Apple founder Steve Jobs dies age 56
The world of technology bid farewell to a visionary today as it awoke to the news that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had lost his long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. The former Chief Executive of the United States-based computing company had been suffering from the disease since 2004 and had a liver transplant in 2009. He took medical leave in January before resigning for good in August. Jobs, who is survived by his wife Laurene and four children, launched Apple in the 1970s together with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, and from there on in he was at the helm as the company blossomed into the multi-million dollar empire we are familiar with today. Together the pair marketed what was considered to be the world's first personal computer, the Apple II. Apple has revolutionised how we interact and communicate and has changed the consumer electronics market beyond recognition. Its market value is estimated to be around EUR 263 billion, and it is the world's most valuable technology company. In a statement following the death of its founder, the company praised his 'brilliance, passion and energy' and hailed his countless innovations and the effect they have had on so many people's lives. Apple computers have long been held in high regard for their intuitive functions and sleek features, particularly revolutionising jobs in the creative industries such as graphic design and video editing. The mid-1990s were characterised by Apple's quest to create something that would leave the classic PC software format far behind and beat market dominators Microsoft. Although competitors, Jobs and Microsoft Chief Bill Gates were also friends. '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. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honour. I will miss Steve immensely,' commented Mr Gates. Jobs is responsible for bringing the colourful iMac computer, the iPod and the iPhone to the world, and his death came just a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone model. Jobs will be remembered for his attention to detail and for his involvement in every step of the product development process, from conception to execution. It wasn't all plain sailing though, as Jobs was famously pushed out of Apple in 1985 after internal feuds, before returning in 1997 to pick up the floundering company and turn its fortunes around by taking it in its visionary new direction. In 1986, during his over a decade-long hiatus from the company, Jobs bought the company Pixar which at the time was a small digital animation experiment of a company before helping to turn it into the entertainment giant it is today.For more information, please visit: Apple: http://www.apple.com
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