Steve Jobs' friends gather for memorial service

Politicians, celebrities and friends gathered on Sunday to celebrate the life of Steve Jobs. Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bono and Stephen Fry were among those attending the memorial service, held at Stanford University. The charismatic co-founder of Apple died on 5 October as a result of pancreatic cancer.

Another event, for staff, will be held at the company's headquarters in Cupertino on Wednesday. This weekend's gathering was held at Memorial Church on Stanford University's campus.

The broad range of attendees reflected Steve Jobs' diverse range of interests, which extended far beyond running a computer company. Among a number of big names from Hollywood was John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios.

Steve Jobs bought the small digital graphics company in 1986. It went on to produce films such as Toy Story, Cars and Monsters, Inc.

Political leaders also paid tribute. Among them, Bill Clinton and his former Vice-President, Al Gore, who also sits on the board of Apple.

Senior Apple figures, including new chief executive Tim Cook and head of iOS software, Scott Forstall, were joined by leading figures from across the technology world.

Former Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison also came to pay tribute.

Details of the event were not made public, although afterwards Stephen Fry, a high profile fan of Apple, tweeted: "I don't know that there was ever a more beautiful memorial service. "Everyone who spoke did so with such passion and love and simplicity."

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