Steve Jobs inspired me by building his business on quality. Before the rebirth of Apple the dominant designer in the computer industry was Microsoft, which specializes in willfully shoddy workmanship. They inspired others to do knowingly bad work and made it harder to develop a business consensus for good work. Microsoft’s world was cynical, depressing and demoralizing. Apple under Jobs countered this. It showed that cynicism towards your own workmanship is not necessary.
But when you buy an Apple product you more or less give up your right to repair it. You can’t install the software of your choosing, you can’t sell your software to other owners without Apple’s blessing. You give up your right to modify and improve a possession, which negates your own property rights. Apple is such a powerful corporation that they can sell you stuff without your getting true ownership. This is undemocratic. It increases the power of the biggest and most powerful corporations. Even Microsoft at its peak was more open. This makes me sad and a little more cynical.