This article was published on October 5, 2012

Apple CEO Tim Cook pays tribute to Steve Jobs: “His spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple”


Apple CEO Tim Cook pays tribute to Steve Jobs: “His spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple”

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and in a display of remembrance, Apple has updated the front page of its website with a video and message from Apple CEO Tim Cook noting that “His spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

The video (embedded below) includes small quotes from Jobs’ time as Apple’s CEO, sharing snippets from his product launch keynotes (including the iPod and the iPhone), and funny anecdotes from his on-stage demos. Apple uses Johann Sebastian Bach’s haunting Cello Suite No.1 Prelude in G – Major to accompany the quotes and image stills.

Immediately following the video, Cook’s message is displayed. The text, in full:

A message from Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO

Steve’s passing one year ago today was a sad and difficult time for all of us. I hope that today everyone will reflect on his extraordinary life and the many ways he made the world a better place.

One of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originated from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We share the great privilege and responsibility of carrying his future legacy into the future.

I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing, delivering products that our customers love and dreaming up new ones that will delight them down the road. It’s a wonderful tribute to Steve’s memory and everything he stood for.

Tim

Steve Jobs died late on October 5 at the age of 56. Following his death, Apple immediately issued a press release from its board of directors, posting a warm tribute to a man who helped change consumer electronics industry for the better on the front page of its website.

Within days, Apple received more than 1 million Steve Jobs tributes, creating a ‘Remembering Steve’ page for website visitors to read and remember (which is still available to read today). Walter Isaacson then brought forward the release of his autobiography chronicling Jobs’ life, selling 379,000 copies in the U.S. during its first week.

Jobs’ legacy has lived on – allowing us to pull together our “Retrospective: A year without Steve,” which includes some of the most interesting tributes and anecdotes about Jobs from our coverage over the past year, sprinkled with Apple events and developments.

It’s only when you look back over the year, you realise how much Steve Jobs has remained an integral part of Apple.

Update: Tim Cook also sent out a slightly more personal email internally to staff, as published by 9to5mac:

Team,

Steve’s passing one year ago today was a sad and difficult time for all of us. I hope that today everyone will reflect on his extraordinary life and the many ways he made the world a better place. As you and I know firsthand, one of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originated from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We share the great privilege and responsibility of carrying his legacy into the future. I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing, delivering products that our customers love and dreaming up new ones that will delight them down the road. Thank you for dedicating your talents and so much of your lives to Apple. It’s a wonderful tribute to Steve’s memory and everything he stood for.

Tim

Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty

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