Apple's co-founder died Wednesday at the age of 56. Flags are flying at half staff at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
As a college dropout, Jobs started Apple with a high school friend in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976. He was forced out of the company a decade later, but he returned in 1997 with his visions and innovations that grew into the most valuable technology company in the world.
Jobs had been battling health issues for the last decade, including pancreatic cancer. In 2009, he took a six-month medical leave to have a liver transplant.
The Apple co-founder long kept information on his illness behind a firewall, and no new details emerged immediately after his death.
However, medical experts unconnected with his care say Jobs most likely needed the transplant because his cancer came back or spread. They said his death could have been from cancer, the new liver not working or complications from immune-suppressing medicines to prevent organ rejection.
Jobs has been called a creative genius whose innovations have improved our lives. People who appreciated his vision paid tribute at Apple stores across the country.
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
In Palo Alto, people left notes all over the window of a store, and a makeshift memorial continues to grow at various Apple locations including the one on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena
Flowers and signs were left outside the store by those honoring Jobs' legacy, but perhaps the best homage to his legacy was inside the store, where it was a full house just minutes after opening Thursday morning.
"He's the Thomas Edison, he's the Ben Franklin, he is the modern-day individual who shows you can go from nothing all the way up to, at sometimes, the top company in the world," said South Pasadena resident Dick Selby.
Many locals in Pasadena said their lives would not be the same without Jobs and his inventions.
"In reality, if it weren't for him, my business and my life would suffer," said San Gabriel resident Katherine Lippincott. "There's something within technology that he's done that has, I think, probably touched people really personally."
Pasadena resident Kory Victor said as an industrial designer, she uses basically every Apple product Jobs has ever made.
"My whole house is an Apple mausoleum sort of," said Victor. "The way that he made his products was so creative and innovative that it really revolutionized the way we interact with technology."
Jobs' legacy of thinking differently will continue to challenge the world for generations to come.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted on his page, "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."
President Barack Obama also issued a statement, saying, "By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun."
Jobs is survived by his wife and four children.
See photos of Steve Jobs over the years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
