06 October 2011

Steve Jobs Remembered as Great California Innovator, 'Special Person'

An apple with the word "bye" carved on it was left outside the Apple store in Pasadena Wednesday -- one of the many tributes to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs: Memories and the Future

The apple was placed on a ledge outside the store next to flowers -- a simple good-bye that spoke to the iconic nature of the products inspired by one of California's great innovators.

"Today, it's a very sad day," said Jaime Perez, who brought flowers to the store. "We've lost a very special person who changed the lives of many."

Jobs died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 56.

"Thank you Steve'' was written in lipstick on the window of an Apple Store in Santa Monica. Apple-shaped messages were posted on the Pasadena store's window.

One note read, "Thanks for all the magic."

The magic was on display in 1984 when Jobs unveiled Macintosh -- a beige box that Jobs called "insanely great" when he introduced it to shareholders in January of that year with a theatrical presentation. The revolution continued with products like the iPod and iPad, and even the way people could buy the products.

The store in Glendale and one in Tysons Corner, Va. opened at about the same time, but the Glendale store holds a more exalted designation in Apple's internal database -- Store No. R001.

"It changed my life in the way I exercise, the way I study, the way I look at the news," said Shraddha Swaroop, who was using a device Jobs invented when she found out about his death. "We saw the RIP Steve Jobs post (on Facebook) and couldn't belive it."

The wire crossed at 4:38 p.m. Wednesday. Apple confirmed the death minutes later.

Just hours after Jobs' death, his authorized biography jumped to No. 1 on Amazon.com's best-seller list. The book will be released Nov. 21, according to publisher Simon & Schuster.

"Steve Jobs was a great California innovator who demonstrated what a totally independent and creative mind can accomplish. Few people have made such a powerful and elegant imprint on our lives," said Gov. Jerry Brown.

Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976, two years after Jobs dropped out of college in Oregon. Both men left Apple in 1985, but Jobs returned in 1997 to lead the company out of a bleak financial situation.

"While everyone else was fumbling around trying to find the formula, he had the better instincts,'' Wozniak said.

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