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Satirical Steve Jobs movie now available for viewing on Web

Comedy site Funny or Die releases "iSteve," a 79-minute movie about the Apple co-founder based largely on Wikipedia research.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
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Steven Musil
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James Urbaniak as Bill Gates (left) meeting Josh Long's Steve Jobs and snubbing Jorge Garcia's Steve Wozniak. Funny or Die

If you have eagerly awaited the release of a Steve Jobs movie -- any movie -- your patience has paid off.

"iSteve," a 79-minute satirical movie based on the life of the iconic Apple co-founder, was released today by comedy site Funny or Die. The comedy site was previously known for "The Landlord," a two-minute clip featuring actor Will Ferrell and co-creator Adam McKay's 2-year-old daughter that's since tallied more than 80 million views.

The movie stars Justin Long, the same actor Apple tapped for its famous switch ads featuring Long and John Hodgman as personifications of Apple's Mac and Microsoft's Windows PCs. Jorge Garcia of "Lost" fame will play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and James Urbaniak and Michaela Watkins will play Bill and Melinda Gates.

"In true Internet fashion, it's not based on very thorough research -- essentially a cursory look at the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page," Ryan Perez, "iSteve" writer and director, told The New York Times. "It's very silly. But it looks at his whole life."

This movie shouldn't be confused with two other movies covering different aspects of Jobs' life. "Jobs," which stars Ashton Kutcher as Jobs, premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. But the film received mixed reviews, mostly due to reviewers' issues with the story but not Kutcher's performance as the iconic CEO. That film was originally set to open Friday, but its release has been postponed to an unannounced date, likely for marketing purposes.

Another, separate production, penned by "The Social Network" and "The West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin, follows Jobs in three scenes of his life and is expected to be released later this year.