Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has passed away following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Helping to found Apple in the late 70s, Steve Jobs established a reputation for technical excellence. Leading a number of new developments, the inventor initially left the company in 1985 after losing a power struggle on the board of directors.
Founding NeXT, a subsequent buy-out from Apple brought Steve Jobs back to the company he helped create. Established as the CEO in 1997, the technician led the firm to unimagined global success.
A series of new developments pushed Apple back onto the world stage. The iMac mixed cutting edge design with a flexible operating system, but it was the firm’s forays into portable technology which made the most obvious impact onto everyday life.
Virtually every member of the ClashMusic team owns an iPod, such is the ubiquitous presence of the device in everyday life. Becoming the de facto means of consuming music in the 21st century, the iPod is matched by the consumer outlet iTunes.
The domination of the iPod has been much discussed. In his book RetroMania the highly respected British journalist Simon Reynolds makes the point that it has completely changed the way music is dissected.
Later developing the iPhone and the iPad, Apple seemed to excel in producing iconic technology on an almost daily basis.
Diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2007, Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple earlier this year. This morning (October 6th) Apple confirmed that the entrepreneur had sadly passed away.
In a statement the company said that Jobs’ “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”.
Meanwhile Barack Obama was also quick to pay tribute to Steve Jobs. The American politician stated that the world had “lost a visionary”.
“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.”
