Steve Jobs, the cofounder, CEO, visionary and saviour of Apple, has died.
The company announced the news on its website, with a full page photo of Jobs taking over apple.com. He was 56.
Jobs recently stepped down from the chief executive role at Apple. He was secretive about his health, but revealed he had been battling pancreatic cancer.
Jobs leaves behind a tremendous legacy in technology, from Apple’s emergence in the 1980s to its reemergence in the 2000s, with the triumph of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Because of Jobs, Apple is now among the biggest and most enviable companies in the world.
More than that, his work has single-handedly altered the computing, music, movie and wireless industries forever, and the full scope of his influence has probably not been fully felt yet.
It is no understatement to say Jobs, with his seemingly endless innovations, changed everything.
He was an executive, programmer, designer, movie producer (check the credits of Toy Story), and inventor – he had hundreds of inventions attached to his name, not only in computers but staircases, clasps, sleeves, lanyards and much more. But he played nearly every other role at Apple. His was the face of the company. His product launches are legendary, and will be widely imitated for many years to come. He was a Renaissance CEO.
Apple has set up an email address to leave memories and condolences for Jobs at rememberingsteve@apple.com.
The company website is also displaying perhaps the most poignant statement of Jobs’ professional life and legacy:
“Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”
