Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday. He was 56.

The death was announced by Apple, the company Mr. Jobs and his high school friend Stephen Wozniak started in 1976 in a suburban California garage.

Mr. Jobs had waged a long and public struggle with cancer, remaining the face of the company even as he underwent treatment. He continued to introduce new products for a global market in his trademark blue jeans even as he grew gaunt and frail.

He underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, received a liver transplant in 2009 and took three medical leaves of absence as Apple’s chief executive before stepping down in August and turning over the helm to Timothy D. Cook, the chief operating officer. When he left, he was still engaged in the company’s affairs, negotiating with another Silicon Valley executive only weeks earlier.?

美國蘋果公司5日宣布，該公司前首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫·喬布斯已去世。享年56歲。

蘋果公司官方網(wǎng)站首頁目前已換成喬布斯大幅照片，以及“1955-2011”字樣。網(wǎng)站發(fā)布的消息說：“蘋果失去了一位富有遠(yuǎn)見和創(chuàng)造力的天才，世界失去了一個(gè)不可思議之人。”

蘋果董事會發(fā)表聲明，沉痛宣布并悼念喬布斯。

董事會的聲明稱，史蒂夫的才華、激情和精力是無盡創(chuàng)新的來源，豐富和改善了我們的生活。世界因他無限美好

另據(jù)法新社報(bào)道，蘋果現(xiàn)任CEO庫克表示哀悼損失“有遠(yuǎn)見”，“創(chuàng)造性的天才”喬布斯。

史蒂夫·喬布斯(Steve Paul Jobs)，出生于1955年2月24日。1972年高中畢業(yè)后，在俄勒岡州波特蘭市的里德學(xué)院只念了一學(xué)期的書；1974年喬布斯在一家公司找到設(shè)計(jì)電 腦游戲的工作。兩年后，時(shí)年21歲的喬布斯和26歲的沃茲尼艾克在喬布斯家的車庫里成立了蘋果電腦公司；1985年獲得了由里根總統(tǒng)授予的國家級技術(shù)勛 章；1996年，蘋果公司重新雇用喬布斯作為其兼職顧問；1997年9月，喬布斯重返該公司任首席執(zhí)行官。1997年成為《時(shí)代周刊》的封面人 物；2009年被財(cái)富雜志評選為這十年美國最佳CEO，同年當(dāng)選時(shí)代周刊年度風(fēng)云人物之一。2011年8月24日，喬布斯提出辭職。

喬布斯被認(rèn)為是計(jì)算機(jī)業(yè)界與娛樂業(yè)界的標(biāo)志性人物，同時(shí)人們也把他視作麥金塔計(jì)算機(jī)、ipad 、iPod、iTunes Store、iPhone等知名數(shù)字產(chǎn)品的締造者。