Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56, it’s been confirmed.
The world is down one geek today, as it’s been announced that Steve Jobs has died, at the age of 56. It’s no secret that he’d been suffering from pancreatic cancer, which he had been fighting since 2004, and it’s to his immense credit that he managed to hold it off for so long.
A statement from Apple read that “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”.
What’s sometimes overlooked is just how much movie fans have reason to be grateful to Jobs.
It was he, after all, who took a punt on a small company called Pixar, funding it for years (after acquiring it from LucasFilm) when, bluntly, many others wouldn’t have done. Whilst Pixar has no shortage of immense brains, Jobs was the one who put his hand in his pocket and kept the firm going. He was credited as an executive producer on Toy Story, and on early Pixar shorts such as Tin Toy and Knick Knack, his credit read ‘very special thanks’. As it should.
Jobs also became a member of the Disney board of directors when the firm bought Pixar in 2006.
Visionaries in life don’t come along very often. And whatever you think of the work that Jobs packed into his 56 years, there’s little doubting it’s had a massive impact, and will do for a long time to come.
Rest in peace, Steve.