Steve Wozniak: Life to me was never about accomplishment, but about happiness

Here's a summary of the themes discussed in the Hacker News conversation:

Decline of Slashdot and Online Communities

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the perceived decline of Slashdot. Users reminisce about its heyday and contrast it with its current state, attributing the decline to various factors including community changes, moderation issues, and content shifts.

"IMO Slashdot always had some very narrow focus points and the community pretty predictable." - duxup
"Not a lot of variety in content or community compared to the digs or reddits of the world." - duxup
"/. was done after the Slashdot Beta mess. Never recovered." - ModernMech
"Slashdot refused to moderate comments in an effective manner. Comment section was always full of bad memes that became stale" - ghssds
"slashdot stopped allowing easy new user sign ups a while back. Now its the same folks over and over, very predictable." - annoyingnoob
"I still check it out a few times a week, and the discussions have just fallen off a cliff, and that was the biggest draw to me as well." - kevstev
"It's a real shame, slashdot used to be a juggernaut, and it's just a shadow of its former self." - kevstev
"What seems more relevant is that I didn't know about it at all which seems common with many older internet sites dying a slow dead of no new users as younger audiences are literally unable to discover the site." - daedrdev
"Definitely not what it was in the cmdrtaco days, but it has gems in there sometimes still." - nunez
"Yeah, that was my take too. I used to be on it regularly 15-20 years ago, great nitty-gritty tech plus usually good-natured snarky techy humor; but haven't even visited in over a dozen years." - insane_dreamer

Nostalgia for Older Internet and the Desire for Decentralization

Tied to the Slashdot discussion is a broader sentiment of nostalgia for earlier internet eras and a yearning for more decentralized online communities.

"personally hoping for a cultural shift back to smaller decentralized communities" - lanfeust6
"I like the idea, although smaller communities I find now a days to be far less formal and respectful than the slashdot heydays." - duxup
"jesus this takes me back" - fibers

The Complex Character of Steve Jobs

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Steve Jobs, his personality, his contributions to Apple, and his personal life, particularly his relationships and parenting. There's a clear division of opinion on whether his negative personal traits should be overlooked due to his professional achievements.

"Jobs was not a good person but we wouldn't be talking about Woz today if they had not paired up." - pstuart
"He was a visionary and 'got' tech -- Apple's success with him (both times) and the floundering in between demonstrate his value to their story." - pstuart
"Again, not a nice man and not worthy of worship but definitely of respect for what he delivered." - pstuart
"Why do we have to keep saying Jobs was not a good person?" - ivape
"He really was an asshole in his life in ways that are considered notably anti-social." - cm2012
"It is helpful to at least push back a little bit on the pass that rich/famous people typically get." - bee_rider
"After Lisa was born, Jobs publicly denied paternity, which led to a legal case. Even after a DNA paternity test established him as her father, he maintained his position." (referencing Wikipedia) - soganess
"Is being a neglectful or unloving parent equal to being a bad person? Maybe he was a bad parent, maybe he was an overly demanding and overbearing boss, but it's not like he was killing people or selling weapons." - t-3
"But as a parent myself, I think it's fair to say that if you, as a multimillionaire, stoop to doing the bare legal minimum to support the child you created, who was at one point living in poverty because you failed to support her before, then yes: you are a bad person." - teachrdan
"He kept obtaining temporary license plates because he wanted to park in handicapped spots without getting tickets. He orchestrated a salary-fixing cartel that artificially depressed wages for many thousands of engineers in Silicon Valley, all so that he and his other obscenely rich friends could get even richer." - teachrdan
"I mean, can I not just spend the money to buy a better society in which to live?" - thaumaturgy
"The sheer amount of conspiratorial, loaded questions on HN these days is absolutely staggering." - perching_aix
"No, you don't have to keep saying Jobs was not a good person." - perching_aix
"Because if the future household names don't want to be referred to as "not good" people forever, they ought not sacrifice being a good person for their fame and success." - gooseus
"He regularly referred to a 'distortion effect' he could create, by essentially 'gaslighting' [...] people into doing things they thought they couldn't - often at great emotional expense." - kulahan
"People like Jobs get attention because they're obnoxious. If they never existed, the world would be no worse off." - antonvs
"He died early because of his own stubbornness and irrationality. It's a reflection on his judgement." - antonvs
"Nobody is perfect but this doesn't excuse everything." - jraph
"The same thing is true in reverse. Jobs was a phenomenal salesman, one of the greatest to ever live. But without someone to actually make the products (and Woz was phenomenal at that), he would've had nothing to sell." - bigstrat2003
"His flaws were probably significant contributors to some of the traits that made him successful. He held some extreme opinions and was neither afraid to nor was unsuccessful in steamrolling others." - kube-system
"There are good and bad timings, and effective ways to state facts and others, not. You'll need to read the room." - jraph
"The version of Steve Jobs they have in their heads is a caricature. Steve Jobs wanted the world to see him as some sort of artistic, cultured genius. The only aspects of Steve Jobs that today's crop of tech CEOs seem to emulate are his wealth and arrogance." - thomassmith65

Steve Wozniak's Character and Impact

Steve Wozniak is presented as a contrasting figure to Steve Jobs, often lauded for his technical genius, genuine enthusiasm, and more "naive" or wholesome personality.

"We need more Woz's and less Jobs in this world." - deeg
"He was obviously a brilliant engineer. 'Naivete' is generally used in a negative manner but he had just enough naivete to get through life happy." - deeg
"He talked about all the chips he redesigned as a teen and it did not sound like bragging at all." - deeg
"It's not naive to try and be good and not exploit every situation to the best outcome for yourself, that's the whole point." - vasco
"It’s not being unaware (naive) but rather a lack of cynicism. It takes an extra dose of intelligence to avoid cynicism when you are at that level. Cynicism isn’t wisdom, and its absence isn’t naïveté." - bearl
"Steve Wozniak is one of the kind of people that makes you happy knowing they exist." - mrtksn
"most definitely without Woz there’d be no Apple." - loveit___
"Woz, I love you, man." - loveit___
"He's earnest and legitimately excited about it and you can pick up on that. It's always fun to talk to people like that regardless of their interest." - LandoCalrissian
"Remember when MS office did not include a pdf outputter because they didn’t want to hurt adobe’s feelings? Remember that? Would that have happened with a bully like Jobs?" - nashashmi
"But Woz is my fav also, and if there were many, many makers like Woz, and there are, that would be fantastic, and it is." - loveit___

The Nature of Wealth and "Enough"

The discussion branches into philosophical considerations of wealth, how much is "enough," and what people would do with significant financial windfalls. This often touches upon the idea of using wealth for personal gain versus societal benefit.

"At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have … enough.”" - softwaredoug
"People like Jobs get attention because they're obnoxious. If they never existed, the world would be no worse off." - antonvs
"I think that $10 million is a great answer for 'how much money is more than you'll ever need'." - nancyminusone
"Significantly more than that, and you're a hoarder." - nancyminusone
"The question is, try to spend $1bn on stuff. Go." - atonse
"If you are given $1B in hard cash, and the first thing you do is spend it on yourself. You are probably the worst person to ever get a windfall." - xyst
"I want to build a human cloning startup... I want to build directed energy systems... I want to build an open source cloud..." - echelon
"i would do the same, except give every extra dime to dogs and cats (and other animals in need). i'd make sure none of my wealth would go to help other humans." - misiti3780
"Buying all this stuff that seems expensive, but then seeing that it barely makes a dent in a truly wealthy person’s fortune." - sseagull
"Nice house, nice car, allowance for everyday stuff (food, bills, etc.) and travel, and a little bit of money for retirement. The rest: charities." - kleiba
"They don't buy "things" so much as they buy Experiences, Access, Influence, Time, Political Power, and so on." - ryandrake
"You can live in the Bay Area." - threatofrain
"If you want to build something for society and not die doing it then you might need more than $10M." - threatofrain
"The rest: charities." - kleiba
"My dad built tents for diabetes research in Africa, I think that's pretty interesting and helpful. He's never had even a million dollars. You need way less than you think." - delusional
"More than that should be taxed at a 100% marginal tax rate. Eliminate endless greed as a motivator." - teaearlgraycold
"It's a very common and powerful tool, this ability to have people believe you're not a naive fool, and that you're an all-knowing leader that can lead them to paradise." - antonvs

The Role of "Naivete" and Cynicism

The concept of "naivete," particularly in relation to Wozniak, is explored. The discussion questions whether a lack of cynicism is true naivete or a different, perhaps more positive, trait.

"We need more Woz's and less Jobs in this world." - deeg
"He was obviously a brilliant engineer. 'Naivete' is generally used in a negative manner but he had just enough naivete to get through life happy." - deeg
"It’s not being unaware (naive) but rather a lack of cynicism. It takes an extra dose of intelligence to avoid cynicism when you are at that level. Cynicism isn’t wisdom, and its absence isn’t naïveté." - bearl
"I think 'grounded' might be a better term vs being naive in this context. People can suck, sometimes a person who sucks is going to take advantage of you, and it’s a choice to handle it in a mindful, positive way." - toomuchtodo
"It appears that Jobs took advantage of his naivete, lying to him on multiple occasions." - deeg

The Impact of Technology on Society

The conversation touches on the broader societal impact of technology, particularly personal computing devices, with differing views on whether the advancements are unequivocally positive.

"Are the iPhone and computing that feels frictionless really a net positive for society?" - CjHuber
"They are just tools. How society uses the tools is not the fault of the tool." - dylan604
"You can't ignore the responsibility of the tool's designers and sellers like this, and a phone cannot be likened to an utterly simple tool like a hammer." - jraph
"I fully believe that Facebook et al should be treated exactly as bigTobacco. They have/are deliberately tweaking their product to make it as addictive as possible." - dylan604
"We seem to be focused on the iPhone, but what about a Pixel or a Galaxy? They're just devices. People use them for shitty things does not make the device shitty just for existing." - dylan604
"If someone is nice to me 99% of the time, and 1% screams obscenities at me, the 99% does not excuse the 1%. Bad behavior is bad behavior full stop." - callc
"I don’t want to live in a world of things built by socially maladjusted misanthropes, I want to live in a world build by kind and social people they made with their own hands." - Barrin92