Reflection 1- Pirates of the Silicon Valley Movie
There
are three questions that were asked by our professor to do our reflection about
the movie “Pirates of the Silicon Valley”.
The first question is:
What
are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a
Technopreneur?
When we say apple or Macintosh, we already
imagined the face of the founder Steve Jobs who died last year. Our favorite
products which are Mac Books, IPads, IPhones and Mac Computers are some of the gadgets
that Steve Jobs had shared to most of the people in the world. These gadgets
cost a lot of money but if you dare to have these gadgets, you may not regret
because these gadgets have a lot to offer for the costumers especially in its
magnificent features that may took the eye of its users into a different
dimension. As what I have observed, Steve Jobs or the Apple Company is really
concerned on the design of the interface in their products. Unlike the
Microsoft, they pursue the user friendly type of interface in their products
like Windows operating system. Who would have thought that he didn’t finished
his degree in college but instead he brought his career into a different level
and became a technopreneur.
Last 25th of June, all of
us were assigned to watch the television movie based on the true-life
visionaries whose battle to rule the fledgling computer empire changed the
world which is the “Pirates of the Silicon Valley”. It focuses on the battle
between rivals Steve Jobs of Apple Computer and Bill Gates of Microsoft. If you
choose to know Steve Jobs or Bill Gates better, you must watch this movie so
that you would acquire some knowledge and lessons about the past stories from their
life being a technopreneur. So if you decide to know them right away, then read
more to this article.
Steve Jobs is not an ordinary
student as what some of the people expect. He didn’t finish his college because
he started his business in an early stage of his life. The business that he started
is not ordinary. This business was started from a scratch. In my own
perception, this was one of the factors that contributed to his success. His
business was to find another way how the ordinary people can also use computers
by their selves because at their time only big companies like IBM or
International Business Machines can only use computers for their own good. He persevered
and found a solution to achieve what he wanted to do. Like other awesome humans,
he was a risk-taker. He did all his best just to come up with his idea of his
codes to be used in the computer that he wanted to build. As usual, he didn’t
come up with good results at first. He tried and tried his best to come up with
good results whatever he may encounter in his life. Being persevere was also
the factor that contributed to his success.
When he tried to introduce their
product to a company, he wished that their product which was the personal
computer would not be appealing to them. Because of his clever mind, the
company that they visited declined to use their invention. He was so very happy
to know that the company didn’t have the interest to take their invention and
that leaded him to take that opportunity to make it more powerful and thought
of building their own company to produce the personal computers. He also has
this tendency of pushing his co-workers to their limits which, if became
abusive, gives him the title of an encouraging superior or partner just like
what he did to convince his friend, Steve Wozniak, to sell his invention by
putting up their own business rather than giving it to other companies. He had
a wider perspective in his life and this was also a great contribution to his
career. Another factor that contributed to Steve Jobs’ success was how he charms
and manipulates possible investors to deliver his business and convince people
to buy his product which I think is also the reason why Apple hired him back.
Steve Jobs experienced a lot of
failure moments when he was still in the Apple Company. Steve was fired because
he had an attitude of being an abusive boss. Why? Because he turned like a
monster that he cannot control his rage and didn’t know the right thing to do
and all he did was to be an abusive boss that made his co-workers to stay away
from him. In my own observation, this attitude of being an abusive boss
wouldn’t occur if he did the right thing. The right thing that he must do was
to sustain the daily needs of his family and accept the fact that he had a
daughter named Lisa from his girlfriend. When the time that his girlfriend
needed some help to sustain the daily needs of his daughter which cost a money
worth $20000, he declined to help
because he was consumed of his anger to his girlfriend and wouldn’t
accept the fact that he had a daughter in his life. All he wanted to do was to pursue his career
and be a powerful man in his time. And lastly, his problem was he was succumbed
by power that is why maintaining his success was the challenge for Steve Jobs.
Because of his hunger for power, he
made a team named Apple and Macintosh. He was so consumed with his anger that
leaded the two teams to clash with each other and that made the whole company
suffer a massive failure performances and it almost thorn the Apple Company down
apart. Another factor that made him failed was the trick of Bill Gates. Bill
planned to trick him because he wanted to use Steve’s prototype of his
computer. Bill used this trick to make another prototype for his invention. He
also planned to use the technology from the Xerox Company which was the mouse
system and the graphical user interface. Aside from that, all he wanted to do
was to create another operating system that would surely be different than the
Apple Company did. He was been successful for convincing Steve Jobs to give his
prototype from Macintosh and it leaded him to create a wonderful operating
system that almost all the people are using at the present time. Windows
operating system from Microsoft was a bit different compared to the operating
system of Macintosh. Macintosh is a lot concerned to the graphical user interface
of the computer while Microsoft is concerned to the functionality and the
friendly-user style of their operating systems.
The
second question is this:
How
do you see yourself as a technopreneur?
As I answer this question, let me
first define the word Technopreneur. Obviously, the main root words are the
words technology and entrepreneur. As
what the online encyclopedia or Wikipedia.com said, the technology is the
making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques,
crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve
a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific
function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery,
modifications, arrangements and procedures. The human species' use of
technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools.
The prehistorically discovery of the ability to control fire increased the
available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in
travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological
developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet,
have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact
freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for
peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive
power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
And let us not forget the meaning of
the root word entrepreneur from the word technopreneur. From Wikipedia.com, an
entrepreneur is an enterprising individual who builds capital through risk
and/or initiative. The term was originally a loanword from French and was first
defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in
English is a term applied to a person who is willing to help launch a new
venture or enterprise and accept full responsibility for the outcome. Jean-Baptist
Say, a French economist, is believed to have coined the word "entrepreneur"
in the 19th century - he defined an entrepreneur as "one who undertakes an
enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediately between capital
and labour".
A combination of these two words
will come up with a good and better result. Technopreneur aims to provide you
with, the latest information on new, emerging Internet technology trends,
sifting the hype from business reality. You will get the inside track on all
things Internet technology that will impact your business tremendously.
Business and technology are almost always entwined. Evolution of technology inadvertently
leads to evolution in business as what technopreneur.wordpress.com said.
For me, being a technopreneur in the
near future would be a challenging one. This might take me into a wider
perspective in my life. To be frank, being an entrepreneur that involves
technology would be a hard thing for me to deal with. Technologies that would
be invented in the future would be interesting for me. For this reason, I would
be glad if I would be a technopreneur someday. I would see that if I would become
a technopreneur, I would sell lots of good things that would cost lots of
money. The technology that I would really love to sell is for each house in our
country. For example, I would think for a better solution to fight insect or
pesky animals that lived in each house of our neighbors. This would be a
perfect solution. As what my imagination said, these problems might be solved
if I could make the insect repelling and pest killer combined in just one
device and this would be the “Digital Insect and Pests Repelling Laser”. Ordinary
pests and insect repelling might cost a lot of money and sometimes it could
take a long period for us just to kill them inside our house. This technology
would be really appealing to the community.
To further explain this technology,
it would look like an air conditioner and would be placed in each room you
want. The system would have a remote control so that you could always adjust
all of the functionalities in this device. When you program the laser to kill
the pest you want. You will just click the choices in the remote control. These
choices are insect or pesky animal. When you try to click pesky animal button,
the device’s system would use a laser light that would kill any pests that are
currently inside the area where this device is placed. And same as when you
press the button for insect, all of the annoying insects would be killed
thoroughly. You can also bring it to any rooms you want and press the schedule
button if you want this device to automatically work in the right time just in
case that there would be some insects or pesky animal that would try to hurt
you and your family. This technology is eco-friendly and not harmful to the
human’s body. The laser light would not harm any human but will always harmful
to those insects or pesky animals in your house.
Sometimes, being a technopreneur is
not an ordinary thing to deal with. Of course, you would try to please all the
people to convince them to buy your technology that you invented. For me, if I would
sell that machine or device, it would take a long time just to make that
technology more appealing and more functional to bring your costumers buy all
of your inventions. If I might able to do that, I might experience the life of Bill
Gates and Steve Jobs. The life that’s fool of hardships and full of stressful
moments. As a technopreneur, I must also consider the situation that there will
be an instance that there’s someone who may steal my concept or ideas.
To continue, being a technopreneur
in the near future would be risky. If I would have the courage to pursue being
an entrepreneur, I will have to have a more business-suited attitude which
means I have to wipe out my habit of being overdue and I should really try to
practice managing big responsibilities. Next, I have to enhance my creativeness
and innovative thinking in order to create saleable ideas. Technopreneurs are
entrepreneurs who are into the core businesses involving technology-based
industries. They make use of technology to come out with new or innovative
products through a process of commercialization.
The
last question is this:
Would
you take the same career path as Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?
Steve Jobs has done a great
contribution to the world. He did this by creating a prototype that made the
computers achieved the goal to be with the people who wants them. He did this
when he was on his young age. For me, I would think that I may take the same
career path as what Steve Jobs took. But if it involves technologies like creating
computer operating systems, I would choose to go the graphics side.
To continue my answer, let me first share
to you what are the things that happened to me throughout the days of being a
college student. During my college days, I am always assigned to handle to
create graphics for my classmates, professor and even in our subjects and extracurricular
activities. One of the best parts that happened to my life when I belong to the
graphics team in our practicum or on the job training that happened a month ago.
I was assigned to edit some of the pictures that are currently being used by
our university site.
I was also commanded by my adviser
to create some of the banners to be used in different pages in the university
site. That was a bit challenging for me because there were times that my
adviser didn’t like my designs and the graphics that I have used was not enough
to sustain what he really wanted. And that thing leaded me to persevere and I made
some time to examine and search what would be the effective type of designs
that would be pleasing to the eyes of my adviser. I researched all the possible
things that could help my design for banners to be more appealing. Some of
these banners that I have created were for the different college’s sites like
College of Arts and Sciences where the Biology, Statistics, Mathematics,
Literature and AB language students are. Their banners must have to be like a
prehistoric image, has an icon of sciences and art works to define the college’s
courses with the use of it. In the
college of education, this was the very tiring and the most pressuring banner
that I have done. The college’s dean was very strict with their website and all
they wanted to see was the phrase “Center of Excellence in Teacher Education”. And
they even dare to change the standards that had been already implemented just
to show that phrase in the header side of the website. So, the students that were
assigned to the college of education proposed an alternative way just to put
the phrase “Center of Excellence in Teacher Education” continuously inside the website.
They suggested that what if the banners would be the one to serve as the image
to show the college’s phrase simultaneously.
I also wanted to create the banners
for our own institution. I volunteered to create the Institute of Computing
banners. At first I thought that my ideas for the banners were perfect to suite
the design for the institute of computing. But I was wrong. My adviser had a
little complain on what my design was. So I changed my designs immediately and
come up with nicer banners. So far, all
the banners that I have already redesign was approved by our adviser. The College
of Technology was a bit easier for me because I have the idea already on what
would be the design for the banner. The design that came to my mind was the technological
style like gears and metals. They are suitable for the CT banners that I have created.
As what I have observed in the
movie, I slowly realized that I really hated Steve Jobs for his manner and temperament.
But he is a sort of a guy that shows an idea that can be great if you will
start to work and create. He is a great example that even a person didn’t
graduate college or didn’t have a degree can be wealthy, instigate others, and
have a mark in the history of mankind. He is truly a technoprenuer, I saw in
some sites in the internet telling that he was the father of technoprenuership
and I believe in that. I did say no for his outcome because I don’t want the
kind of failure he has gone through. He has the best path of success to
consider but his failure was not his business or his idea or even his team but
it was him. I will not imitate and show off bad influence, attitude, and
approach that he showed the people around him. This would therefore be against
the principles of technopreneurship. What Steve Jobs did to his employees is he
managed them, which is wrong. As a good employer, we should lead them, the employees,
to better build a bond, build a team, and together become successful. No one
should leave anyone behind. We must always look back although we have gained
all the goals and success that we want in our lives, in short always put
ourselves on the ground because everyone starts there. We as being an
technopreneur, we must possess the good character and relationships between our
employees in order for us not to be broken down and fail because of our bad
relationship towards our employees. But
I will follow the positive characteristics and develop myself, the skills that
Steve Jobs have. I’m inspired of what Steve Jobs positive characteristics and
Technopreneurial skills. But as for now, I must study hard and give the best
that I could in different subjects so that I will graduate in this course and
have a better degree than others.
If ever I would be given the chance
to begin my own career I would really do my very best not to meet the troubles and
circumstances that Steve Jobs had back in his old days. I would never be consumed
by power but as an alternative it will try to stay my feet on the ground. I
will really encourage and move forward my employees to do their best in a way
that is not abusive but instead being helpful and being a religious person.
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