2.57pm: A sombre mood at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, where flags are flying at half-mast and a lone bagpiper cuts through the silence.

2.50pm: The disease that claimed Steve Jobs in the end was pancreatic cancer. It is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer and often takes its victims within five years of diagnosis.

If you want to do something to help prevent this disease, you can donate to the Garvan Institute's Avner Nahmani Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. More information on this and other cancers can be found on the Cancer Council website.

2.44pm: We are starting to gradually piece together an image of Steve Jobs, the man. Here are some more intriguing insights from Wall Street Journal technology reviewer Walt Mossberg, who had a relationship with Jobs stretching back 14 years.

Within days of his return to Apple in 1997 after a decade in the wilderness, Jobs "began calling my house, on Sunday nights, for four or five straight weekends," Mossberg said. He continues that the conversations quickly turned into 90-minute marathon discussions.

"One minute he'd be talking about sweeping ideas for the digital revolution. The next about why Apple's current products were awful, and how a colour, or angle, or curve, or icon was embarrassing," Mossberg said, adding his wife became annoyed with Jobs's weekend intrusions after the second call.

Mossberg said Jobs regularly showed him unreleased products and, even in private, he insisted "on covering the new gadgets with cloths and then uncovering them like the showman he was, a gleam in his eye and passion in his voice".

Mossberg also revealed that the rare on-stage joint appearance of Bill Gates and Jobs at a Wall Street Journal conference was nearly derailed after Gates was enraged at a Jobs comment in an earlier interview. Jobs had told Mossberg that Apple developing software for Windows was "like giving a glass of ice water to someone in Hell".

And for a change of pace, here's 10 unusual things you didn't know about Steve Jobs, courtesy of the Huffington Post.

2.36pm: Grieving Apple fans have already begin laying flowers outside the Apple Store in Sydney.

Photo: Peter Rae

2.31pm: A nice wrap up of memorable Jobs quotes over the years. Also, here is Jobs's memorable commencement address to Stanford University again, in case you missed it.

2.25pm: This is an amazing piece from Brian Lam, who previously worked for the technology blog Gizmodo, about his interaction with Jobs. They had enjoyed a very healthy relationship, with Jobs proclaiming himself a fan of the blog. Then they managed to get their hands on a leaked copy of the iPhone 4 - a story that made international headlines.

The fateful day began with a phone call from Jobs himself to Lam. "Hi, this is Steve. I really want my phone back." Things pretty much went downhill from there.

2.04pm: Was Steve Jobs the most famous Arab in the world? That's the claim being put forward by the International Business Times, which reports on a little known fact - Jobs's biological father was a Syrian political science graduate named Abdulfattah Jandali. He was later adopted and raised in the San Francisco area by Paul and Clara Jobs.

2.03pm: The lighter side of Steve Jobs is shown in this set of irreverent photo-booth shots.

2.01pm: US President Barack Obama has just issued this tribute to Jobs.

Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

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.  And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last.  Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.

1.45pm: More condolences from the biggest names in IT. Here's a statement from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer:

"I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work."

Jobs's Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been conspicuous by his absence to the global outpouring of grief. The only comment so far is a post on his Twitter account @stevewoz:"Keeping family dinner despite the disturbing news. (@ Outback Steakhouse)"

Here's a photo of Wozniak and Jobs back in their Apple heydey.

1.29pm: To put this story into perspective, here's some of the previous biggest news stories on Twitter as measured in tweets per second:

The previous biggest Twitter story was Beyonce announcing her pregnancy, which hit 8868 tweets a second. SR7 says that before that, the next biggest story was a sporting event, Japan beating USA in the Women's soccer World Cup finals, which recorded 7196 tweets per second.

SR7 partner James Griffin says Twitter data shows that in 2007 global usage was at 5000 tweets per day. Last year Twitter recorded an average of 600 tweets a second.

1.03pm: So who was Steve Jobs, the man? For someone with such a high profile, few have been granted an insight into the notoriously private Jobs. Here's an insight from Matthew Powell, a long-time Apple journalist who has edited Australian MacWorld and now runs MacTheMag.com:"He was a very private sort of guy, possibly because his family life was a tad murky, so there's not a lot out there. He was at one time a practicing Buddhist, but whether he still was in later life I don't know. He was a vegetarian and a huge Beatles fan (Paul McCartney gave him a recipe for a vegan chocolate cake). He also enjoyed gardening — he had a grove of apricot trees next to his house and grew his own vegetables."

There are also anecdotal snippets. He was once stopped in Japan taking shurikens - a form of throwing star - onto his plane.

He guarded his privacy furiously. Fairfax writer Garry Barker incurred the wrath of Jobs for daring to mention his children in a story. Interviews with Jobs were strictly controlled by his personal media minder and protector, Katie Cotton. He was also known for storming out of interviews if he didn't agree with the line of questioning. Here's another profile on Jobs by Barker that provides a fascinating insight.

Here's another touching personal reflection from Walt Mossberg: The Steve Jobs I knew.

12.52pm: So how has social media handled one of the biggest stories to hit the internet?

Twitter and Facebook melted down on the news of Jobs's death and the iconic Twitter fail whale is still appearing frequently.

Social media monitoring firm SR7 expects that when the official figures come in, there will have been 10,000 tweets a second posted about Jobs's death.

"Based on our experience, we believe the passing of Steve Jobs will set a new record for the speed, velocity and number of conversations being held on Twitter and Facebook," said SR7 partner James Griffin. "Current trending suggests it will beat other international events."

The most popular Twitter hash tags are #ripstevejobs, #stevejobs, #apple and #isad. Bill Gates has significantly influenced the Twitter conversation, SR7 found, with his two recent tweets on Jobs being shared by millions.

Here's our round-up of the social media reaction to Steve Jobs's death.

12.49pm: A typically minimalist tribute to Steve Jobs from Google:

12.35pm: WikiLeaks has responded to claims of the Steve Jobs medical records leak."We have not released Steve Jobs medical records. Do try reading before writing."

Smh.com.au understands the medical records were released by other sites but collated by WikiLeaks and have been available on the site for some time. But they chose the day of Jobs's death to tweet this fact to their followers.

12.32pm: The tributes for Steve Jobs continue to flow in. This from Google co-founder Larry Page:

"I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it.

His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well.

My thoughts and Google's are with his family and the whole Apple family."

And Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose company recently appeared to have buried the hatchet with Apple in the face of a common threat from Google, has also chimed in:

"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."

12.25pm: More punters at the Apple Store in Sydney convey the shock that has hit the global Apple fan base:"It's pretty shocking. He revolutionised everything. I'm a student and everyone in my class has a Mac. It's the end of an era... He left a really good legacy. I think he'll be remembered as the new Bill Gates." - Rebecca Rogers, 24."It's very sad news. Because of him there has been so many differences in innovation. He inspired a lot of people." - Rhys Morgan, 26."It's quite a shock that he died - just a day after the [iPhone] 4S comes out. he's a legend, he has a vision about the future He invented a lot of stuff that changed the world. In people's minds Apple is related to Steve Jobs. Once he's gone it's not gonna be the same as before." - Alfred King, 26

12.19pm: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she was saddened to hear the news of Steve Jobs passing away.

Here we are at a future jobs forum, the jobs of the future are going to be shaped by innovation, and we hear the news of the loss of an incredible innovator. It's not too much to say he literally changed our world, all of us would be touched every day, in our daily lives, by products that he was the creative genius behind. So my condolences go to his family and friends.

12.11pm: Flowers have started appearing at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Jobs spoke in public several times of his own mortality, but these quotes from his Stanford commencement speech in 2005 are particularly poignant on the morning of his death:

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

"Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."

11.55am: A timeline of Steve Jobs's life: how a boy from San Fransisco turned Apple into a titan of the IT world.

11.52am: Google co-founder Sergey Brin has also paid tribute to Jobs."Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much."

11.46am: WikiLeaks has copped stinging criticism online for releasing documents purporting to be Steve Jobs's medical files on the day of his death.

11.42am: Here's a Bloomberg chart on the Apple share price since 1990. Only a couple of dollars (once you include the effect of splits, etc), before soaring in the past couple of years. They reached $US422.86 on September 20, a record, and closed at $US378.35 overnight. The company is now worth some $US350 billion.

11.40am: Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, has released a statement on the death of his long-time technology rival:

"I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. [My wife] Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

"Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

"The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

Gates also posted the following tweet on his Twitter account @BillGates:"Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to Steve Jobs’ family & friends. The world rarely sees someone who made such a profound impact."

11.37am: Tim Cook, Steve Jobs's replacement as Apple CEO, has released the following statement on his predecessor's death:

Team,

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve's extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve's death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim

11.31am: Customers at the Apple Store in Sydney have been left stunned by news of Jobs's death."I'm a big Apple fan - everything I have is Apple. It's definitely a sad and sombre day for the whole company. But I think Jobsie and his legacy will live on forever. He built such an amazing company. If you mention the word apple people will only think of two things, a computer and the fruit. To be able to generate a business like that is amazing. I think maybe the share price will drop a little bit - but loyal customers will still be there so it wont take long for them to rebound and I think theyll probably go from strength to strength." - Dan Sommer, 33"Obviously, as we saw with yesterday's product launch - the products won't be as good." - Michael Christofides, 30.

11.26am: The online grieving is well under way. Here's a tribute piece from Wired, while Gizmodo - which has had an at times tense relationship with Apple, marked by leaked iPhone prototypes and raids on staff members' houses - has also paid its respects.

11.24am: Danny Hart, manager of the Apple Store, Sydney, said they were planning to pay their own respects to Steve Jobs."There will be a link on our website so people can send personal messages. Obviously it is a very difficult time for us and that's all I can say."

11.18am: Apple shares have slipped again on Jobs's death, but are now recovering. Live price information here.

11.15am: Jobs's net worth was at least $US6.7 billion as of September 6, according to Bloomberg estimates. His 7.4 per cent Disney stake was worth $US4.4 billion, and his 5.5 million shares of Apple were worth $US2.1 billion. Jobs's 138 million shares of Disney had paid him at least $US242 million in dividends before taxes since 2006, according to Bloomberg data.

Stock options let holders buy shares later, usually at the trading price on the day the options were granted. Like other Silicon Valley executives, Jobs viewed the securities as a necessary incentive to keep valuable employees

11.13am: Steve Jobs urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks - including death itself - at Stanford university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

11.09am: Steve Jobs's family has released a statement:Mr Jobs "died peacefully today surrounded by his family ... We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief."

11.03am: When Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple, Asher Moses reflected on his legacy as the man who changed the way we live.

10.59pm: The Apple website is in mourning.

The company says condolences and memories can be sent to rememberingsteve@apple.com

10.50am: Apple has sent live a tribute page to Steve Jobs, with the following message:"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

10.48am: Steve Jobs was 56. He had been battling pancreatic cancer and stepped down as CEO of Apple on August 24. His death comes a day after the launch of the iPhone 4S, which was presented by new chief executive Tim Cook.

The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod and the iPhone resigned as CEO of the world's largest technology corporation in August, handing the reins to current chief executive Tim Cook.

Jobs, who fought a rare form of pancreatic cancer, was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.

10.40am: Apple's board of directors today released a statement confirming Mr Jobs's death:"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.