Apple's former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs has died aged 56, two months after resigning from the company for health reasons.
Mr Jobs has been praised as one of the greatest innovators and marketing geniuses in world business.
Born in 1955 in San Francisco, he worked for videogame maker Atari before founding Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976.
The company launched the Mac in 1984. A year later, Jobs was pushed out as Apple's chairman.
He returned to advise the company in 1996. After a stint as interim CEO, he took the helm of Apple Inc permanently in 2000 and oversaw the launch of three outstandingly successful products – the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.
He took third medical leave in January 2011 and resigned as CEO in August.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today praised Mr Jobs as an "incredible global innovator".
Speaking outside a jobs forum in Canberra on Thursday, Ms Gillard told reporters she was saddened to hear the news.
"Here we are at a Future Jobs Forum and the jobs of the future are going to be shaped by innovation and we hear the news of the loss of an incredible global innovator," she said.
"It's not too much to say he literally changed our world.
"All of us would be touched every day by products that he was the creative genius behind, so this is very sad news and my condolences go to his family and friends."
