Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs andmarkets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers.

The company’s best-known hardware products include the Macintoshcomputers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes theMac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife suiteof multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivitysoftware; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio,a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; LogicStudio, a suite of music production tools and its iOS Mobile OperatingSystem. As of August 2010, the company operates 301 retail stores in tencountries, and an online store where hardware and software products aresold.

For reasons as various as itsphilosophy of comprehensive aestheticdesign to its distinctive advertisingcampaigns, Apple has establisheda unique reputation in the consumerelectronics industry. This includes acustomer base that is devoted to thecompany and its brand, particularlyin the United States. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admiredcompany in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009,and 2010. The company has also received widespread criticism for itscontractors’ labor, environmental, and business practices.

In July of the 2008, Apple launched the App Store to sell third-partyapplications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Within a month, the store sold60 million applications and brought in $1 million daily on average, the AppStore could become a billion-dollar business for Apple. Three months later,it was announced that Apple had become the third-largest mobile handsetsupplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.

As a co-founder and chiefexecutive officer of Apple,Steven Paul Jobs has contributedmuch to the symbolic image ofthe idiosyncratic, individualisticSilicon Valley entrepreneur,emphasizing the importance ofdesign and understanding thecrucial role aesthetics play inpublic appeal. His work driving forward the development of products thatare both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.

In mid-2004, Jobs announced to his employees that he had beendiagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. Jobs underwent apancreaticoduodenectomy (or “Whipple procedure”) in July 2004 thatappeared to successfully remove the tumor and came back to Apple. But onJanuary 14, 2009, Jobs announced a six-month leave of absence until theend of June 2009 to allow him to better focus on his health and underwent aliver transplant in April 2009.