“Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was the visionary who helped create computers for everyday people and not just technophiles, developed highly stylized and hugely successful devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and engendered a cult-like following among product enthusiasts worldwide,” Suzanne Choney reports for MSNBC.com.
“The 56-year-old, a millionaire in his 20s, ousted from Apple at 30, and reinstated as the company’s CEO in his early 40s, rebuilt and expanded Apple as a company and brand that is among the most respected, admired and watched in the world,” Choney reports. “Jobs, who was treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004, and had a liver transplant in 2009, said last January that he would take a leave of absence for an unspecified period. Even so, he has continued to introduce new Apple products at public events throughout this year. His gaunt appearance has worried Apple fans and followers for awhile now. Many have dreaded this day, but expected it would come.”
Choney reports, “Elegance outside, as well as inside, the products Jobs created was paramount to him, in fact, ‘a mania,’ wrote Steven Levy, author of ‘Insanely Great,’ about the development of the Mac. Jobs’ sense of what consumers should want to buy — not just want to buy — and how the products should look, from the first Mac in 1984 to the first iPhone in 2007, was precise and almost always spot-on. His marketing savvy in presentations, with long walkups to the crescendo of a new product announcement, was also legendary.”
Much more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple; Tim Cook named CEO, Jobs elected Chairman of the Board – August 24, 2011
Apple’s deep leadership bench; COO Tim Cook in the spotlight – January 18, 2011
WSJ profiles Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook – January 17, 2011
Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes medical leave of absence; will continue as CEO – January 17, 2011
Apple spokesman: ‘Apple CEO Steve Jobs is back on the job’ – June 29, 2009
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has ‘excellent prognosis’ after liver transplant – June 24, 2009
Former Apple Exec: Tim Cook’s been running Apple for years – January 15, 2009
When Apple CEO Steve Jobs met Tim Cook – January 15, 2009
Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes medical leave of absence until the end of June; puts Tim Cook in charge – January 14, 2009
Apple CEO Steve Jobs tells graduates not to waste time in Stanford keynote speech – June 13, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs back to work full time and ‘in excellent spirits’ says Woz – October 5, 2004
CEO Steve Jobs returns to work at Apple – September 8, 2004
Apple CEO Jobs undergoes cancer surgery – August 1, 2004
Steve gave us what we didn’t know we needed until we had it… and then we couldn’t do without it. A true visionary.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and claim that Apple and Steve did not want to wait till the last days of his life for him to resign, but rather wait until a specific timeframe of release dates had been reached, whereby he could let Apple go on auto-pilot for a few months with new releases and still make appearances.
I’m hoping….
One more thing?
I sincerely hope you are correct.
We love you Steve! Thanks for changing our lives in wonderful and magical ways!
I know Steve values his privacy but, perhaps now that he is no longer CEO (although now Chairman of the Board) he may let those of us who are worried about him (not just stock market people, but those of us who are truly worried about him) know how he is doing.
Pretty sure he would like his privacy respected, and stepping down as CEO removes the obligation/pressure of disclosure. I see it pretty much exactly to you.
With his eight months long medical leave, Jobs had hopes to recover and eventually return to serve as CEO.
However, these hopes now are gone. Very probably Steven was said that there is nothing else what could be done and all what waits in the coming months is inevitable demise.
Tragic, alas.