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| Apple users have been expressing their sorrow |
He was the
man who revolutionized the world of computers and put them into the palm of
your hand. The iPod, iPhone and iPad are associated with his name. Apple
co-founder Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56.
The news
was not unexpected. For years, Steve Jobs had been fighting a rare form of
pancreatic cancer. In 2004 he underwent an operation, in 2009 he had a liver
transplant and three times was forced to take time off from Apple, before
finally stepping down from his post as CEO in August this year. Steve Jobs
"died peacefully today surrounded by his family," according to a family
statement issued by Apple.
The
company's web site displayed a portrait of Jobs with the years 1955-2011. In a
statement, Apple said: "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius,
and the world has lost an amazing human being… his spirit will forever be the
foundation of Apple."
Jobs
started the Apple company with a high school friend, Stephen Wozniak, in a
Silicon Valley garage in 1976. He was forced out of the company a decade later,
only to return in 1997 to breathe new life into its products and its image.
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| Flags were flown at half staff at Apple headquarters |
Shortly
after the news broke, people around the world used Twitter and the Internet in
general to comment on Jobs' death. Millions of users of Apple products
expressed their gratitude for his creations - as well as their sorrow at his
death. "iSad, RIP Steve Jobs," "ThankYouSteve" or
"Pirates of Silicon Valley" soon were among the most common. The last
entry refers to the 1999 film about the development of the PC and the rivalry
between Apple and Microsoft.
In light of
the news of Jobs' death, though, there was no room for rivalry.
"Steve
and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and
friends over the course of more than half our lives," Microsoft's Bill
Gates said in a statement.
"The
world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the
effects of which will be felt for many generations to come."
Apple
products connect people all over the world, whether they be used by young
Egyptians to organize demonstrations, or by students in Europe, Asia or the
United States, who simply want to get in on the latest trends in music.
President
Obama pays tribute
US
President Barack Obama, who was presented with his own iPad by Steve Jobs
himself before it officially went on the market, expressed his condolences.
Obama
described Steve Jobs as one of America's greatest inventors who was "brave
enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world,
and talented enough to do it."
Obama said
that when Jobs and his friend Stephen Wozniak got together in a garage in 1976
to start up what would become an internationally successful company, "he
exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity."
The US
president also highlighted the fact that many had learned of Jobs' death
through the very products that he and his company had created.
"He
transformed our lives, redefined entire industries and achieved one of the
rarest feats in human history: He changed the way each of us sees the
world."
Apple's
co-founder Stephen Wozniak compared his feelings to what he many must have felt
when John Lennon or Martin Luther King died.
"What
will we do now, where will we find another one?" Wozniak asked in an
interview with American news broadcaster CNN.
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| The first Apple computer |
The images
of Steve Jobs and Apple simply went hand in hand - he personally unveiled every
product that his company created. The recently haggard figure, appearing almost
always in a casual turtleneck and jeans, made such events into a show, and was
always met with great enthusiasm. Apple and Jobs became cult. At the unveiling
of the new iPhone4S on Tuesday, his successor, Tim Cook, was greeted far less
enthusiastically. Apple's shares dropped on the stock markets.
Jobs, the
visionary, will certainly be difficult to replace. The multimillionaire was
multifaceted, a quality he displayed in the creation of his own animation
studio Pixar, which enjoyed international success and won a number of awards
for films like "Toy Story."
Jobs, who
was an adopted child and dropped out of university, lived by the motto that he
quoted in a 2005 speech to graduating students of Stanford University: “have
the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
Death, he
said, "is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's
change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new."
Author: Christina Bergmann, Washington / pfd
Editor: Michael Lawton
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