Inquirer Editorial: Will there ever be another Steve Jobs?

The memorial flowers, candles, and notes of touching tribute left outside Apple stores on several continents may say it all about the extraordinary impact of Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, a man certain to be regarded as among the most unique American industrialists.

Jobs, 56, who died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer, was the rarest of corporate titans in that his customers, admirers, and critics alike somehow felt a deep personal connection to him.

That stemmed, no doubt, from the fact that Jobs' company put its music players, cellphones, laptops, and tablets in the pockets, purses, and backpacks of so many millions in the past decade.

Long before the advent of the revolutionary iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Jobs and company cofounder Steve Wozniak had altered the very notion of a computer - by creating the first desktops that could be worked by people without pocket protectors.

Since Jobs' elegantly designed products also changed the way his customers around the globe interacted, entertained, and informed themselves, it's no wonder that he developed a devoted, even fanatical, following. But his impact was far broader than just among customers who valued products that cost a good deal more than the competition's.

With his savvy marketing of Apple as an un-computer company operating under a countercultural ethos, Jobs conveyed the idea that innovation could be "cool" - his trademark description for any and all Apple gadgets. The company's quirky "Think Different" slogan summons a creative economy that avowedly believes its best days are not behind it. And even as Apple outsourced much of its manufacturing abroad, its pledge that any Apple device "just works" stands as a refreshing commitment to quality control in a throwaway society.

For all that, the outpouring of public tributes may be a welcome sign that people were touched by Jobs' personal struggle. Despite being a perfectionist and demanding boss, his work ethic was impressive; he retired only weeks before his death Wednesday. And even with his penchant for privacy, Jobs referenced his illness during a 2005 commencement to advise college graduates to make the most of their time. In effect, he told them to strive to be what Jobs himself was called this week - an American original.