Apple (AAPL) this evening issued a brief statement saying founder, chairman and former CEO Steve Jobs, 56, has passed away. A separate release from Jobs’s family was sent out:
Steve Jobs’ family today made the following statement regarding his death:
Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.
In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.
We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.
This is a sad day. Jobs made a profound and lasting contribution not just to computing but to many aspects of society. Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs. Thanks for your contribution.
The Apple home page has a tribute.
CEO Tim Cook issued a statement to Apple employees:
Team,
I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, 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.
We are planning a celebration of Steve�s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve�s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.
Apple’s board of directors issued the following statement:
We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.
Steve�s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that�enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.
His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.
AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski has been on the case, and his post, in addition to being a fine summary, has a nice collection of pics of Jobs.
Paczkowski’s colleague Ina Fried this evening cites a statement by Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates, sent via email, in which Gates remarks, “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 honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”
And Tricia Duryee has posted a round-up of various obits and testimonials. Those testimonials include one by President Barack Obama, which Peter Kafka noted this evening.
The Wall Street Journal offers a timeline of Jobs’s rise. The Journal has also posted a video feature on Jobs’s life.
Responses are mounting over on Twitter at #ripstevejobs, #thankyousteve, and #stevejobslegacy.
Valley fellow Robert Scoble hasbeen gathering images and making notes in and around the company’s headquarters in Cupertino. Flags are at half mast, flowers are being placed at the sign indicating 1 Infinite Loop.
Crowds have gathered outside Apple’s flagship retail store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (though that’s not unusual!)
The Journal’s podcast this evening offers an audio interview with Walt Mossberg, who sounds very moved by the news:
He changed a whole lot of businesses. There were a number of people who were responsible for the PC revolution, and he was one of them. He was somebody who was on the level of a Henry Ford or a Thomas Edison for this era. He also was the guy who I’m firmly convinced was leading us into what I call the “post-PC” era [...] �I don’t think most people understood that privately he brought a tremendous passion to this. It is true that he thought both big and small. He thought in broad sweeping terms about where we were going with technology and what happened at what he liked to call the intersection of technology and art, liberal arts. But it’s also true that he thought about the smallest details in these products. And that’s why he not only saved the company but also put it in a position where it consistently wins the hearts of people, because he believed very much in delighting customers. He did not manage for the quarter, he did not manage for the stock price, as high as the stock price was. He really believed that the only thing worth doing with your life was trying to change the world.
Mossberg has posted on AllThingsD a very eloquent tale of several anecdotes from his years talking with Jobs one-on-one since Jobs first returned to Apple in 1997. It’s an absolute must-read. There’s also�a video with Mossberg that was posted Thursday morning on The Journal’s site. What’s interesting is the anecdote he tells about Jobs taking long walks, determined to pursue his recuperation. A story last month by Fortune’s Patricia Sellers notes that Jobs in the last year or so extended himself to Intel (INTC) executive Sean Maloney, after Maloney suffered a stroke, offering to accompany Maloney on daily walks to recuperate.
Mossberg’s colleague Kara Swisher later offered her own think piece on Jobs, in which she asks who will emerge as a leader in the “Post-Jobs Era.”
My friend Eric�Savitz over at Forbes.com concludes, after reflecting on the fate of Apple, “With mountains of cash, huge public goodwill, amazingly successful products in the iPad, iPhone and Air, Steve leaves behind a company that has earned the right to be the most valued company in the world.”
In his first missive since the news broke, Woz tweeted:
Thursday morning, Woz had an interview with ZDNet in which he reflected on Jobs, including pranks they played.
Google (GOOG) co-founder Sergery Brin posted his thoughts tonight on his page on the company’s social networking site:
From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now). And I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met.�On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple.
Google’s other co-founder, and CEO, Larry Page, also offers his tribute:
I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google’s are with his family and the whole Apple family.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the site tonight, “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”
Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of ethernet, who has spoken eloquently about Jobs on many an occasion, calling him an American hero, writes tonight, “Alas, Steve Jobs has died. May he rest in peace. What are we going to do now, without his insanely greatness?” Shortly thereafter, Metcalfe added, “And now the people around me in this Colorado bar are having to watch a grown man cry as he types this on his iPad.”
Tim O’Reilly, himself a tech visionary, remarks, “May the uncompromising vision of Steve Jobs live on, inspiring others, making them reach further, do better.”
It was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear, looking backwards, ten years later. You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever — because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference — Steve Jobs, Stanford University commencement, 2005.
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