Steve Jobs dies.

Bill Gates’s full statement is included below:

“I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. 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.”

Oops, now there are 2 such topics.

Following the loss of visionary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, President Obama released this statement:

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.

New Apple CEO Tim Cook has moved quickly to make his mark. He's announced a new scheme in which the world's largest company by value will match staff charity contributions dollar for dollar. It's a fine move. And perhaps Cook will continue by looking at Apple's tax affairs.

Apple is to launch the scheme for US employees from 15 September, with donations of up to $10,000 to non-profit organisations matched. Cook says: "We'll expand it to other parts of the world over time". It's not an original scheme, but it's adoption by Apple is newsworthy.

Steve Jobs
That's because former CEO Steve Jobs seemed not to favour this kind of public philanthropy. When Jobs returned to the company in 1997 he actually closed Apple's philanthropic programmes, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review dubbed Apple "one of America's least philanthropic companies" in 2007.

This is not to say that Jobs was averse to philanthropy. It's not possible to say how much he has donated to what cause privately, and U2 frontman Bono was quick to counter perceived criticism of Jobs recently, saying that under his leadership Apple had contributed significantly to the (Product) RED initiative.

But being defended by Bono in these circumstances is a bit of a double-edged sword, given the criticism the singer has received over tax avoidance. And it's that issue of tax that comes up once again when thinking through Cook's decision to shift Apple's strategy on philanthropy.