I was genuinely gutted when he died, and suffered from a form of grief!
Jony Ive gave an interview recently to the WSJ!
“I loved how [Steve] saw the world. The way he thought was profoundly beautiful.”[1]
"Perhaps it is a comment on the daily roar of opinion and the ugly rush to judge, but now, above all else, I miss his singular and beautiful clarity. Beyond his ideas and vision, I miss his insight that brought order to chaos."
"Since giving Steve’s eulogy I have not spoken publicly about our friendship, our adventures or our collaboration. I never read the flurry of cover stories, obituaries or the bizarre mischaracterizations that have slipped into folklore."
I think this idea he was a 'terrible person' is just one that gets headlines!
Jony Ive's comment about the "bizarre mischaracterizations" is important I think in understanding Steve Jobs.
Many of the comments and anecdotes that go into creating the publicly understood persona of Steve Jobs come from a few well trodden stories IMHO. I've read a lot of books and articles on Apple and SJ over the years. I worked there in the 90's.
If you don't have a story about what an asshole he was, it doesn't get airtime!
Want traffic to your blog? Write about that one time you met Steve Jobs for 2 minutes and he told you your idea was garbage....
[1] WSJ Article on Apple News. https://apple.news/AeAZZga9oTPK4eCMTuAKChQ