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A Visionary has passed – Steve Jobs By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photos: Apple.com, AP Photo and Getty Images
Today is a very sad day as we have lost a true visionary, an amazing human being and a great leader. Steve Jobs, the founder and genius behind the successful company, Apple, has passed away at the age of 56. Since 2003, Jobs had been fearlessly battling an unusual form of pancreatic cancer. In 2009, he received a liver transplant and most recently in a keynote address a few months ago, he appeared frail and less energetic than the man that we all grew to know and love over the years. To his chagrin, Jobs announced on August 24, 2011, that he was stepping down as Apple’s Chief Executive. The day had come when he could no longer meet his duties and expectations on a daily basis.
Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 with his good friend, Steve Wozniak. The two literally started the business in his parents’ garage and built an empire within a few years. With Steve Job’s charisma and Wozniak’s technical prowess, there was no stopping the team. Jobs has been called the modern day Thomas Edison by many. By the time he was 25, he was a multimillionaire and yet so down to earth, a very private person in his own right. This year he made it to Forbes List of World’s Billionaires with a net worth of $8.3 billion. He appeared on the cover of Time Magazine at the age of 26 and in 1984, was ousted from the company that he built.
Nothing could keep Jobs down. He went on to found NeXT computers and then in 1986 he bought PIXAR Animation Studios.
While Jobs was busy continuing to put companies in the spotlight for his innovative ideas, Apple was struggling to stay on top. They graciously asked Steve to come back as CEO in 1997 and he took the company right to the top.
He brought us some monumental products such as the iPod which transformed computers and music to a whole new level, the iPhone which combined a handheld computer, music player, messaging device, digital wallet and cell phone all into one and the iPad which was a sleek tablet computer with a touch screen and almost no physical buttons and gave users the ability to talk to each other so much clearer and better visually through FaceTime. Jobs also started the iTunes online music and movie store which meant that you no longer had to go out and purchase CDs at the store. You could do it right from your home.
Each time a new product was unveiled, we looked forward to Jobs’ keynote address. With his vivacious spirit and true passion for his products, you couldn’t help but become excited to go out and test and purchase whatever the product may have been. Recently we were introduced to the MacBook Air, MAC OS X Lion, 10S 5. Apple and iCloud.
In the summer of this year, Apple briefly passed ExxonMobil as the world’s most valuable company. What a huge feat that was!
Jobs was a tremendous innovator and mentor to so many. He touched many lives and will be deeply missed by friends, fans and those at Apple. The new CEO, Tim Cook, sent a memo to Apple employees that the company was “planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon”. There are no other public events planned.
Jobs’ family, Laurene Powell and his four children, released a statement thanking everyone for their concerns, kindness, support and prayers this past year. They ask for privacy in their time of grief but “a website will be provided for those who wish to offer their tributes and memories”.
The homepage of Apple’s website today switched to a full-page image of Steve Jobs with the text ‘Steve Jobs 1955-2011’.
Steve Jobs will always be remembered as an exceptional individual and his spirit, dedication and drive will carry on at Apple for decades to come and he will remain in our hearts and our minds as a Master of Technology.
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