You have no idea why he says that, why must you be a complete asshole? He might be some sort of evangelist, or a guy who got some claim to fame through iOS or spends 10h/days working with or on it (the case seems to be the later). If what you do is part of your identity, the ecosystem you do it on also is.
I had the exact same thought when I read that, won't lie about it. But that doesn't mean you need to say it out loud. Substitute anything for "iOS/Apple" in that line, even something really dumb (say, um, "4Chan"), and it's still a dick thing to say.
I said I had the same thought, but in this particular case, that's my problem for opening a thread about Steve Jobs died a year ago, what'd you expect if not people sharing how big of an influence on their lives that man has been?
Some things need to be said, though the wording the poster chose was very poor. Something more beneficial to conversation like "I don't think that iOS would ever qualify as a cornerstone of my life. Why does it for you?" would've been a better move.
As for your other point, though--picking 4chan as a an example of a dumb life influence is not something I'd agree with. 4chan is a fairly unmoderated environment, whereas iOS is famous for being a heavily-managed walled garden.
I, for one, would rather list 4chan than iOS, if for no other reason than growing up in the technological equivalent of the burbs isn't something I'd be proud of.
> Something more beneficial to conversation like "I don't think that iOS would ever qualify as a cornerstone of my life. Why does it for you?" would've been a better move.
Nice. I tried a few formulations in my head, but none of them sounded very respectful, so I posted nothing. You give a good example of what someone just told me recently, that a phrasing criticism as a question helps avoid conflict.
And you're right about the 4chan thing, I should've said "something that many consider really dumb" because indeed I don't believe it's always a "dumb" influence (though it can often be so). I would raise an eyebrow at someone naming it as their most important formative influence, though. Unless their name is moot, maybe :)
Get a life.