Wednesday morning, Time magazine named their annual “Person of the Year” live on Today. The choice? The Protester. “From Arab Spring to Athens, From Occupy Wall Street to Moscow,” the cover reads. Coming in second place was Admiral William H. McRaven, the man who organized the SEAL Team Six raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

There is something about creativity that tends to bring out the worst in certain people. Maybe this is because the pursuit of a personal vision tends to be isolating and not particularly conducive to sharing or collaboration, or maybe this is because success requires often off-putting qualities like aggression and ruthlessness or the need to set impossibly high standards. In either case: Getting to know the personalities behind bold names can be an exercise in frustration, as Malcolm Gladwell‘s New Yorker piece on the late Steve Jobs aptly demonstrates.

As evidence of Jobs’ sometimes difficult nature, Gladwell offers the following revelations from Walter Isaacson‘s well-timed biography on the driving force behind Apple.

In today’s New York Times, Steve Jobs‘ sister Mona Simpson wrote an obituary to her late brother, praising his creative vision and ability to see the world in a very artistic way. She recalls how her brother gave her advice on what technology to use, how hard he worked on projects, and how he valued craftsmanship over “novelty.” Jobs, who has been referred to more than once as a “Renaissance man” of this generation, had a deep and abiding love for his family

In what was perhaps one of the least political New Rules he’s ever done, Bill Maher took a more artistic look at the value of tripping the lights fantastic on acid. He argued that many of the greatest innovators and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries were admitted drug users, including the recently passed Steve Jobs, who admitted to his biographer that taking acid was one of the best decisions of his life.

The new biography on late Apple co-founder and chairman Steve Jobs offers an interesting look at one of Jobs more high-profile and possibly unexpected friendships — that with News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch.

Walter Issacson‘s latest biography might be the most historically significant, at least for the very moment in which we now find ourselves. Over the last year or so, Apple founder Steve Jobs granted 40 interviews recorded for a biography, the publish date of which has been moved up since the Jobs died this month as a result of pancreatic cancer. 60 Minutes sat down with Issacson for a two-part feature on Jobs, both of which you can view below, courtesy of CBS News:

It was only a matter of time. With publisher Simon & Schuster moving up the publication date of Walter Isaacson‘s Steve Jobs biography by a month in light of his passing this week, Sony has acquired the film rights to the book, it was reported yesterday evening.

Fans of Stephen Colbert know that he is a big fan of Apple; his constant begging for and then showing off of the latest Apple products has been a recurring bit on his show. So when news broke on Wednesday that Apple founder Steve Jobs had died, some probably wondered how the fake news man would report the news. Last night this question was answered, when Colbert showed a highlight-reel of past bits that were both funny and a fitting homage to the Apple products he loved.

The final segment of Martin Bashir‘s eponymous MSNBC show is titled “Clear The Air,” and in it the newish MSNBC anchor offers his own special commentary on a variety of topics, usually culled from the day’s news. In today’s segment, he compared the lives and contributions of two disparate, and contrasting, public figures, both of whom were in the news yesterday, though for very different reasons. Sarah Palin announced that she would not be running for President came along with the sad news of Steve Jobs death.

There’s a kind of jokey, lack of seriousness to a lot of what Rush Limbaugh does that I find appealing. Even when he says something seemingly offensive, it’s hard to get too angry since it always feels like the worst bits are just a put on and you can imagine Limbaugh half-laughing as he says them. In fact, some of the few times we actually thought he was being sincere, we’ve quickly been called fools for believing him.

That’s why it’s refreshing to hear Limbaugh drop all pretense and deliver a truly touching tribute to Steve Jobs, a man he clearly respected an enormous deal.

Apple Computers has announced that company founder and technology visionary Steve Jobs has died. Jobs had been battling a series of ailments, most notably pancreatic cancer, and recently stepped down from his responsibilities as CEO of his company.

CBSNews.com axed all ties with Shira Lazar‘s webshow What’s Trending this weekend after last Friday’s hoax tweet which purported the death of Steve Jobs that, in Gawker’s words, “freaked out the internet.”

When Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO this past week, it became clear just how much he meant to so many people. Some respected him as a brilliant innovator, some saw him as a sign that America could still lead the world, and some acknowledged just how much easier his products had made their lives. Therefore, it’s unsurprising just how saddened many people were to see a photo posted on TMZ yesterday that purports to show a gravely ill Jobs looking frail and needing support to walk. It’s also unsurprising, however, considering just how secretive Jobs always kept the specifics of his illness and its effects, that many are now debating whether or not the photo is real.

This is cute: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has paid tribute to Steve Jobs as he knows best how to by ‘Like’-ing him on Facebook, of course. Because these days, the sound of a hero’s praise is something akin to the sound of a million ‘Likes’ being clicked. Zuck’s profile will from here on out forever salute Jobs — alongside “Brogramming” and “Lotus Thai Bistro” – as one of his very most ‘Like’-ed things.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has stepped down from the top position at his corporation in a resignation letter to its board of directors today. While not giving a reason for stepping down, it is widely rumored it is related to the mogul’s ailing health, though he is expected to remain as chairman of the board of directors. Jobs will be succeeded by Apple COO Tim Cook.

Unfortunately, the country is now so broke that I believe they’re now only serving ramen in the House cafeterias (they’re calling it Freedom Ramen to keep up appearances). You know who’s not having that problem at all? Apple. A new report from the BBC declares that Apple now has more cash on hand than the United States.

Too bad America’s never invented any amazing new operating systems that make scrolling work backwards (yeah, I haven’t really figured out OS X Lion yet).

Apple Inc. released a statement today that its CEO Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence to address some medical issues. This is roughly a year and a half since Jobs had returned to work after successfully undergoing a liver transplant.

For so many Americans, the holiday season is the time of year to sit by the Firefox browser and shop for iPods for the family (or, for the nephews and nieces you don’t love as much, an iTunes gift card). But those who are especially Apple-savvy have a different product on their wishlists: the Steve Jobs action figure, complete with a customizable speech bubble, an iPhone 4 and a really big head.

There comes a point when listening to Rush Limbaugh that one wonders how people like Jon Stewart stay in the business of satire when it’s impossible to parody the real thing This one takes a little bit of work to keep up with, but it ends with “fallen angel” Harry Reid squaring off with “Imam Obamadinejad,” so the topic seems to be fairly plausible Election Day predictions.

There are no sexist men in the 21st century, only stupid men. It’s time we reframe everyday misogyny in the West not as cagey determined acts, but evidence of staggering obtuseness. Consider: “This journalist has read so few books, he listed the top 25 novels of the decade and there are no women on it.” [...]

Facebook may have been down yesterday, but its cofounder Mark Zuckerberg is up. The 26-year-old social-media whiz kid has been listed in the Forbes 400 as the 35th richest person in America, shooting past older media barons like Newscorp’s Rupert Murdoch, who is ranked 38th, and Apple’s Steve Jobs, who is ranked 42nd. Software kingpin Bill Gates of Microsoft still reigns on top of the Forbes list of rich people.

Well now, here is a sensational and surely reputable news report: According to Japan’s SPA! magazine, Steve Jobs was stopped by Japanese airport security for attempting to bring shuriken, or ninja throwing stars, onboard his private plane in July. Jobs was reportedly so upset by this routine stop that he vowed never to return to Japan again.

News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch stopped by the Fox Business Network today for an extensive interview on business, Wall Street, and the future of media, with Brian Sullivan, and he had effusive praise for Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Calling the iPad a “really beautiful device” and predicting that Apple will sell “at least 10 million” iPads within the year, Murdoch hinted that he would like to see the News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal make its way to the improve it’s iPad app and supported Jobs’ statement yesterday that he backs the established media.

He is the head of a computer company that’s in conflict with Google and Adobe, has come out against porn, and now expressed fears that America will become a “nation of bloggers” at an All Things Digital conference yesterday. Does Apple CEO Steve Jobs understand the Internet?

Bill Maher‘s public disillusion with President Barack Obama continued on last night’s Real Time, where Maher expressed confusion at the fact that the President was now denouncing technology, a reference to his commencement speech last week asking graduates to give up the “iPads” and “XBoxes.” “What’s with the fuddy-duddy act?” asked Maher, concluding that his newfound confusion was an appeal to the fact that “America conflates out of touch with adorable.”