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CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple headquarters is still standing in
this leafy Silicon Valley suburb even after Steve Jobs’
industry-rattling announcement that he was resigning as chief
executive of the company he co-founded in a garage more than three
decades ago.
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That news comes as little surprise in the Valley, where few doubted
Thursday that despite the loss of its legendary leader Apple would
continue to succeed – at least for the next few years.
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“I don’t think in the short term it will suffer,” said Ethan
Salter, 35, an engineering consultant who had stopped at a
Starbucks just down the road from the Mountain View headquarters of
Google Inc., a major Apple competitor. “In the long term, things
change really quickly around here.”
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Tech workers interviewed by The Associated Press said they were not
shocked to hear Wednesday that Jobs was stepping down. His health
troubles, which have included pancreatic cancer and a liver
transplant, are well-known.
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Yet in a place where the lightning speed of success is matched
perhaps only by the careening pace of failure, some wondered
whether Jobs’ departure could ultimately lead to a turn in its
fortunes.
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Apple itself floundered for a decade after Jobs left the company,
and its rise to its current success did not begin until he returned
in the late 1990s, cementing his image as the key to the company’s
rise.
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“Last time he left Apple, it wasn’t so pretty,” said Aaron Wegner,
31, a computer programmer at Lawrence Livermore National Lab
visiting Silicon Valley for the day.
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“I think he’s a driving force behind what their products end up
physically looking like.”
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Jobs’ reputation as a micromanager of Apple’s design process has
both helped and hindered the company. The company’s string of
commercial triumphs over the past decade has convinced many
consumers and investors that with Jobs in charge Apple could do no
wrong. The flip side of that confidence is an anxiety about whether
the company will falter without him.
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Mi Young, 43, a business operations manager at a small computer
networking company in Santa Clara, said she doubts Jobs would have
stepped down without a plan in place.
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Many of the ideas to come out of Apple in the next five years she
believes will still bear Jobs’ stamp. “Beyond that, I don’t know
who will be able to fill those shoes.”
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Part of the concern among Apple fans hinges on how heavily the
company itself has relied on Jobs’ cult of personality to market
its innovative products.
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His onstage appearances to unveil Apple’s newest designs draw
thousands of adoring fans and hundreds of journalists who broadcast
his every word around the globe.
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“There’s this identification of the company with the man,” said
Alex Bochannek, curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain
View. That kind of identification is not unique to Apple in the
history of computer companies and leads to the assumption that
these large, complex organizations are run singlehandedly, he
said.
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But Jobs has clearly surrounded himself with smart people,
Bochannek said, such as lead designer Jonathan Ive, best known to
the public as the stylish Brit who extolls Apple’s latest products
in the company’s online marketing videos.
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“I don’t think anyone thinks Apple is going away tomorrow,” he
said. At the same time, he said, “ultimately it’s the leader who
creates a culture.”
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While Apple’s focus on attractive design and ease of use has
fostered a culture of innovation, heavy secrecy is also a
cornerstone of its operations.
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The veil the company drapes over its inner workings encourages a
furious online trade in speculation and rumors about Apple and its
products.
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Outside the company’s Cupertino headquarters Thursday, Apple
employees were unsurprisingly tight-lipped about their boss’
decision, saying they’re under strict orders not to talk to
reporters.
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“It’s called job security,” one employee said.
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Jobs’ replacement as CEO is Tim Cook, a longtime Apple executive
who has temporarily filled the spot when Jobs has gone on medical
leave. While no one including Cook can currently match Jobs’ tech
industry star power, some longtime industry observers say the key
to Apple’s future success lies in how much attention it can
continue to draw to its products, not its leader.
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Says Computer History Museum software curator Al Kossow: “The
question is whether Tim Cook is going to keep
innovating.”
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—
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