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Rest in peace, Steve

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I would like to salute a man whose vision, creativity and achievements have indeed contributed for decades to improving our lives. A genius whose incredible eye and passion for great design and user experience will live forever and be source of inspiration for many generations to come.

After a long battle with pancreatic cancer lasted several years, Apple’s legendary co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died today at 56. It’s a very sad day not only for all technology enthusiasts, but for everybody.

He’s been a most inspiring person not only through the amazing products he’s delivered; his life-business experience has been remarkable: he co-founded Apple from nothing, bringing the company to wild success in just a few years; when his vision diverged from that of the board he got fired from the very company he had co-founded, “in a very public way” as he himself remembered years later; yet, he didn’t give up: he went on to founding NeXT and build some of the technologies that would later become part of the core of the Mac OS operating system; when a then struggling Apple acquired NeXT, he became Apple CEO again and over the years that followed he managed to bring the company back to life and transform it into the most valuable company in the world, in what has been often referred to as “the greatest second act in the history of business”. And at the same time, he made of Pixar the best animation studio around, delivering some of the most amazing animation movies ever made.

Apple have updated their home page to show a tribute to Jobs:

The picture links to a page dedicated to him:

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email [email protected].”

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Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook also sent a note to all Apple employees:

“Team, I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today. Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only >he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences >in the interim, you can simply email [email protected]. No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to >continuing the work he loved so much. Tim””

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It seems like the Wikipedia’s page dedicated to Jobs has already been updated too:

“Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American computer entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer.”

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Needless to say, messages about Jobs’ death are now trending on Twitter, and most blogs and news sites are reporting the news.

I would like to remember Steve Jobs with a quote on innovation, since I find his words most inspiring in my work:

“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying no to all but the most crucial features.”

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And also with his unforgettable commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005.

Thank you and rest in peace Steve, I’ll dearly miss your genius, your products, your exciting keynotes and your “one more thing”!

© Vito Botta