MarketWatch names Steve Jobs CEO of the decade, rock star of corporate America

Well, that's hard to disagree with. Apple was one of the early inventors of the personal computer industry, but when Jobs left Apple, fortunes began to diminish. In the mid 90s, Apple was becoming all but irrelevant. Then Jobs returned, and the hits started appearing. The iMac, the iPod, and now the iPhone, the iPad and the MacBook Air. Apple has set the pace in an industry that was dominated by Microsoft, and Jobs has carved out a leading space in the home and personal mobile devices.

MarketWatch describes Jobs as "a meticulous micromanager who can drive his employees to distraction - and one of the most important figures in American industry in the past half-century."

It hasn't been all roses. The Apple Lisa was a bust, but it spawned the Macintosh. The first Apple TV, and perhaps its sequel, aren't certified hits and may never be big sellers. The Motorola ROKR was a dog of a phone, but at least Apple recovered dramatically (to say the least) with the iPhone.

One thing that can't be denied is that Apple leads even Microsoft in market cap, with Apple valued at $285 billion while Microsoft stands at around $220 billion. It's a heck of a turnaround.

Jobs is famous for attention to detail and the customer experience. It was frustrating to see him dance around the iPhone 4 antenna problems, but Apple customers seem unaffected by those potholes and keep buying, and loving, most Apple products.

For Jobs, CEO of the decade is a well-earned accolade. For Apple customers, well, we already know that Steve is pretty cool. Among others nominated were Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Good going, Steve!