Steve Jobs Can't Make It after Eight-year Battle with Pancreatic Cancer

KOMPAS.com - Apple founder Steve Jobs died today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Tributes began pouring in within minutes of the company confirming the death of the mastermind behind the iPhone, iPad and the iPod at the age of 56.

'We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,' read a statement by Apple's board of directors.

'Steve's 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.

'His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.'

The homepage of Apple's website this evening switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, 'Steve Jobs 1955-2011.'

Clicking on the image revealed the additional text: '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.'

From its earliest beginnings as a personal computer also-ran in a scrappy garage in northern California to its all-conquering development of life-changing gadgets the rise of Apple has been intrinsically linked to its quirky CEO.

When he left for eleven years after a row over the company’s direction, Apple’s fortunes dipped. His return, after a successful stint as head of animation innovators Pixar, marked the start of the company’s relentless drive to become one of America’s biggest and most successful companies.

His death comes just six weeks after his poor health led him to stand down as the company's CEO and his successor Tim Cook, presented the new generation iPhone yesterday. The fact that Apple stayed cool as it grew is credited to Jobs’ innovative marketing techniques almost as much as his visionary wizardry.

Even when he announced in January that he was taking two years off on medical leave, Jobs still kept hold of his CEO title, just as he did on two previous occasions in the past seven years when he needed to take leave from the day-to-day running of the company for health reasons.