Steve Jobs: 'Michelangelo Of Digital Age'

Steve Jobs, who has died six weeks after resigning from the Apple chief executive post he held for 14 years, is credited with changing people's lives "immensely".

The 56-year-old with a passion for minimalist design altered the course of personal computing and the entertainment industry with his vision and products.

The company's gadgets, such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, have inspired an almost cult-like following and its chain of sleek, modern shops are popular around the world.

He was seen as the heart and soul of the firm which was briefly the most valuable in America earlier this year.

His resignation in August marked the end of an era and Apple's share price fell by around 5%.

His friend and rival Eric Schmidt of internet search engine Google called Mr Jobs the most successful American chief executive of the last 25 years.

Mr Schmidt said: "He uniquely combined an artist's touch and an engineer's vision to build an extraordinary company... One of the greatest American leaders in history."

Mr Jobs - a college dropout and Buddhist with links to the West Coast counter-culture of the 1960s - started Apple Computer with his friend Steve Wozniak in 1976.

He reportedly sold his VW camper van to help finance the original design of the Apple l.

Mr Jobs pioneered the personal computer industry with the Macintosh in 1984 which was in a famous advert directed by Ridley Scott, that alludes to George Orwell's book of the same name.

The Macintosh became the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface - allowing users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands.

But he was ousted in 1985 after his relationship with top management and the board deteriorated. Apple's fortunes waned after that.

At about the same time as Mr Jobs was fired, he founded another computer company, NeXT Computer. Apple's purchase of that company in 1997 then brought him back into the fold.

Later that year, he became interim chief executive and in 2000, the company dropped "interim" from his title.

Under Mr Jobs' guidance, the company increased sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac computer in 1998.

He and Briton Jonathan Ive teamed up to create the design, and Mr Jobs promoted him to senior vice-president of industrial design at Apple in the same year.

Apple then branched out into music, with the iPod portable music player, iTunes digital music software, and the iTunes Store in the early 2000s.

And in 2007, Apple entered the mobile phone business with the introduction of the iPhone. The iPad tablet computer was launched in 2010. The design of this hardware was led by Mr Ive.

Mr Jobs was also Disney's largest shareholder after teaming up with the company years before.

In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group, later renamed Pixar, from Lucasfilm's computer graphics division for $10m.

The new company was initially planned to be a top graphics hardware developer.

But after years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it worked with Disney to produce computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute.

The first film produced by the partnership was 1995's Toy Story which was critically acclaimed. The company went on to make other box-office hits like A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars.

In 2006, Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in a deal worth $7.4bn, and Mr Jobs became Disney's largest single shareholder.

He was said to pay himself only $1 year from Apple. However, from dividends on Disney shares it is estimated he earns about $50m a year.

Mr Jobs had fought pancreatic cancer and also underwent a liver transplant.

He had been on medical leave since January 17 this year, with his duties being filled by Tim Cook, who was chief operating officer.

Mr Cook was appointed chief executive with Mr Jobs taking on the new position of chairman.

Mr Jobs had briefly emerged from medical leave in March to unveil the latest iPad and later attended a dinner hosted by President Barack Obama for technology leaders.

But his often-gaunt appearance had sparked questions about how bad his illness was and his ability to continue at Apple.

Bill Gross, the boss of Idealab, a firm that funds technology start-ups, spoke at the time of Mr Jobs' resignation.

"Steve Jobs has changed people's lives immensely with the vision he has had, the risks he had taken, the products he has designed, and the industries he has shaken," he said.

"The countless people he has touched through his words and his actions have had a cumulative effect on design, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, and countless other areas that are truly remarkable."

LinkedIn chief executive Jeff Weiner, also speaking after Mr Jobs stepped down as Apple's boss, said: "He is the Michelangelo of the digital age.

"He is also the most insightful business speaker I've ever heard. He speaks the way he designs product: not a single wasted word."