Apple to shut US stores Wed. for Jobs memorial

Apple Inc plans to shutter U.S. retail stores for several hours on Wednesday so employees can take part in a company-wide celebration of co-founder Steve Jobs' life, a person familiar with the celebration said. Store employees in United States will use that time to view a live broadcast of the event, which is being held at an outdoor amphitheater at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Shutting shop in memorandum

The celebration -- which will be held from 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT) to 11:30 a.m. PDT -- will follows a private memorial service for the late tech visionary at Stanford University expected to be attended by Silicon Valley luminaries, politicians and celebrities. Many Apple stores across California were not accepting online bookings for Wednesday morning, either for tech-support or tutorial appointments. Employees across Asia and Australia will be able to view a re-broadcast of the celebration, the person said. An Apple spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment. Jobs died on Oct 5 at the age of 56 after a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Chief Executive Tim Cook had said in a memo to employees on Oct. 10 that a celebration of his life would be held Wednesday.

Reuters