Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence

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Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 17, 2011 @02:42AM from the zomg-everybody-panic dept.

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."

36 of 471 comments (clear)

Wishing him well by KingSkippus · 2011-01-17 02:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.
1. Re:Wishing him well by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-17 02:46 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Please extend the same sentiment when gates is not feeling well.
2. Re:Wishing him well by pyalot · 2011-01-17 02:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Please extend the same sentiment when Bush, Palin, Limbaugh, Stewart, Castro, Chavez, Gaddafi, Sarkozy, Uwe Boll and many others do not feel well.
  
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3. Re:Wishing him well by betterunixthanunix · 2011-01-17 02:56 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Please; I disagree with a lot of Apple's policies and decisions regarding their products, and I strongly suspect Jobs is behind many of those policies, but that does not mean that Jobs is not a human being. He may just stroll past beggars, but that does not make him any less human either. As you said, he does not deserve death, and I would add that he does not deserve to suffer from whatever ailment he is on medical leave for.
  
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4. Re:Wishing him well by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-17 02:59 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  There are almost 7 billion people on this planet and if we were all being brutally honest that's almost 7 billion people we don't give a damn about. This isn't insightful, it's fake emotion.
5. Re:Wishing him well by RDW · 2011-01-17 03:05 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  'now if this was a stock market news site...'
  The BBC is reporting Apple shares in Frankfurt are down 7% already, and CNN notes that Apple is due to release an earnings report tomorrow. So I guess the announcement was particularly carefully timed, not only falling on a US public holiday, but coming just before an earnings report that will presumably be positive and help to mitigate the damage when the US market re-opens. But that's just good business, of course. Best wishes to Steve!
6. Re:Wishing him well by leathered · 2011-01-17 03:09 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I would not wish ill health on any of those people but Uwe Boll, the man has caused misery for millions of people.
  
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7. Re:Wishing him well by digitalchinky · 2011-01-17 03:12 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Although I'm nobody special, please do extend the same sentiment to me also. Thankyou. That is all. : )
8. Re:Wishing him well by TheRaven64 · 2011-01-17 03:12 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Buy them today as the market dips, sell them tomorrow after the earnings report showing the iPhone and iPad christmas sales.
  
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9. Re:Wishing him well by TheRaven64 · 2011-01-17 03:22 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Not sure about 'most accounts' but how about the time He and Woz got a $5,000 payment from Atari. He told Woz it was $700, and gave him $350 as his half. Fortune described him as 'one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs'. He banned all books published by Wiley from Apple stores because they dared to publish an unauthorised autobiography of him. He refused to acknowledge his daughter, who his mother initially had to raise on welfare payments.
  You don't often get to be as successful in business as he has been by being a nice person.
  
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10. Re:Wishing him well by h4rr4r · 2011-01-17 03:41 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Some of those people are not like the others. Some have killed others to further their own goals.
11. Re:Wishing him well by ceeam · 2011-01-17 03:41 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Oh, and as for the money, Woz's own take on it is kinda maybe interesting: http://www.woz.org/letters/general/91.html
12. Re:Wishing him well by omnichad · 2011-01-17 03:42 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I want Osama Bin Laden to see the error of his ways and find happiness and then live a long and happy life. If that won't happen I'd really not wish for him to continue living. He's preventing thousands of others from having a long and happy life. And that overrules any worries I have for him.
13. Re:Wishing him well by respice · 2011-01-17 04:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I do wish them all well- even the ones who don't like my country. Even those who are "villains."
  
  John Donne, Meditations XVII:
  
  No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
  
  I don't have to like what they do to wish them good health.
14. Re:Wishing him well by Pojut · 2011-01-17 04:34 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  He says he is a Christian, but everytime he quotes from the Constitution he skips the word "God".
  Whoa whoa whoa. Hold the fuck on.
  Please cite where the word "god" appears ANYWHERE in the constitution, other than the "Year of our Lord" boilerplate, which signifies the use of the modern calendar as a date.
  
  --
  Living With a Nerd
15. Re:Wishing him well by Wyatt+Earp · 2011-01-17 05:05 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
  I searched for "god" and got no results, "lord", got the one, just in the Year of our Lord, "religion" and got three results, two are in the Constitution and one is the outline at the top of the page.
It's good Tim is getting more exposure by DTemp · 2011-01-17 02:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

(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.
Re:AAPL by Xest · 2011-01-17 03:00 · Score: 4, Informative

Well this is why they announced it on a US bank holiday when no shares are trading there.
In Frankfurt, Europe meanwhile, Apple shares are already down 7%.
Looks like it's business as usual in the crazy world of Apple shares.
*cough* by dakkon1024 · 2011-01-17 03:10 · Score: 4, Funny

Well at least we know it couldn't be a virus.....
Fucking stupid by Pojut · 2011-01-17 03:12 · Score: 4, Interesting

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?

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Living With a Nerd
1. Re:Fucking stupid by twidarkling · 2011-01-17 03:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It's because Apple's not based on product, it's based on image. If anything seems like it could even start to threaten that image, people want out before it crashes.
  
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2. Re:Fucking stupid by RJHelms · 2011-01-17 03:18 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Why is Apple's stock so prone to heavy fluctuation at the even the slightest hint of something not being perfect?
  I suspect it's because it's horrendously overvalued. Apple investors get scared that the bubble will burst, and no one wants to be the last one out. When it doesn't turn out that the "correction" is actually happening, people regain their senses^H^H^H^H^H^Hgreed.
3. Re:Fucking stupid by Rogerborg · 2011-01-17 03:31 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Why is Apple's stock so prone to heavy fluctuation
  
  Apple doesn't pay dividends, so its stock is owned by speculators, not investors. Its value is based solely on the belief that there will always be another sucker along in a minute who thinks its worth more than you paid. When you stop believing those suckers will appear, then it's time to bail.
  
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4. Re:Fucking stupid by BlowChunx · 2011-01-17 03:35 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Really? Not that I am invested in AAPL, but it's got a PE of ~23. Going by Benjamin Graham's rule of thumb it needs to grow at 7.5%. What with the healthy product stream (iPads, new customer base with CMDA iPhone), that doesn't seem terribly overpriced.
5. Re:Fucking stupid by paiute · 2011-01-17 03:51 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  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?
  Because the truth is that those who are paid big money to analyze the market are not as stupid as we here on Mount Slashdot would like to believe. I would venture to say that they think that one big reason for Apple's success over the years is their ability to go be consistently contrarian. Apple does not follow the crowd in design and implementation. They do not get involved in races to the bottom, and they hew closely to the principle of simplification of the end user's experience instead of packing a product with buttons and a thousand "features". All of these things are in stark contrast to what is taught in business school. So if Jobs goes down and Apple is then led by a modern Scully clone, the company might not do as well in the future.
  
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6. Re:Fucking stupid by gorzek · 2011-01-17 03:56 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Then how do you explain Microsoft, which has never had a very positive image, yet managed to dominate both the desktop operating system and Web browser markets?
  Just goes to show you, backroom deals and monopolist strongarming also have their place in business, and can sometimes trump "image."
  
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7. Re:Fucking stupid by morgauxo · 2011-01-17 04:32 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Maybe. OSX sure took a lot of steam out of the Linux desktop. But as much as it pains me to admit, there were/are other issues involved.
  
  Just as games were starting to be released for Linux the video drivers really went down the toilet. Sure, it was due to the ideology conflict between FOSS and proprietary hardware vendors, not a technical problem with Linux. That distinction didn't change the fact your card wouldn't work. This is getting quite a bit better now but it sucked for a really long time. Now 3d support is 'necessary' even for normal non-game desktop use if you want to fulfill current user's expectations.
  
  Some might argue that the shift from hobbyist based kernel development to corporate sponsored either helped or hurt the Desktop. Read about the conflict between the kernel developers and Con Kolivas. The desktop just hasn't been the major focus for a while. It's totally anecdotal but I know my desktop seemed to get less and less responsive with updates until I finally started using BFS.
  
  And then there is removable media... It's finally getting back to where you can pop in a CD/USB stick and it will mount it and ask you what to do with it.. if you are using one of the heavy desktops like KDE or Gnome that is. I once had a desktop that would access a CDRW using packet writing and supermount just as easily as Windows/DOS used to access a floppy disk! Shortly afterword supermount was gone and the support we have today involves a variety of daemons, u-dev rules, etc... which all have to be working for anything to happen.
8. Re:Fucking stupid by Duradin · 2011-01-17 04:32 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  MS never had a good image here. The suits and pencil pushers that actually get things purchased for business are a different story. "No one ever got fired for buying IBM" basically. /. is a tempest in a teacup when it comes to what the rest of the world likes or dislikes.
9. Re:Fucking stupid by Fahrvergnuugen · 2011-01-17 04:39 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  People don't buy iPhones because Apple is cool, they buy iPhones because the iPhone is cool. Your comment doesn't make any sense.
  For a huge section of the consumer market, Apple makes the *best* products. People don't spend their money on iPhones because they think Apple is cool, they spend it because they want the product Apple makes
  Those products are as good as they are in large part because of Steve Job's persuit of perfection. The guy is sick. Everyone is worried that Apple will lose focus without Jobs (like it did in the past).
  
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10. Re:Fucking stupid by catchblue22 · 2011-01-17 05:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It's because Apple's not based on product, it's based on image. If anything seems like it could even start to threaten that image, people want out before it crashes.
  Oh please. Any rational analysis of the history of computing will lead to the conclusion that Jobs is a visionary genius. NeXT created a computer in 1988 that had features that even today's computers don't have. The graphical system was vector based (PostScript), enabling resolution independence. It had an optical drive, years before CD-r existed. It was Unix based. It utilized a middleware framework called OpenStep that allowed an unprecedented degree of platform independence. This system became the basis for OS X. Microsoft didn't even come out with Windows 3.1 until 1992, four years later. Even today, no major OS has resolution independence, and Windows 7 is definitely NOT platform independent. I can think of no other example of a leader leaving such an indelible stamp on a company.
  Indeed, the contrast of Mr. Jobs leadership with the rest of corporate America lays bare the fundamental faults of the latter. Corporate America has become beholden to visionless MBA bean counters, who think they can manage a company without underlying knowledge or insight into the business they direct. They treat management as a skill independent of the underlying businesses they manage. They put forward their management principles as unchallengeable "revealed truths". Contrast Mr. Job's leadership with that of Mr. Sculley who replaced him for a time. Sculley was the president of Pepsico before he took over at Apple. What made him think that his experience managing a soft drink company gave him the ability to lead a computer company I have no idea. But his tenure was an unmitigated disaster. Sculley simply had no vision of what computers should be. He had little insight into the difficulties of coding, the importance of good design, or the future developments in information technology.
  
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11. Re:Fucking stupid by W2k · 2011-01-17 05:46 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Does anyone really like Microsoft, other than those who swear by their products and services? I really doubt it. Most users just seem to be forced to put up with it and are either ignorant of other options or afraid of trying something unfamiliar.
  I have used Linux, BSD, MacOS (X) and Solaris but my home computers (laptop, gaming PC, two servers) all run Windows, because it gets things done and I haven't had a BSOD or a serious issue with it for years. Finding drivers or apps is never a problem because everyone develops for Windows first, Mac OS X second, Linux probably never or perhaps a distant third.
  
  Being a geek most of my friends are as well and Windows is still by far the most common OS on their home PCs. One guy bought a shiny MBP and promptly installed Windows on it. Pretty much everyone who runs Linux dual-boots with Windows. So yes, when given a choice, even very computer-literate people will freely choose Windows. Because it gets things done, doesn't crash and has drivers for everything. Simple as that.
  
  My phone runs Android, though.
  
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12. Re:Fucking stupid by speedingant · 2011-01-17 06:17 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I call bullshit here. The iPhone hardware isn't as good, but have you actually tried an actual comparison between say, Android and the iOS? It's like chalk and cheese. The usability of Android for day to day tasks, and general "Smart Phone" abilities, sucks. I had it crash a few times, it refuses to connect to wireless networks sometimes, and it felt unpolished. I bought an iPhone, because it actually works really well. And the App Store trumps the stagnated piece of shit Google offers.
Re:SELL SELL SELL by delinear · 2011-01-17 03:37 · Score: 4, Insightful

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.
Re:It's amazing by Bloopie · 2011-01-17 04:03 · Score: 5, Informative

He had a rare type of pancreatic cancer called "Islet cell neuroendocrine tumor" which is far less deadly than most pancreatic cancer.
Sorry to throw a damper on your smug little rant, but it's not unusual at all that he would survive that.
Apple's PE is 15 EX CASH by seanadams.com · 2011-01-17 04:39 · Score: 4, Insightful

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/
Even if you hate Apple... by nilbog · 2011-01-17 06:36 · Score: 4, Insightful

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.

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