote a blog on this but it's in japanese)
I don't know how you can say MS is about profits, while apple isn't with a straight face. Plus, this cover deal is not even worth talking about it's so minor.
On October 25 2011 08:19 thedeadhaji wrote: Added image with "cover strip" to op.
To those of you who claim that this is just a small detail that doesn't matter - have you forgotten that the very subject of this book is a guy who was incredibly anal about the most minute of details? This book is his (and the cover is the only part that Jobs had any influence on), and this Japanese publisher completely shat on him.
if the cover is the only bit he worked on then the book isnt his? the cover is the least important part.
EPT
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