To me, it is that their life means more than just surviving. They somehow make the world a better place.

So using this scale, I have to place Bill Gates as greater than Steve Jobs. Being focused on the needs of the poor and disenfranchised is a noble goal, and one that I find very rewarding. The best times in my life have been when I have been able to give or help others.

This is not to say that what Mr. Jobs did wasn’t worthwhile. iPads are used in many life saving applications, and I have featured many of those stories on this website. However, given the focus of Mr. Gates vs the focus of Mr. Jobs as reported publicly, it seems clear who is doing the most for the poor.

I could be wrong, and Mr. Jobs is doing great things for the poor. I don’t deny that may be happening, but I have not read anything about that. It may be that the future of Apple might be to help medical devices become even cheaper and more functional. I hope that is the case. I appreciate the things that Apple has done to move technology forward, even if people were inconvenienced or it was a rude awakening. While I do not apologize for them, I understand why they acted as they did.

Many things improve the quality of our live. Open source software is something I use everyday. I suppose Mr. Stallman I should thank for that. It is really impossible to give credit to all the creative and hardworking individuals who make the world better. I think the most we can do is have gratitude for living in a time, in which we can witness the growth of peaceful and non-destructive methods of solving problems.

What makes a person great? Making others lives great.