From one coast to the other, ordinary men and women bowed their headsin tribute to a man who changed the technology world in extraordinaryways.
Not long after hearing the newsthat Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had died, people at Apple stores stopped to sharetheir reactions.
"He was kind of like this generation's John Lennon," said Frank Arico,58, a software developer visiting San Francisco for the OracleOpenWorld conference this week.
It was a theme that got repeated in conversations with people who knewJobs as a larger-than-life pop culture icon but felt the loss on adeeper, surprisingly personal level. "Everything that I've made that is important to me was made on somesort of Apple product," said Doc Pop, a 34-year-old iPhone developerwho makes camera applications standing near the downtown San Francisco Appleoutlet. "I don't think (Apple) will have someone who has had so muchdirect influence. I'm sort of nervous. He's been such a part of mylife."
Nearby, Molly Haksdoyle , a 35-year-old clothing store owner from PaloAlto, Calif., added that she started crying when the news hit thetransom.
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"It's really sad. He's affected our lives in many ways. I hope hisfamily is doing OK," she said, dabbing her eyes.
"The people who think they are crazy enough to change the world arethe ones who do," said Cory Moll, a 29-year-old employee at Apple'sdowntown San Francisco store. "He's really someone special. To hearthat he is gone--he's going to be missed."
Ryan Armstrong, a 31-year-old marketer from Orange County, Calif.,walked over to Apple's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue afterhearing the news. Saying he was heartbroken, he paid homage to Jobs asa professional inspiration, someone who "made gorgeous products thatwere like carrying art with you" and changed the world with thoseproducts.
I have the MacBook Pro and iPad 2 in my (hotel room)," he said. "Ihave my iPhone on me. I have another MacBook at my office."
Asked how much he has spent on Apple products over his lifetime,Armstrong laughed and said, "You know what, today it doesn't evenmatter. It doesn't matter. I loved them."
A vase of white lilies and a small votive candle were left outsidethe Apple store on New York's Upper West Side. It was unclear who leftthe vase and candle. But it appeared to be a memorial to Jobs. As thestore closed at its usual time of 9 p.m., a small crowd startedforming, mostly prompted by the news trucks, cameramen, and reportersstanding outside the glass storefront.
A graphic-designer turned law-student named Katherine (she didn'twant to give her last name) didn't realize what had happened when sheshowed up for her 8:30 p.m. Genius Bar appointment inside the Applestore. The Genius helping her with her iPod told her the news.
"I was devastated," she said. "But I had a funny feeling thatsomething was up when he didn't even make an appearance at yesterday'siPhone launch."
Others outside the Apple store hadn't heard the news either. Theysaw the TV trucks and cameras and came to see what was happening. Acouple vacationing in New York from the Ukraine had been shopping atthe newly opened Century21 department store a block away. They crossedthe street and stood outside the store because they saw the TV trucks.They said they didn't even know who Steve Jobs was.
Bobby Korah, 32, and Farzana Ramzan, 33, who live in Manhattan on the Upper WestSide near the Apple store, also saw the cameras and TV crews as theywalked home, and they stopped to see what was happening.
Ramzan, who said her first computer was an AppleIIGS, said she wasshocked to hear the news.
"It seems like it happened to so quickly," she said. "He justresigned from the company. I really didn't expect this. It'sincredibly sad."
Back in California, a gentle wind accompanied the arrival of dusk,and someone laid out flowers in front of the San Francisco Applestore. Fred Valez, a 27 year-old librarian holding an iPhone,approached the store and stopped. "I came to pay respects to thiscreator who changed our lives," he said. "I feel overwhelmed."
CNET reporters Marguerite Reardon, Laura Locke, Greg Sandoval, and Boonsri Dickinson contributed to this story.
