'I had to come': Steve Jobs' fans mourn at Apple stores

PALM DESERT, Calif. -- Apple is like a religion for John Carr: He owns nearly ever Apple product, listens to biographies about Steve Jobs on repeat and preaches about striving for Apple-like perfection.

The Palm Desert doctor says he found himself a little lost, then, when he heard that Apple's co-founder, his longtime idol, had died Wednesday.

Carr sought solace at the one place he could think of at such a time — the Apple store in Palm Desert.

"I just came here because I didn't know where else to go," said Carr, 50. "I'm shocked. I can't believe it. I never even met the man, but I feel like I own every gadget he's ever made."

The death of Jobs, chairman and former CEO of Apple, was being mourned by millions of people around the world on Thursday from heads of major Fortune 500 companies to celebrities and everyday people like Carr.

President Obama said in a statement that Jobs "exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity."

"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," he said.

"To some people, this is like Elvis Presley or John Lennon. It's a change in our times. It's the end of an era," said Scott Robbins, 34, a barber who lives in San Francisco. "It's like the end of the innovators."

Jobs had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and underwent a liver transplant in 2009.

He took a leave of absence in January — his third since his health problems began — and resigned in August. Jobs became Apple's chairman and handed the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.

Outside Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, three flags — an American flag, a California state flag and an Apple flag — were flying at half-staff.

"Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor," Cook wrote in an email to Apple's employees. "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Google, Sony, Samsung, Microsoft — corporate giants that have all been bruised in dustups with Apple — put their rivalries aside to remember the man behind the iconic products that define his generation: the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad.

"Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote.

"The digital age has lost its leading light, but Steve's innovation and creativity will inspire dreamers and thinkers for generations," Sony Corp. President and Chief Executive Howard Stringer said in a statement.

Thousands of celebrities and fans took to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to remember Jobs.

"My heart weeps for all who worked with Steve and who loved him, especially my friend Laurene and their children," tweeted Maria Shriver, referring to Jobs' wife and three children.

In Tokyo, Apple aficionados gathered at an iStore for a sunset vigil organized via Twitter, holding up virtual candles on their iPhones and iPads.

"I knew I had to come," said university student Hideki Fujita, 18. "I just needed to be here."

Back in Palm Desert, a steady stream of customers stopped by the Apple store to talk about how their lives had been changed by Jobs and his products.

Trisha Kendrick, 44, who is moving to nearby La Quinta from Silicon Valley, said she worked as an assistant for Jobs during the summer of 1999.

She choked up while recalling her interview with Jobs and the time she tried to serve him tea in a china cup.

He rejected the cup in favor of a beat-up mug. That down-to-earth attitude blew her away.

"He changed the world. He made a difference," Kendrick said. "It's a sad day today. The world is sad."

La Quinta resident Rick Clifford walked through the Apple store on his way to school just to offer his condolences to the employees.

He credits Jobs' company for giving him the proper technology to work as an audio engineer. It also improved his daughter's education tenfold, he said.

"Wow. What a visionary," Clifford said. "A creative genius is gone."

Despite Jobs'death, Carr said he believes that Jobs, by hand-picking his predecessor, set the stage for the company to carry on.

But something will always be missing, he said.

"I think the people there have a legacy they want to continue, and they know they owe it to Steve — but he's irreplaceable," Carr said."There's still Walt Disney long after Walt is gone, but Apple will always be Steve."