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Tributes To Steve Jobs Pour In

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, in 1993 (AP)
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, in 1993 (AP)

How are you reading this? On an iPad? How did you hear that Steve Jobs had died? Get a call on your iPhone? An email on your Macbook?

Jobs, the legendary co-founder of Apple, died Wednesday night at age 56. His death has evoked an outpouring of grief, remembrances and tributes across the country and around the world. Here's a collection of the best tributes we've found, starting with the late visionary's own words:

'Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish'

His address at Stanford's Commencement in 2005 offers a window into Jobs the man, the inventor, the idealist. "Stay hungry, stay foolish," he told the graduating seniors, quoting "The Whole Earth Catalog." "I have always wished that for myself."

Jobs revolutionized personal computing. As Laura Sydell writes in NPR's obituary:

Jobs was just 21 when he co-founded Apple Computer in his garage in Los Altos, Calif., in 1976. The following year, when Jobs and his partner, Steve Wozniak, released the compact Apple II, most computers were big enough to fill a university basement or came from do-it-yourself kits for hobbyists with soldering irons.

It's Jobs introducing the Macintosh in January 1984. It's set to the theme from "Chariots of Fire." And people go nuts.

'Brave Enough To Think Differently'

Jobs' accomplishments are almost too numerous to list, though the New York Times tried. In his spare time, after being forced out as the head of Apple, he founded Pixar. You know, the animation studio responsible for movies like "Toy Story" and "Cars."

Apple's homepage tribute.
Apple's homepage tribute.

Luminaries expressed their gratitude to Jobs' work and their regret at his death.

"Steve was among the greatest of American innovators — brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it," President Obama said in a statement.

His friend and industry rival Bill Gates offered his thoughts. (Check out this video interview with both Jobs and Gates from NPR's All Things Digital.)

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates wrote on his blog.

Another tech innovator, Mark Zuckerberg, said this, on Facebook (where else?):

Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Tributes to Jobs have been circulating in the hours since his death was announced.

Apple's new CEO, Tim Cook, sent the company's staff an email praising Jobs:

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.

Many took to Twitter or Facebook to express their grief and to celebrate the life of one of our time's most visionary thinkers.

Still, the most moving tribute I've seen comes courtesy of the tech blog Gizmodo. Riffing off of Apple's legendary '90s ad campaign, it's an obituary in the form of a Think Different commercial.

As the Gizmodo video says, "The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

How will you remember Steve Jobs? How have Jobs and his products affected your life? Share your story in the comments, on Twitter, on Facebook, or on our iPhone app's — hat tip, Steve — assignments section.

This program aired on October 6, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

Jeremy Bernfeld Producer
Jeremy Bernfeld was formerly a producer for WBUR.

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