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Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence
Uttini writes "Apple CEO Steve Jobs has just announced that he is taking a medical leave of absence, according to a release issued by the company today. While it's unclear what the reason is for the medical leave, Jobs' previous medical history includes pancreatic cancer as well as a liver transplant. While Jobs is out, Tim Cook is to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations."
I hope that no matter what operating system or computer manufacturer you love or hate, everyone can come together and wish him well. Whether you love or hate what he's done in the industry, he's a fellow human being first, and I hope he has a speedy recovery.
Peace.
AAPL fall down, go BOOM!
Actually, there might not be much effect this time. Maybe investors are getting used to this.
This could be somewhat troubling for Apple. The company is doing extremely well at the moment, and I'm guessing that's thanks to Jobs. If he is forced to retire permanently, could Apple enter another death spiral?
While Steve leaves Apple in capable hands for now, no CEO is as closely associated to the public image as Steve is with Apple. Seriously how many people can name the CEO of another company much less recognize the person? There are few: Larry Ellison, Philip Knight, Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffet. The stock is going to take a dip just on this news alone.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Man, it would totally suck to die as a billionaire at his age...
Bot Assisted Blogging
Steve Ballmer sits in his swivel chair, reading slashdot on his oversized jumbotron, petting his hairless cat.
Steve (evil overlord voice): "Yes. Good. Everything is going according to plan. Soon I will rule the world!"
(Orthogonal to the fact that everyone wishes Steve good health,)
It's good for Apple that Tim Cook is getting so much exposure at the helm. There are many shareholders, as well as a significant amount of the tech press, that think Apple can't stand on its own without Steve. Any way Apple can show that it can continue it's current success streak with or without Steve is good for the long-term health of the company.
I hope that no matter what operating system or computer manufacturer you love or hate, everyone can come together and wish him well. Whether you love or hate what he's done in the industry, he's a fellow human being first, and I hope he has a speedy recovery.
Sure. Though I wish he had the same respect for disabled people.
This will cause apple stock to drop. The question is will it mean the end of innovation at apple. If not then once it is seen that apple continues to operate at the same level the stock will rebound. In that case it should be buy, buy, buy. When the panic ends and apple is still there the time to buy will be gone. In the stock world it's buy low, sell high.
..to dampen the blow to the stock price... smart..
As a substantial Apple shareholder (and fanboi), this makes me think of the chinese curse. You were born to live in interesting times...
Tomorrow should be very interesting because (with the markets in the U.S. closed today due to the MLK holiday) it will be the first impact of this news on Apple stock. However later in the day, Apple will release their earnings report which is expected to blow through their estimates.
Unfortunately as "interesting" as all this is to us shareholders, it is much much more so for him (and his family). Regardless of whether he ever returns to Apple, I sincerely wish his recovery so that he live a full and satisfying life with his loved ones.
You have no idea what Jobs is suffering from; it could be a recurrence of his cancer. Being a billionaire will not mean that he suffers any less if it is indeed another bout of cancer. Other people are suffering, and you know what? We should hope that their suffering ends also.
Palm trees and 8
How well you can do when you've got a lot of money. I'm pretty sure if I had pancreatic cancer I'd be dead right now.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Tim cook streamlined Apple's supply chain and increased profit margins considerably. Although he is not a designer, he is a great choice to replace Steve Jobs. (In saying this, I obviously hope that the iPod, iPhone, iPod were not solely motivated by Steve Jobs, but by Apple's design team. If not, we as consumers are screwed)
Well at least we know it couldn't be a virus.....
Given all his health troubles, he would very likely be dead by now if he wasn't a billionaire. Making money is the thing to do..
I never understood the volatility of Apple's stock. Jobs could stub his toe and the stock would drop. Someone who works at Infinite Loop could get constipated, and the stock would drop. Someone's iPhone could get a scratch on the front glass, and the stock would drop.
Why is Apple's stock so prone to heavy fluctuation at the even the slightest hint of something not being perfect?
Living With a Nerd
Oh I do, Earth is hell or at least my definition of hell anyway. I just hate how much people fawn over celebrities Lindsay Lohan cant break a toe without it being in every paper coast to coast. 13 yr old gets shot in the face and it makes headlines in the city where it happened... its the way of the world, it doesnt mean I have to like it though.
When you dislike the human race as much as I do, Karma:Bad is inevitable lol.
I'm not sure what you're saying here; are you saying that we shouldn't wish well those who are being raped and killed? Or that we shouldn't wish well those who are rich and successful? Or that we shouldn't have news stories about significant events in the life of multinational tech companies?
Or is it simply a case of the usual "You're doing X while more important thing Y is happening, so you're a bad person"?
Turtles are reported running for cover.
Perhaps no other company is more tied to its CEO than Jobs, except maybe Warren Buffett. For as much as he and his family wish for privacy however it is reasonable for stockholders, especially HUGE stockholders to know how his condition is. When you buy a stock you are buying the leadership also. If anything this is probably going to drop AAPL's stock valuation down a bit to a more realistic level. 2nd biggest market cap in the world? Really? It certainly doesn't deserve it and with their margins getting squeezed and the fact that there only so many worlds they can conquer means that the shorts are probably going to make some $$$ on AAPL soon. Given that the survival of pancreatic cancer is so low and that Jobs decided to do more hippy dippy holistic approaches doesn't bode well for his survival. That's just the way it is. That being said, there probably is no visionary that comes close to Jobs and I am thankful for my iPhone, my iPod, my Mac and my iPad.
Yeah, maybe he's just parking where he wants on the private property he (colloquially speaking) owns and operates.
And maybe he does have reason to park in a handicapped spot. Not all debilitating medical issues are obvious, and Jobs is quite private about what is, well, private. The man survived a nigh-unto-unsurvivable disease, and may have limitations you are not aware of.
Anecdote: an acquaintance stops breathing when sleeping, and is prone to narcolepsy - not a good combination. Otherwise healthy, she often garners snide comments from such as yourself for parking in a handicap space so she is close to the crucial breathing machine kept in the car.
Just sayin'.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
I could be a bad person.. I think the way I think. I dont put much stock into why to be honest. I certainly dont wish suffering on anyone. I simply hate how some people are devalued just because of their social status. Again, just the way of the world but it doesnt mean I have to like it. It comes into line with other things which are just 'the way things are' like sports stars and celebrities getting paid collectively hundreds of billions of dollars when the rest of the world is falling to rot around them? See what I am saying? People will fire back with all kinds of logical and economic reasons why this is the way it is... it doesnt change the fact that the world really is slowly falling apart as the human race just continues to pour resources into anything and everything that doesnt really matter. I doubt I explained that very well and for that I am sorry.
When you dislike the human race as much as I do, Karma:Bad is inevitable lol.
He has a bad case of flash fever. Sorry it had to be said.
"We are just a war away from Amerikastan. When god vs god the undoing of man." Dave Mustaine
Apple aren't in the market of innovation, they're in the market of aspiration. Nothing they've done has been "innovative", every product they've release in at least the last ten years has already been done, but they package it in a format that makes people desire it. They're pretty much like a top clothes designer. A top designer can charge a premium way above the cost of his materials or the price of his competitors because people want to be seen in his clothes. If he loses the ability to design, he can still sell mass-produced pants, but they lose their elite appeal and have to compete purely on price, that's a downward spiral. Don't underestimate just how closely linked the health of Jobs and the health of Apple actually are.
I guess it goes with his leave of senses.
Except we do care for our quota of 10 obscure people per month. (Your quota may vary.) Usually it's the "Give him/her a chance".
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Please don't assume that everyone else has the same default lack of caring about others. I tend to care about everyone. I'm not saying that's a better attitude -- though it might be -- but it's certainly not the same as yours.
Sigmund
.. and trust me, I'd say not being a billionaire sucks more.
A billionaire not only has people to help get through each day, but there are other people to research possibilities and provide the best possible care.
However, for me, it sucks more because I don't have the money (or the time) to do all the things I want to do, to see all the things I want to see in this still very beautiful and wonderful world. Nor can I care for those nearest me in the way I want to.
I wish SJ the best and hope he recovers from whatever ails him.
--I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
To vote againsta motion to publicly disclose succession plans....
Let's hope the guy recovers, but, at the end, we know that one can not evade death forever.
*** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
the stock is not over valued. Its trading at a very reasonable rate given the fundamentals. Much more so than many tech companies out there. The wild upswings in Apple stock price have largely been grounded by wild upswings in Apple revenue and profit.
That said...it is clearly volatile because it's being bought and sold by the ignorant god fearing masses....
No, she doesn't drive herself - which makes the appearance even more disconcerting to uninformed onlookers when a perfectly healthy driver uses a handicapped spot.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
PE of 23 is not too high for you?!? PE Unless there's better news tomorrow, AAPL is going to tank a few percent.
How is that fool dieing. He has like -2% body fat. He should live forever. Also he is rich so he has access the the best health care that the underprivileged underclass has no access to.
If when we get universal health care in the USA, if I can't live any better that this rich guy something is not right. President Obama promised me that once I get access to the health care that I deserve, I will not die.
I think that maybe something is fundamentally flawed with logic itself, because the facts are just not adding up.
Fact about health care according to the powers that B.
1) The rich control health care and keep the disadvantaged from living healthy.
2) Every healthy rich person's health is in fact built on the back of some fat poor working slob who will die early because he doesn't have equal access.
However this skinny rich person is not healthy whereas I, being an uninsured, unemployed lard ass who sit on my ass all day and watch Jerry Springer all day (i luv that guy) am realtivly heathy (in the sense that I ussually outrun and outlift and outswim all the skinny healthy people who are all dieing of pancreatic cancer and shit.
SO I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT GIVES. Either someone has been lieing to me, or maybe logic just does not work.
has AIDS, old news. Wikileak.
Jobs seems to think modern medicine is evil. He prefers "alternative" treatments.
Steve's health is already priced in. The run-up in share price has been driven by actual earnings, in fact the PE is down from a year or two ago. http://www.asymco.com/2010/08/02/apples-pe-ex-cash-nearing-15/
lol heaven forbid you have a negative outlook on something posted here if your not preaching rainbows or falling in line your a troll. To me a troll would be someone who fires out a comment for the sole purpose of inciting a argument. My post is my honest take on a population who worships social icons and places their health on some kind of imaginary pedestal over more common people. How the hell is that a troll? That question is rhetorical btw.
When you dislike the human race as much as I do, Karma:Bad is inevitable lol.
Apple formally set its succession plan for the eventual departure of CEO Steve Jobs as it named marketing chief Steve Ballmer as chief operating officer.
The move also came as Andrew Fastow was named chief financial officer. Fastow was previously in charge of the Northern Natural Gas Company and will succeed Peter Oppenheimer at the end of the year.
As head of Microsoft, Ballmer has led the company to remain the largest computer operating system provider and has taken Apple's best punch via OSX. Meanwhile, Microsoft has launched the Windows Mobile franchise and partnered with Dell.
In a statement, Apple said Ballmer will oversee the company’s business, computer and wireless businesses. He will also oversee technology management and CIO functions. David J. Lesar will become CEO of Microsoft and Gayle Troberman., currently chief marketing officer of Microsoft will become COO.
wonder which organ transplant list he'll buy his way to the top of this year
Funny, I think we can agree on that: In my version of hell, we have to listen to self-important, self-styled "deep thinker" fucktards preach to us about what's wrong with society in the tritest ways imaginable.
Steve, you beat cancer. That right there entitles you to take some time off. On top of that, you beat the odds and had a cancer that was rare and treatable rather than terminal. And you have a new liver. I'm surprised you are doing as much as you are.
Go, take time off. Focus on your health. Come back to announce amazing apple products when you can.
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
They give those people handicap tags so they don't get towed. If they have a handicap tag, you can park there. If your friend doesn't have one, she will get towed.
Sure, Gates is trying to buy a Nobel Peace Prize, but at least some good will come out of the attempt. What has Jobs done with his filthy lucre (other than buy the naming rights to new buildings for 'Sisters of the Poor' Stanford)? And to be blunt: do you really think Steve Jobs would extend to any of us the same human compassion you're asking?
- "OK, lets get the PR team in place"
- "But Steve was the driving tech innovation guy"
- "We're not here for technology, anybody knows whats the impact on my bonus?"
- "Damn, OK, lets have some memorial on this Steve guy, then report back on my bonus, this is really really bad"
Nothing they've done has been "innovative"
I'm not an Apple fan, far from it, but your claim is just wrong. The wheel on the ipod? itunes? The original Mac? Zero config networking? Stepping way out with the ipad?
Apple may be many distasteful things, but "not innovative" is not one of them.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
I don't use the iPhone because I don't like the control Apple exerts over it. Still, I recognize that the place smart phones are in today is due to the existence of the iPhone and without it those of us using smart phones would still be using Windows Mobile 6.5 bricks. So my relationship with Apple is both positive and negative. If we lose Steve Jobs, we will lose a driving force in the industry that will effect the quality of the electronics you buy; Apple or otherwise.
or else!
He got his brand new iLiver last year and is getting an iHeart now, one organ at a time, So why do people keep modding my Jobs/Vader comparisons down?!
sig loading.......
I don't totally disagree with you. Apple didn't invent many of the things they sell. They did however improve and market them as innovative. I mean that they are innovative in how they design their products. While companies like HP and IBM and others design things that are functional but boring Apple seems to make things functional and exciting. You can hate them if you like but what they do works well for them enabling them to claim premium prices while others have to settle for thin margins.
Not only he managed to get the vision of the computer has appliance, he also managed to make Pixar a household name when George Lucas didn't had any idea about what to do with the studio, made tablet computers interesting for consumers and revolutionized phone industry.
Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
This is as good a place to respond as any.
Yes, part of it is that I genuinely didn't want the first post to be a troll saying, "Good, maybe this will finally doom Apple!"
But part of it is because both of my parents died of cancer. It was a hideous degenerative process that involved a lot of pain and anguish. As a result, whenever I hear of someone who has cancer, whether it's a really famous star or business mogul or a homeless person the street, friend, neighbor, or total stranger, my first thought is, "Oh wow, I hope they recover quickly, and if not, that they don't suffer a lot."
Also, it's basic empathy. I'm going to be undergoing surgery on Wednesday. It's nothing too terribly life-threatening, but it is on my spine, which always has an "oh my god!" risk factor associated with it of being paralyzed. Not ever having has so much as an incision or a stitch or a broken bone or anything, it's a little freaky. I run some gaming web sites that have a lot of visitors, and some of them know that I'm having the surgery. As a result, I've had random people wishing me well. And yeah, call it corny or silly or whatever, but I know it makes me feel better.
Now, I'm fairly certain that Steve Jobs will probably not see my post. Still, on the offhand chance that he does, or for other people who are having similar problems, who are you to say that it doesn't help them, knowing that random strangers out there care enough to post that?
I do agree, though, with one thing: There's definitely smugness and self-promotion going on. But in my opinion, it's coming from the "I don't have to be part of the social norm by displaying any empathy" trolls.
keyword: deadmanwalking
If you limit what you've said to the last ten years (which I think is reasonable for a company that innovates a lot apparently) you'd be left with only the ipad. Which is essentially just a gigantic size ipod touch...
Multiple personality disorder anyone?
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
"Nothing Apple has done in the past ten years has been innovative."
Your definition of innovate must be extremely narrow. Just as one example, the MacBook Pro unibody design.
He has taken a permanent leave of absence because of an extremely fatal illness. His supply of Egoism, which keeps him alive, is running out. Doctors had considered giving him a shot of Humility, but it was determined this would be too much a shock to the system. Sycophants have been placed on a round the clock deathwatch for the Apple leader.
Tim Cook has been groomed for years, Steve has a first class team now - Jobs remembers his last mistake at Apple and won't repeat it. One thing Jobs is not, is stupid.
Somewhat off topic, but relevant:
I, unfortunately went to IT school in Seattle, WA, around 2000, (originally it was to be Vancouver B.C, such is the price of love at first sight - 5 years married) I was required (forced) to take Win 2k Server as part of a UNIX System Administration track. Ultimately it became useful, but more in a "backwards and in high-heels" way. Our Windows teacher was such a zealot that he equated stock price to superiority of OS platform, Apple was in the midst of rolling out OS X at this point and their stock was something like $11.00 a share, Microsoft was $33.00.
I was so poor at the time it wasn't funny, I told everyone "BUY APPLE" up and until 2003 or so, many of my more wealthy friends did. Some put their children through college with that tip (yes, me = SuperGenius).
I never would ever equate stock price with OS performance, and I often think back on my poor MS teacher and know what a hard lesson he learned.
Me? Lovin' the UNIX and the Plan 9.
New tip: buy electrical utilities and general infrastructure - long term.
~hylas