Steve Jobs lives on in endless Apple stories, marketing schemes

Although it's been nearly four months since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died, there has been little slowdown in Steve Jobs news since then. In fact, some days there seems to be more than ever.

The first wave of stories stemmed from the authorized Walter Isaacson biography on Jobs,  and stories based on anecdotes from that book have continued to gain individualized attention months later.  More Jobs headlines surfaced in the wake of his death based on memories and comments shared in various venues by those knew him, such as wireless industry legend John Stanton, who said in November that Jobs had wanted to build an iPhone-only wireless network. 

PICTURE THIS: Steve Jobs gets bronzed 

This past week, it was revealed that a dying Jobs kept a recent letter from Microsoft’s Bill Gates at his bedside, suggesting that the much discussed rivalry between the two had softened quite a bit in recent years.  Also in the news: Virgin America dedicating one of its airplanes to a popular (and borrowed) Steve Jobs quote – “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” – by emblazoning it on the nose of an Airbus A320. 

Rock legend Neil Young also revealed last week at an industry conference that Jobs preferred to listen to music on vinyl rather than the iPod, enjoying the higher fidelity. 

This week we hear that Jobs’ influence from beyond the grave inspired electronics retailer Best Buy to ditch celebrities such as Ozzie Osbourne and Justin Bieber, who appeared in its Super Bowl ad last year, in favor of highlighting tech innovators such as Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram, in an effort to stress Best Buy’s tech chops vs. other retailers such as Wal-Mart.

Not all advertisers are going such a noble route.  A Taiwanese company has been featuring in its commercials for a tablet computer  an actor impersonating Steve Jobs and donning  angel wings.  Another Jobs impersonator, in the form of an eerily lifelike 1-foot-high action figure, was squelched last month after the manufacturer felt the heat from Jobs’ family and Apple lawyers. 

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