The outpouring on weblogs and Twitter began minutes after Jobs, who has been on medical depart since January, announced he would leave the chief executive's post but keep on as chairman of Apple.
"My heart broke a little when I noticed Steve Jobs resigned, " Anna Lauren Bowie, who describes herself as the nurse, said on Twitter.
In Asia, where Jobs has legion of fans in addition to scores of rip-offs of the products he helped design, customers at Apple company stores said the resignation had taken them by surprise.
"I'm surprised he resigned before the iPhone 5 launch, " said Belinda Liu, a 26-year-old at a good Apple store in Shanghai. "I was shocked when I heard the information. "
Apple is likely to launch the iPhone 5, the latest type of its iconic smartphone, in October.
"I make phone calls every day along with my iPhone3, send Weibo messages by iPhone4, jog to podcasts downloaded through iTunes, listen to music on my iPod, use applications from the App Store and go online with my Mac -- never before has a company been entwined so deeply into my entire life, " said Wang Lifen in a tribute to Jobs on Chinese microblogging website Weibo.
Wang is a founder of Umiwi. com, a website that profiles corporate leaders and targets news for young people.
At the company's flagship San Francisco store, the only sign something was amiss was a few groups of employees, huddled together discussing the news. They heard by person to person, they said, with no formal announcement by late afternoon on Wednesday in order to retail workers.
Some customers had already heard.
Robert Cory, waiting for assist with a broken laptop, learned of Jobs' resignation from a news alert upon his phone. "I feel bad, " said the New York resident. "But Apple is going to be okay. "
Other customers echoed that sentiment. San Francisco resident Erich Blazeski proclaimed that "Apple isn't Steve Jobs".
Mighty job
In Australia, customers outside Apple's flagship two-storey glass-fronted store in downtown Sydney discussed Jobs' resignation like a musician played inside, using an Apple device that connected his electric guitar to some Mac computer.
"I think it's rather sad because it reflects his illness but when it comes to its influence on the company, I'm sure they've been planning for this for quite a while, " said Clive Allcock, a psychiatrist.
"He has done a mighty job getting Apple installed and operating, it's a great tribute to him personally and he'll be well remembered on the planet of computing. But I'm sure that it won't materially affect the organization. "
The chief financial officer of a major Apple suppler in Taiwan also said there must be no material effect on the company.
"He's the king, " said the actual officer of Jobs. "Apple has already laid out the roadmap for long term generations of products, it will not affect us as a supplier. inch
Some of the most effusive comments on Jobs came from rivals within the tech industry.
"I think his brilliance has been well-documented, but what gets forgotten may be the bravery with which he's confronted his illness, " Howard Stringer, the BOSS of Sony, said in a statement.
"For him to achieve this a lot success under these circumstances doubles his legacy. "
An employee at Samsung, that could benefit the most if Apple relaxes its grip on the smartphone pill markets, dismissed the idea that its rival would be hit by Jobs' leaving.
"Apple has already gained a strong foothold as an icon and because of its products, so I don't think something major is going to happen to Apple due to the absence of Jobs, " said the employee, who gave her name because Kim.
"Steve Jobs is not our enemy. He is a veteran and senior figure with this business. "
Google Inc Chairman Eric Schmidt, a friend of Jobs for a long time before the Internet search giant's move into mobile software and devices stretched their relationship, wrote a moving testament to the legacy of his erstwhile company partner.
"Steve Jobs is the most successful CEO in the US from the last 25 years, " he said. "He uniquely combined an artist's touch and an engineers vision to construct an extraordinary company... One of the greatest American leaders in history. inch.