Apple's messianic leader made waves this year with the release of the iPad, dismissed by some as a giant iPhone, but hailed by others, including the technophobe Rupert Murdoch, as a potential saviour of the newspaper industry.

Its extraordinary success (sales topped three million just 80 days after its US launch) helped Apple overtake Microsoft in market value for the first time since 1989. After taking six months off in 2009 to recover from a liver transplant, Jobs is likely to remain the driving force behind the company he founded 34 years ago.

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