London, Oct 7: U2's Bono praised Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as the "hardware software Elvis" and "one of a very small group of anarchic Americans who through technology literally invented the 21st century" in a statement Thursday.
Jobs, who died Wednesday at the age of 56, collaborated with the singer on a U2 iPod, and more importantly for Bono, on the (RED) Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Bono said, "What made Steve Jobs truly great is that he was only interested in doing truly great things. He was bored by an easy ride or easy profit. In a world littered with dull objects, he brought the beauty of clean lines and clear thought. This rhyme of intellect and intuition could be applied to a wide range of subjects from the US education system, to sculpture, to the fight against HIV/AIDS where his support of (RED) literally transformed the lives of two million people in Africa."
Bono had defended Jobs' philanthropic efforts in a New York Times op-ed piece in early Sept. in response to an article by Andrew Ross Sorkin accusing the tech innovator of not contributing enough of his fortune to charity. Bono wrote at the time, "Steve Jobs said when we first approached him about (RED), 'There is nothing better than the chance to save lives.' " He also pointed out that Apple was (Product)RED's largest contributer with "tens of millions of dollars" in donations from the sale of (RED) iPods and other products.
In his statement Thursday, Bono also hailed Jobs as a true innovator "I already miss him...one of a very small group of anarchic Americans who through technology literally invented the 21st century. We will all miss the hardware software Elvis."
He added, "He changed music. He changed film. He changed the personal computer and turned telephony on its head while he was at it. He was tenacious in the extreme, his toughness never more evident than these past few years in his fight for his life as well as his companies.
"Steve told me as proud as he was of Apple and Pixar, his real pride was his family. He was a thoughtful and tender father, and loved nothing more than hanging out in the house with his belle Laurene and the kids."
Jobs died after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.
