End of an era as Steve Jobs dies

Legalbrief reports that Jobs, who died last week at the age of 56, left his mark as the CEO of Apple, makers of the Macintosh computer, the iMac, the iPod, iPad and iPhone. He is also remembered for the astonishing success of the computer animation firm Pixar he founded. Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto, California, according to the death certificate, which lists 'respiratory arrest' as the immediate cause with 'metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumour' as the underlying condition that caused the respiratory problem. The Telegraph reports that no autopsy was performed on Jobs who was laid to rest last Friday at a non-denominational cemetery in Palo Alto. According to the report, he had struggled with health issues but said very little about his battle with cancer since an operation in 2004. When he stepped down in August, handing the CEO reins to long-time operations chief Tim Cook, Jobs said simply that he could no longer fulfil his duties as chief executive, the report notes. Apple Inc has planned a staff celebration at its Cupertino headquarters next week as part of company efforts to commemorate the life of its late co-founder. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Apple event, which will be open to staff only, will take place at an outdoor amphitheatre on Apple's campus, according to a memo Cook sent to staff on Monday. The event, he said, would allow 'Apple employees to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place', according to the report. Full report in The Telegraph Full Wall Street Journal report

Time reports that Jobs did something that few people accomplish even once: he reinvented entire industries. He did it with ones that were new, like PCs, and he did it with ones that were old, like music. And his pace only accelerated over the years. The obituary notes that he was the most celebrated, successful business executive of his generation, yet he flouted many basic tenets of business wisdom. 'Jobs' confidence in the wisdom of his instincts came to be immense, as did the hype he created at Apple product launches. That might have been unbearable if it weren't the case that his intuition was nearly flawless and the products often lived up to his lofty claims.' Full Time obituary

Tributes to Jobs have been as global as the reach of Apple products, services and suppliers, covering everything from life's meaning to the critical art of supply chain management. But they have been especially heartfelt in the US. After all, Jobs' death coincides with an anxiety level about the future of the US not seen since the 1970s. In a column in The Atlantic, technology historian Edward Tenner notes that Jobs has often been compared with Thomas Edison and both were mourned as self-made geniuses whose deaths ended an era. 'Steve Jobs was one of those people who set out to become a genius - he was never recognised as such as a child - and succeeded, like Friedrich Nietzsche. Jobs' status as a genius became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Too much self-confidence can be ruinous, as Jobs himself discovered the hard way. But nothing is more contrary to the spirit of Steve Jobs - who co-founded Apple in gloomy 1976 - than an equally self-fulfilling pessimism.' Full column in The Atlantic

The death of Jobs has put the Onion in a difficult position, as the satiric news magazine struggles to remain irreverent without being insensitive. Although his passing has inspired an outpouring of grief from fans of iProducts the world over, the Onion hasn't shied away from adding its own spin to the mass-appreciations and tributes to the beloved tech giant. Headlines for videos and articles on the Onion include 'Last Bastion of US Economy Succumbs to Pancreatic Cancer', 'Apple User Acting Like His Dad Died' and 'Last American Who Knew What the Fuck He Was Doing Dies'. Most provocative of all is a Web video entitled 'Apple Announces Plans to Release Steve Jobs 2.0'. More Steve Jobs satire

In other developments, Jobs is to be honoured as only America knows how - with a Hollywood biopic. The Register reports that Sony Pictures has made a magnanimous offer for the rushed-to-press authorised biography by Walter Isaacson, originally due to come out in 2012 and then at the end of November, but now being hurried along to later this month to ensure it captures the current interest in the billionaire fondleslab baron. The studio that made The Social Network is prepared to fork out $1m or more for Isaacson's book and Mark Gordon, producer of 2012 and Source Code, is said to be in line to produce the movie, the report notes. Full report in The Register

Since the death of Jobs, a photograph which featured the late Apple founder's silhouette incorporated into the bite of a white Apple logo on a black background has become an Internet sensation. Memeburn reports that the design, which has now come under accusations of plagiarism, was the sombre tribute of a Hong Kong design student to the Apple visionary. Jonathan Mak, the student in question, denies that he had copied another artist's work. The 19-year-old Mak said he was not the first to come up with the design after comments surfaced on Twitter that a UK-based designer Chris Thornley, known as Raid71 on the Web, created the original design earlier this year. The two logo-tributes have different dimensions and the UK designer used a black Apple logo instead of a white one. Full Memeburn report