Do you really mean to suggest that we live in such a dangerous world that the *only* way to ensure general public safety is by using anonymous-kill-at-a-distance tools, that without improving the efficiency of these killing machines I'm in mortal danger?

Sadly the fact is we DO live in a dangerous world, at least it is some of the time. On at least some occasions properly used "anonymous-kill-at-a-distance tools" is the best or only way to ensure the general public safety and the lack of them does in fact put people in danger. Humans are capable of some truly horrible behavior and sometimes the threat or actual use of violence is the only thing that will deter... or end... such behavior.

It is legitimate to argue about the appropriateness of using such violence in particular situations: whether we should enter this or that war, whether the violent or deadly response by police was appropriate in this or that particular situation. Fearing that authorities will use deadly force inappropriately is legitimate. But, you are way outside the mainstream if you think there is NEVER a situation where the use of deadly force is appropriate action or you think such situations are so vanishingly rare that being prepared for them is somehow immoral in itself.

I suspect that the only reason you could be so naive as to think the world is NOT that dangerous is that you DO live in a society where there are armed people willing to kill on your behalf.

Ironically I think looking at your list you've actually inspired a more Jobs fanboi attitude than I personally had before. I don't think anyone else on that list has had quite the wide range of influence and/or long duration of influence as Jobs. A few on the list have influence only because they of their business acumen and success in competing well in established markets. Michael Dell for instance has very little influence of interest to me (or most nerds) because it has nothing to do with how computers work, or what they're used for, he's just sold a bunch of them. His few innovations have to do with inventory management & retailing. Important but rather boring work: assembling other peoples technologies into a box for sale, and if we're better at managing inventory we can sell them for less than the next guy selling identical boxes... woohoo!!! THAT'S the guy I want to read about on Slashdot.

Job's influence is more interesting because it isn't from primarily from his business success but from being the first one to identify new technologies as important and viable. To be the first one to do new things in a big enough way to have a wide impact. Other people may have invented or done the early pioneering of any/all of the innovations we associate with Apple or Jobs but in each case it was Jobs who was the first to take those innovations and introduce them to the broader word. The PC, the GUI, the MP3 player, Computer animated films, etc. That plus a colorful personality and an enormous ego that ensures a lot of drama in the process and sure, he merits the constant attention he gets on slashdot.

Warren Buffet, Murdoch etc. are as influential in their way as Jobs is but you might have noticed a slight bias on this site towards news about computers and technology as opposed to major market newspaper circulation numbers or stock valuations. Others on the list are known for new, innovative, influential technologies we're all interested in. Though not many have been doing so repeatedly for over 30 years. Tim Berners Lee for instance had one huge breakthrough innovation that changed the world. It's Individually more impressive than anything Steve Jobs ever personally did because it was his sole invention whereas Jobs just identifies such inventions and markets them to the world. On the other hand Jobs has had his more modest involvement in more such innovations. Berners Lee gets his fair amount of mention here but Jobs gets more press because he's still doing stuff that influences the technologies we're using. Berners Lee, not quite as much or as colorfully. (As an interesting aside Berners Lee used Objective-C on a NeXT machine to write the first web server & client... Not to in any way credit Steve Jobs but funny to note in such a conversation)