Breaking News: Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dead at 56

When Steve Jobs stepped down from the helm of Apple a few months ago I told you that that meant that the end was near. It wasn’t hyperbole. As one who is fighting cancer along with my wife and who has lost many members of his family to this scourge, and knowing that Mr. Jobs LIVED Apple. It was in every cell of his being. When he stepped down it was because he knew there was no way he could Today Steve Jobs went peacefully with his family at his side.

“Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday. He was 56.
Multimedia

Mr. Jobs had waged a long and public struggle with cancer, remaining the face of the company even as he underwent treatment. He continued to introduce new products for a global market in his trademark blue jeans even as he grew gaunt and frail.

He underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, received a liver transplant in 2009 and took three medical leaves of absence as Apple’s chief executive before stepping down in August and turning over the helm to Timothy D. Cook, the chief operating officer. When he left, he was still engaged in the company’s affairs, negotiating with another Silicon Valley executive only weeks earlier.

“I have always said that if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s C.E.O., I would be the first to let you know,” Mr. Jobs said in a letter released by the company. “Unfortunately, that day has come.”

There are no words to describe the loss of Steve Jobs. Job’s contribution to this world equals that of some of the great men of history. Although the man himself, whom I met on a few occasions, was known to be demanding, rude, sometimes cruel and even pathetic But most geniuses are.. He was also engaging, charming, and incredibly soft at times. He did get it, when he chewed you out he left your dignity in tact. But he was passionate about his product, but more he sincerely believed that his products would change people’s lives. There hasn’t been anyone in the technical world who has contributed more to the field save maybe Bill Gates, but Gates was and is a businessman while Steve was a visionary.

It’s a real shame that he and Bill couldn’t have joined forces early in the 80s, God knows what could have been accomplished.

But more than all of this, he was a husband, a father and a devoted family man who truly knew the meaning of family, and it’s with them that I leave all my greatest wishes and sympathies tonight.

Thanks Steve, showing all of us that it’s ok to dream and Think Different!