Column: Apple would be in trouble with or without Steve Jobs

"He was brilliant. I mean, he was our Edison. He was our Picasso. He was an incredible inventor."

That was Oracle CEO Larry Ellison describing Apple co-founder and late CEO Steve Jobs in an interview with Charlie Rose for CBS This Morning. Describing him as his "best friend for 25 years," Ellison spoke of Jobs as an irreplaceable visionary and foretold Apple's grim future without its boldest leader at the helm.

"Well, we already know," he said, referring to Cupertino's trajectory. "We conducted the experiment." Ellison traced his finger in an upward slope. "We saw Apple with Steve Jobs." And traced it back down. "We saw Apple without Steve Jobs." Back up. "We saw Apple with Steve Jobs." And down. "Now, we're gonna see Apple without Steve Jobs."