Political protesters get nod instead

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died in October, is conspicuously absent from Time's newly-announced 2011 Person of the Year awards, notes AppleInsider. In November celebrity panel on the topic appeared to hint that Jobs might be a serious contender. The executive has not only lost out on the top award, however, but even a runner-up position.

Instead Jobs is mentioned in a Fond Farewell column by Pixar's chief creative officer, John Lasseter. He recalls thinking of Jobs like a brother, and mentions that when Jobs wanted to go back to Apple after it bought out NeXT, he came to Lasseter for approval. "He didn't want to do it without our [Pixar's] blessing," Lasseter writes. "He said he wanted to go back because the world would be a better place with Apple in it. That was incredibly touching to me, and it showed that Steve cared about people. He knew that his products and technology could improve people's lives."

Apple current CEO, Tim Cook, has been named as one of Time's People Who Mattered. "Under Cook's watch, Apple became the most valuable company in the world during 2011," the magazine writes. "Irreplaceable though Steve Jobs may be, Apple's in very capable hands with Tim Cook behind the wheel."

by MacNN Staff