[citation][nom]TheHelix[/nom]Without Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) we would have:No iProductsNo over expensive laptopsWithout Dennis Ritchie (September 9, 1941 – October 12, 2011) we would have:No WindowsNo UnixNo CNo ProgramsA large setback in computingNo Generic-text Languages.We would all read in Binary..They died in the same year and the same month but it seems only few notice the death of Dennis Ritchie compared to Steve Jobs.[/citation]
Are you really that stupid that you think Dennis Ritchie invented programming languages? He was instrumental in the creation of "C", my favorite programming language, and Unix, my least favorite operating system, but everything you wrote is pure crap. The strange thing is that so many people agreed with you. It's scary.
But, going back to reality, you could more easily say that without Jobs there would be no Windows, because Microsoft simply copied it. Then you could point to Xerox, etc... The point is, most of the technologies that are invented by one company, or group, would inevitably been invented by another. For example, if Intel didn't invent the microprocessor, you think no one else would have? Some things are just natural evolutions, and SOMEONE has to be first, but, it would have been done sooner or later anyway.
Also, Jobs had a more direct impact on a lot more people. His contributions are better understood. Making an operating system and a programming language (both at least somewhat difficult to work with) aren't particularly visible to a lot of people. Making things work the way people want, in pretty, elegant styles, is very visible to a lot of people. Jobs was the master at creating things that people liked. Technology for the sake of technology is a mistake that is often made. Technology for the sake of people (and profits

) is what Steve Jobs always understood better than everyone else.