The man who taught Silicon Valley that its future was limitless was gone. Almost immediately, condolences and praise flowed in -- from President Barack Obama and the valley business titans Jobs had inspired, to the thousands of people who posted hugs and tears in 140 characters on Twitter and the children who placed flowers before a small orchard in front of Jobs' Palo Alto home.
Apple announced the death of Jobs, who had been suffering from a recurrence of pancreatic cancer, just after 4:30 p.m. Wednesday with a somber statement to the media. Jobs, who had stepped down as CEO in August as his health declined, died peacefully earlier Wednesday at his home, surrounded by his family.
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative leader, and the world has lost an amazing human being," said the company, which is asking people to email their memories and condolences to rememberingsteve@apple.com. "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."
Obama tweeted, "Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. From all of us at #Obama2012, thank you for the work you make possible every day -- including ours."
Google (GOOG) also changed its home page, with its characteristic minimalism: "Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011" -- a link that led back to Apple's website.
Jobs' legacy will always revolve around Apple and Pixar, the studio that created a string of animated Hollywood hits such as the "Toy Story" movies, and the transformational products they created. But he also had a direct and personal impact on the lives and careers of other tech visionaries -- from 27-year- old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who once hoped to hire him as Google's CEO.
When Zuckerberg recently introduced a new Facebook feature called Timeline, a feature the CEO called "the story of your life," his home page had a photo of Jobs, whom Zuckerberg has grown close to in recent years.
"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend," Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page Wednesday. "Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."
Page said that despite Jobs' poor health, the Apple leader reached out to offer his help when Page became Google's CEO in April.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," the board said.
"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.
John Lasseter, chief creative officer and Ed Catmull, president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, released their own joint statement. Jobs was chief executive at Pixar, the digital anaimation house that gave the world Cars, The Incredibles and Toy Story, before it was acquired by Disney in 2006.
"Steve Jobs was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend and the guiding light of the Pixar family," Lasseter and Catmull said. "He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined. Steve took a chance on us and believed in our crazy dream of making computer animated films; the one thing he always said was to simply 'make it great.' He is why Pixar turned out the way we did and his strength, integrity and love of life has made us all better people. He will forever be a part of Pixar's DNA. Our hearts go out to his wife Laurene and their children during this incredibly difficult time."
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