Jobs wasn’t a nice man.
He was a visionary, and he helped people in his company do some great stuff. I actually respect Jobs — but the news that the company he created is not kind to employees is hardly a shock to me.
One of my professors worked at Apple pre-Jobs firing. He said the same thing-Jobs was brilliant, but quite a megalomaniac. He was extremely intolerant of differing opinions and burned through employees like firewood.
Visionary and benevolent are not synonymous; more appropriate terms would be fanatic, idealistic, dictatorial, tyrannical, despotic, domineering, arrogant, imperious, bossy, even extremist. Regardless, he made it big following his dreams. Politics aside, he was quite a businessman, and I believe more ethical than old Bill.
Clear, this is a case study of ONE embittered guy who claims he quit, but I bet he was fired, if he ever worked for Apple at all. . . and other Apple employees are calling foul on this guy. Some are claiming his story does not ring true for the position he is claiming he held and the work he claims he was ordered to do: the job descriptions don't agree. . . a product marketing wonk is just not under that kind of pressure. Many others claim that it is/was a wonderful place to work. Sorry, if that doesn't meet your pre-conceived notions of Apple as an employer but that is the way most employees are say it is.