Apple fans pay tribute to "industry icon" Jobs

Steve Jobs stands beneath a photograph of him and Apple-co founder Steve Wozniak from the early days of Apple during the iPad launch. Photo: Reuters

From San Francisco to Seoul to Sydney, fans of Apple paid tribute to Steve Jobs after he resigned as CEO, calling him an icon for the entire technology industry, not just the company he co-founded.
The extraordinary outpouring on blogs and Twitter began minutes after Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, announced he would leave the chief executive's post but carry on as chairman of Apple.
"Steve Jobs was the Leonardo da Vinci of our age," said popular British novelist and journalist Tony Parsons on his Twitter page. "So thank you -- without you, it would have all been ugly, difficult and dull."
In Asia, home to legions of Jobs fans as well as scores of rip-offs of the products he helped design, customers at Apple stores said the resignation had taken them by surprise.
"I'm surprised he resigned right before the iPhone 5 launch," said Belinda Liu, a 26-year-old at an Apple store in Shanghai. "I was shocked when I heard the news."
Apple is likely to launch the iPhone 5, the latest model of its iconic smartphone, in October.
At the company's flagship San Francisco store, the only sign something was amiss was a few groups of employees, huddled together discussing the news. They heard by word of mouth, they said, with no formal announcement by late afternoon on Wednesday to retail workers.
Robert Cory, waiting for help with a broken laptop, learned of Jobs' resignation from a news alert on his phone. "I feel bad," said the New York resident. "But Apple will be okay."
Other customers echoed that sentiment. San Francisco resident Erich Blazeski proclaimed that "Apple is not Steve Jobs."
MIGHTY JOB
In Australia, customers outside Apple's flagship two-storey glass-fronted store in downtown Sydney discussed Jobs' resignation as a musician played inside, using an Apple device that connected an electric guitar to a Mac computer.
"I think it's rather sad because it reflects his illness but in terms of its influence on the company, I'm sure they've been planning for this for quite some time," said Clive Allcock, a psychiatrist.
"He has done a mighty job getting Apple up and running, it's a great tribute to him personally and he'll be well remembered in the world of computing. But I'm sure that it won't materially affect the company."
In tech-savvy Singapore, Apple users said the news was unlikely to change anything for the firm, in the short-term.
"Jobs' departure is unlikely to affect my decisions as to whether I will purchase Apple products or not," said 25-year-old Sean Xie, who works in the science and technology sector.
"Jobs has built a company and culture over a long time, and that doesn't change overnight."