Apple Chairman Steve Jobs Has Died

Apple Chairman, Steve Jobs, has died at the age of 56. His impact on the world, through his technology innovations, have singlehandedly changed the face of our interactions on many levels. His battle withpancreatic cancer was very much chronicled in recent years, with him resigning as Apple's CEO this summer, as his illness further impacted his health.

A statement released by Apple read:

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.

The tech giant also paid tribute to Jobs on their website by changing their landing page to an image of Jobs and a further statement that followed, stating:Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who've been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve lost a dear friend and inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Tributes have already begun to pour in from some of his business rivals and also too from President Obama and his wife Michelle. The joint statement from the Obama's paid tribute to Jobs as 'a visionary, one of the greatest American innovators.' The full statement reads:

Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators ' brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, 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.

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.

Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, which happens to be one of Apple's biggest competitors paid tribute to Jobs, "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."

Jobs' story with Apple is a remarkable one. Through nothing but sheer genius, he took what was a once a company struggling for impact and relevance, to the top of the tech industry with innovations in music, mobile communications and personal computers. Jobs introduced the iMAC, the iPod and iTunes, MacBooks, iPhone and iPad. These are products that are now so integrated into our daily lives, that many find it difficult to imagine what life was like before we were told by Jobs that these were the innovations we needed to improve our lives; which he literally did do.

One of his most famous quotes is, "A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." And how true that statement proved to be with Apple's success translating to the company being estimated to rake in revenues of over US$65 billion a year, compared to just around US$7 billion a year before Jobs came in with his new series of products.

It is left to be seen where the future of Apple will lead, now that its main visionary is no longer with us.

Photo Credit To Tech to Date