You do realize that jobs was once kicked out of the company for being useless, right?

That same company had to beg him to return, and eventually morph them into one of the top 10 most influential companies in world history.

Jobs also took massive ques from how gates ran Microsoft in the beginning (making everything proprietary).

Gates also took MASSIVE quest from Jobs product plans. Their rivalry (literally & metaphorically pushed each other).

Look, I am not saying he wasn't hugely important in the development of apple, but he was a business man through and through. He also had some absurdly massive character flaws. Hell, I am not even sure I would disagree if someone said having him as a role model is, in its self, a character flaw.

I am very much so understanding of where you're coming from. I think a lot of it has to do with how each one of us draws lines & defines 'role model'.

I don't envy Jobs' awful parenting, beyond awful treatment of Chrissanne Brennan (semi aside: her memoir on life with Jobs 'The Bite in the Apple' is worth the read for a cool perspective), or his obsession with competitive destruction.

But IMO, he served as the catalyst to so many wonderful advancements. I don't think the ends justify the means; or perhaps they do. Regardless, I don't care if they do. What he accomplished & pushed others to accomplish happens only a handful of times every generation.

I consider Jobs a personal role model, but I'd be a fool (semi-pun intended) to assume him as everyone else's. My point is, not every Jobs' obsessor approaches things as "OMFG APPLE LELELEL APPLE GUYS". Some of us see both sides, and see them quite clearly.