Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple yesterday.  From his resignation letter:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

While Jobs had been on medical leave, and it seems clear that his ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer and the effects of that battle (this was Jobs's third medical leave from Apple, according to the New York Times), is not going well.  So our first thoughts are focused on the health of one of the most innovative leaders in American business.  As for the future of Apple, the company now has a significant challenge: remaining an industry leader without its leading visionary.  David Pogue presents three reasons to expect Apple will continue to be Apple:

The good news: First, Mr. Jobs isn’t leaving Apple. He’ll remain as chairman of the Apple board. Tim Cook, who’s been Apple’s director of operations for seven years, will take over as chief executive. (He’s been acting C.E.O. since January.)

You can bet that as chairman, Mr. Jobs will still be the godfather. He’ll still be pulling plenty of strings, feeding his vision to his carefully built team, and weighing in on the company’s compass headings.

Second, the tech world doesn’t turn on a dime. Apple’s pipeline is already stuffed with at least a couple of years’ worth of Jobs-directed products. In the short term, you won’t see any difference in Apple’s output of cool, popular inventions.

Third, even if Mr. Jobs isn’t sitting at every design meeting, ripping apart or heartily embracing each idea presented to him, his tastes, methods and philosophies are deeply entrenched in the company’s blood.

But Pogue says that these reasons may not trump the potential damaging affect of Apple losing Jobs's "personality."  Read Steve Jobs Reshaped Industries here.