AS news of Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs' passing broke around noon here, the usually bustling Bay Area and Silicon Valley took on a palpable aura of mourning.
Local
TV and radio stations ran on-air tributes by Apple fans and users, who
rallied together to mourn by lighting candles and placing sticky notes
on the glass wall of the iconic Apple Store on San Francisco's busy
Stockton Street.
Many of the mourners transcribed memorable
quotes attributed to the man who aspired to “put a ding in the universe”
and advised people that since life was short to “stay hungry, stay
foolish.”
While the workday continued as usual, Silicon Valley
folks also took time out to share the news on social media and with
their co-workers.
In a typical busy week at the San Francisco Bay Area, news of Jobs' death also came during the weeklong Oracle OpenWorld conference that annually hosts as many as 50,000 visitors to San Francisco.
In
places like the Googleplex in Mountain View, California a few miles
down the road from the Apple campus in Cupertino, Googlers took time out
to remember and pay tribute to the man many described as one-of-a-kind
and irreplaceable in the annals of information technology history.
The two Google co-founders who have in the past referred to Steve Jobs as their inspiration wrote moving posts on Google+.
Larry Page
said: “I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great
man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always
seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have
been thinking before you thought it.
“His focus on the user
experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was
very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time
offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My
thoughts and Google's are with his family and the whole Apple family.”
Sergey Brin
posted: “From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought
inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no further than
Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has
ever touched an Apple product (including the Macbook I am writing this
on right now).
“And I have witnessed it in person the few times
we have met. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in
technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family,
friends, and colleagues at Apple.”
As a sign of mourning, Google
placed a link to Apple's website on its search landing page that simply
read: “Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011.”
Former Apple rival Microsoft also issued condolences with CEO Steve Ballmer
saying: “I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of
Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My
heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has
been touched by his work.”
Apple itself invited everyone to share their thoughts, memories, and condolences by emailing rememberingsteve@apple.com.
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