Steve Jobs' final words: 'Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.'

The sister of Steve Jobs, novelist Mona Simpson, has revealed that the Apple founder's final words were: "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow," as he lay surrounded by his family members.

In a moving eulogy published on The New York Times web site, and first read at Jobs' memorial service on 16 October, Simpson reveals that, even when in hospital during the last days of his illness, Jobs was developing new product ideas.

"He sketched devices to hold an iPad in a hospital bed. He designed new fluid monitors and x-ray equipment. He redrew that not-quite-special-enough hospital unit," she said.

Simpson also reveals that Jobs' well-known perfectionism even followed him to the hospital, dismissing a staggering 67 nurses during his periods of illness before accepting just three to tend to him.

The anecdote is perfectly in keeping with Jobs' character, and the recently released biography by Walter Isaacson charts many instances of Jobs clashing with those around him over tiny details of style and taste.

V3 is currently working its way through the 600-page epic, which is proving an engrossing read, even for non-Apple fans, offering fascinating insights into how Jobs and Apple came to develop the iPod and his work at Pixar that helped create Toy Story.

Jobs died on 6 October after a long-running battle with cancer, provoking a wealth of tributes from the great and the good in the worlds of technology, music and politics.

31 Oct 2011