I will have to disagree with some of the scathing comments above, from people who have never met Steve or ever even talked to him!
I have met Steve, and talked with him. I met him at Macworld Expo 2000 after he gave the keynote address...I broke through the crowds of media reporters, made my way to the front of the stage because I wanted to get a chance to meet him. When he was done talking to a reporter, he turned right around, and was right in front of me -- so...I introduced myself to him...
He was actually very friendly. He welcomed me to San Francisco, and said "I'm glad you could make it out here. This is a wonderful city." I told him that I was the Vice President of my local MUG and he told me "It's great to have young people like you who are interested in technology, We need more young people like you..." I told him about how we got my Dad his first computer, a Bondi Blue iMac and that he absolutely loves it. I told him about my computers, PowerMac G4 and that I was very impressed by the new designs since he became CEO.
Overall, he was more than kind, very friendly, and cordial. He even was smiling and joking around. Not a rude, arrogant man at all.
The thing is...Steve took business and his company seriously. He demanded excellence. He demanded things be done right, the right way. If it wasn't right, it wasn't right, and it wasn't good enough. He was brutal to employees, but only if they were not meeting expectations or performing up to exactly 100% -- because he demanded 100% at all times, and for the products that Apple developed to be on a level of sheer greatness...
And, that is why Apple is where it is today. If you accept mediocre and make mediocre products, you will be remembered as a mediocre company. And Steve wanted Apple to be remembered as the best there is...the best of the best.
So, please...do not go saying profane things about Steve. The truth is he was two different people entirely...the Steve at work at Apple and the man you meet on the street or at a coffee shop....Steve was not a bad person. I know this firsthand...he wasn't. So stop with all this.