Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011


Tributes are pouring in from all over the world after the death of iconic Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs yesterday at the age of 56.

The company pays its own tribute to him on its website with a simple full page portrait on its landing page, where a single click reveals a short but powerful message: “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius,” the statement reads, “and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

The company Jobs founded with school friend Steve Wozniak in 1976 is said to have a market value of over $350 billion today.

This is a personal tribute to the achievements of Steve Jobs and the legacy of innovation he leaves for the world. Detailed obituaries can be found where readers would expect to find them, outlining the highlights of his career and the nature of his character.

The essence of his genius, however, seems to me to be in his uncanny ability to understand what consumers wanted, before they knew it themselves. "You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them," he is quoted as saying. "By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."  

 

To share your thoughts, memories, and condolences on the Apple website, email rememberingsteve@apple.com