Steve Jobs dies at 56

New York, Oct 6: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who single-handedly changed the way the world listened to music, communicated on the phone and used the computer, has died, leaving behind a vacuum that will be hard to fill. Jobs, 56, was a pancreatic survivor and had been battling poor health for several years.

He was surrounded by his wife and immediate family when he died in Palo Alto, California. He died one day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone, the gadget that transformed mobile communications. In a brief statement, Apple's Board of Directors said "we are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today." "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." The iconic technocrat was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004 and underwent a liver transplant two years in 2009. He had been on medical leave since January this year but had appeared briefly on a few occasions. In March, he unveiled the second version of the iPad and later attended a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology honchos in Silicon Valley.

In June, he was on stage in San Francisco to talk about iCloud, Apple's latest foray into cloud-based computing. Jobs' health had been visibly deteriorating over the years, with the Apple chief looking more gaunt and frail with each successive appearances he made to launch various path breaking Apple products. In a stunning move in August that had taken the technology world by surprise, Jobs had resigned as CEO of the technology giant and named Tim Cook as his successor.

PTI