Apple Plans Celebration Of Steve Jobs' Life

In an e-mail to employees Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote, "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]."

Apple has not stated if it has plans for a public event to memorialize Jobs, the co-founder and longtime CEO of the company who resigned Aug. 24.

Jobs died Wednesday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56. He is of course remembered for being the visionary behind the Macintosh computer in the 1980s before leaving Apple and returning in 1997. His second tenure introduced technology products including the iPod, iPhone and iPad that revolutionized the way we communicate and consume information and entertainment.

"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," Cook wrote in the e-mail.

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

Apple products made technology accessible to anyone from age 3 to 103 and, eventually, even attracted PC solution providers who competed against the company in some regards.

"For a died-in-the-wool PC person, I never thought that I would have a Shuffle, an iPod Classic, an iPod Touch and an iPad. Steve Jobs invented products that were so outstanding, even I couldn’t resist," said Jane Cage, COO of Heartland Technology Solutions in Joplin, Mo.

Ted Warner, CEO of Connecting Point of Greeley, Colo., sold Apple products for the first three years of his solution provider business's existence and was in San Francisco when Jobs introduced the Macintosh in 1984.

"Today we don't sell Apple products, but I use them," he said. "The iPod, iPad, iPhone changed the way people do business and communicate. The guy has meant a lot to the IT industry and the world in general."