Steve Jobs Continued Working on Apple's 'Next Product' Until Day Before He Died

[arcite]

...as tim leans in, steve whispers into his ear... there is another skywalker

epic steve

:d

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Family should definitely come first.

But to some people, friends and colleagues are just as important as family. Especially those friends you've had for a long time. I'm sure Tim Cook was a pretty important person in Steve's life.

Not that there needs to be an argument or even a disagreement with this. For some, THE WORK is what is most important, as a great artist paints, or a great author writes, or a Priest pontificates, a visionary technologist such as S. Jobs was driven by a similar higher calling.

 

[unlinked]

This thread is full of sick and unnecessary posts like this.

This whole thread is unnecessary. A man is dead. He will be missed by many. There is a lot to be said for private contemplation.

 

[Mev75]

Consider Apple as part of Steve's family

Who are we to judge about how Steve lived his live? Do we even know the full story? Probably not!

However when you consider Apple as Steve's baby and see the word family in a bigger context, it makes sense to me. Everyone knows that babies need special care.

If anyone can tell you what really matters, it's his wife and kids. But I think his wife was well aware to whom she was married and had lots of reason to be very proud of him. I am sure she accepted that he had to do what he did.

would I be married to Steve I would definitely give him the freedom he needs and 'share' him with the world to bring all the benefits to millions of people.

I will remember as Steve as visionary entrepreneur who definitely enriched our lives and someone who touched my soul and heart!

 

[kas23]

"Steve Jobs continued to work on Apple's "next product" at least up until the day before he died earlier this month"

Gee, thanks dad.
--Steve's kids

I'm sure Timmy will score them pre-released iPhone 5's though, make them feel closer to Pops.

 

[powerbook911]

If Steve called Tim and he visited him for a few minutes or a hour, that is a nice thing.

There are plenty of family members you probably don't care to see. There are probably some really close friends, you do want to see. Tim was probably a really close friend. I'm sure there are plenty of people Steve would not lot get close to him, we've already read that.

I'm sure it was a VERY limited number of people he would see and to him, they were family.

Furthermore, we do not know how much "business," was part of this call/visit. If it was indeed the primary part of it, it's also possible Steve got dramatically worse over the next 24 hours and therefore business was still appropriate. Or, the call/visit might not have been about business much at all.

It's all speculation so we should just take it for what it is, not much.

The one nice thing about this story for me is knowing Steve was capable of communication very near the unfortunate end. He wasn't having machines breath for him for weeks, etc. He obviously was mentally a strong and active guy till the end. It's so sad and I hate even writing all this, but thanks again Steve.

 

[bketchum]

He may have talked about the next product a little bit, but I'm sure he was actually calling to say goodbye.

A thought... The leading cause of respiratory arrest is opiate overdose. Steve's death may have caught everyone by surprise. I must add, I'm certainly not trying to create a conspiracy by saying this. He was probably quite near the end and going through excruciating pain, which would require more pain meds. He may have just come to the point where the meds sedated him to a point where his autonomic nervous system stopped sending messages to his breathing muscles....probably while sleeping. Just a thought.

That really choked me up what Son shared.

 

[ItsGavinC]

First, you're repeating stories but don't know any of this for a fact. My bias is chemo-radiation-surgery as required, but not all "alternative medicine" is bogus either. Second, he lived for 8 years after that diagnosis, compared to the average of 5 years. Whatever regimen he did was more effective than the standard.

1 year survival rate is 20%.
5 year survival rate is 4%.

Average survival duration after diagnosis is about 4 months. Average without treatment is 3 months. Average with intensive treatment is 6 months.

Nowhere near your quoted average of 5 years.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

He loved his Company, Apple

And for his devotion, we love him
Once in a lifetime, human being, leader,Capitalist, entrepreneur,and my idol.!

 

[brdeveloper]

Steve Jobs is the synthesis of north-american thinking. Tireless worker and liberal enthusiast. His vision of altruism was pushing the world to the future.

 

[kkamann]

Perhaps The Boss didn't even call???

Why hasn't anyone considered that maybe SJ wasn't calling at all and TC made up a quick The-Boss-is-calling-me-Gotta-go-Peace-out story on the fly to simply get out of the meeting for whatever reason?

If SJ's treatment is like virtually all other terminally ill cancer patients in their extremely painful final days, he would've most likely been under deep palliative care that day (heavy pain/sedation meds to alleviate pain and suffering until the end). It seems unlikely to me that SJ would've been able to talk with any sense of coherence, let alone make a phone call. His legendary work ethic and passion that many of us admire would be irrelevant at this point. You simply can't compete against powerful regimine of heavily sedating drugs he almost certainly would've been administered the day before his untimely death.

But even in the highly unlikely event that "The Boss" himself was strong and alert enought to call TC, it's far more likely that he would've called to say final goodbyes/this is it/whatever rather than calling TC up on such a hectic day as the iPhone 4S media event just to talk shop.

Since everyone is expressing their own opinions about the TC/Son exchange, here is my own opinion on the most likely scenario of what happened, in order of likelihood:

1) Family notifying TC that the end is imminent
2) Off-the-cuff line to get out of meeting
3) Translation/interpretation issues
4) SJ saying final goodbyes
5) SJ wanting to talk shop

Don't get me wrong, I'm as big of a fan/admirer as the rest of you all and he deserves all the accolades we can give him. But in the end, I believe his body and mind would've simply been too weak to do much of anything other than sleep in his final days/hours.

Sleep well, SJ.

 

[jesses]

Amazing

 

[Ozric]

He worked his magic every last second to the end, this was his spirit, his life, and planned this since his diagnosis years ago. Hey, It was his company and hard work who started it, so he was most likely right there until his last breath.

 

[vitzr]

What a legend, some dedication.

It's a good thing he left billions behind for his wife & kids. They must have felt quite disconnected. I feel for his entire family.

 

[ChrisTX]

Man this story really bums me out more than some of the others. This just shows the passion, and the dedication that Steve had for Apple. The greatest inventor, and visionary of our time. Taken too soon.

 

[scottishwildcat]

1 year survival rate is 20%.
5 year survival rate is 4%.

Average survival duration after diagnosis is about 4 months. Average without treatment is 3 months. Average with intensive treatment is 6 months.

Nowhere near your quoted average of 5 years.

Your figures are for the more common type of pancreatic cancer, not the rarer, less aggressive type that Jobs had.

 

[28monkeys]

I thought Cook was the boss already at that time. Didn't Steve Jobs already step down from being CEO by then?

nice observation, kid. But you will learn more of that when you grow up working.

 

[munkees]

Steve Jobs is not dead, Steve Jobs is eternal.

Steve Jobs is now in the Cloud.

Steve is still here, in our hearts, where we feel his inspiration as he downloads it to us from the cloud.

Steve Jobs is forever.

 

[motulist]

First, you're repeating stories but don't know any of this for a fact. My bias is chemo-radiation-surgery as required, but not all "alternative medicine" is bogus either. Second, he lived for 8 years after that diagnosis, compared to the average of 5 years. Whatever regimen he did was more effective than the standard.

1 year survival rate is 20%.
5 year survival rate is 4%.

Average survival duration after diagnosis is about 4 months. Average without treatment is 3 months. Average with intensive treatment is 6 months.

Nowhere near your quoted average of 5 years.

Wrong. Both of you are very wrong. He had a VERY CURABLE form of cancer.

he had a cancerous tumor in his pancreas.[113] The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very poor;[114] Jobs stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor.


Surgical removal of non-functioning islet cell tumors is often curative.

 

[alphaod]

LOL @ the YouTube of a UStream video.

 

[ViPhone]

Wrong. Both of you are very wrong. He had a VERY CURABLE form of cancer.

he had a cancerous tumor in his pancreas.[113] The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very poor;[114] Jobs stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor.


Surgical removal of non-functioning islet cell tumors is often curative.

Hmm..didn't know this. Kind of changes things.

Wonder if his beliefs inhibited any surgical or medical measures that could have been taken to save his life? If true, I think he would have done a bit of a disservice to his children and wife.

 

[munkees]

Hmm..didn't know this. Kind of changes things.

Wonder if his beliefs inhibited any surgical or medical measures that could have been taken to save his life? If true, I think he would have done a bit of a disservice to his children and wife.

still it did kill him, even after he had treatment, but we must remember, they also had to remove his liver, gale balder, some of his intestines, and part of his stomach. OK he got a new liver. The endocrine system of the body is very delicate.

I would of thought Steve Jobs would of got the best treatment, yes the type of cancer he had is curable, but that is not 100% of the cases. We do not know the facts, hopefully the truth will be revealed in his autobiography.

 

[selvenz]

one word "LEGEND"

 

[KPOM]

Greatest CEO ever... in a century.

Unlike Some stupid CEO in Redmond who likes to laugh and joke all the time.

Reporter: What do you think about the iPhone?
Redmond CEO who shouldn't be CEO btw: We got Motorola Q and decent window phones. No worries.

People question whether TIM cook can be a good CEO of Apple. Look...
Explain to me how in the world Redmond CEO is still at his chair.

To be fair, Steve Ballmer (I assume you aren't talking about Gates, who is on a similar level to Jobs) has maintained Microsoft in a leading position. Granted, they haven't grown the same way Apple has, but we don't know how good a job Tim Cook or the next CEO will do. Maintaining something as large as Microsoft takes a great deal of effort, as well. Microsoft could do a lot worse than Ballmer. Just ask HP.

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still it did kill him, even after he had treatment, but we must remember, they also had to remove his liver, gale balder, some of his intestines, and part of his stomach. OK he got a new liver. The endocrine system of the body is very delicate.

I would of thought Steve Jobs would of got the best treatment, yes the type of cancer he had is curable, but that is not 100% of the cases. We do not know the facts, hopefully the truth will be revealed in his autobiography.

From what I've read, Jobs lived about as long as normal with that diagnosis. While it was the "milder" pancreatic cancer, it is still pancreatic cancer. While he had the best treatment, we don't know how long it went undetected, or if Jobs had other ailments. All we know is that we lost him too soon. When you think about it, he really built up 4 companies. He founded Apple, then Next and Pixar, and resurrected Apple ("Apple II," in a way) 12 years after leaving.

Gates is a brilliant businessman who happens to know a lot about computers and built up a big business. Jobs was a brilliant visionary who happened to know a lot about computers, and who learned how to be a brilliant businessman over the course of his career. Ultimately, Gates turned his attention to philanthropy. I think Jobs was the type to stick to what he knew best until the very end. Had he lived another 20 or even 30 years, it would not have surprised me if he stayed at Apple, dreaming up the next big thing and making it reality.

 

[KPOM]

But even in the highly unlikely event that "The Boss" himself was strong and alert enought to call TC, it's far more likely that he would've called to say final goodbyes/this is it/whatever rather than calling TC up on such a hectic day as the iPhone 4S media event just to talk shop.

Since everyone is expressing their own opinions about the TC/Son exchange, here is my own opinion on the most likely scenario of what happened, in order of likelihood:

1) Family notifying TC that the end is imminent
2) Off-the-cuff line to get out of meeting
3) Translation/interpretation issues
4) SJ saying final goodbyes
5) SJ wanting to talk shop

Don't get me wrong, I'm as big of a fan/admirer as the rest of you all and he deserves all the accolades we can give him. But in the end, I believe his body and mind would've simply been too weak to do much of anything other than sleep in his final days/hours.

Sleep well, SJ.

It's obvious he knew the end was near when he resigned as CEO in August. That said, the word was that he worked a full day at Cupertino that day. We don't know the cause of death (the public record is deliberately vague). He might have had the strength for a final call to Tim Cook, even if someone else did the dialing.

I'm guessing Tim knew the end was near, since there was no Q&A at the iPhone 4S event earlier that day. If Steve were relatively healthy, Cook could have held a Q&A to manage expectations for earnings and explain why there was no "iPhone 5" (avoiding some of the negative press the next day). However, since Jobs wasn't at the event at all (even though FaceTime), the question would have come up. As CEO of one of the largest companies in the world, he couldn't lie about the health of the executive chairman.

 

[kkamann]

That said, the word was that he worked a full day at Cupertino that day.

Source?

We don't know the cause of death (the public record is deliberately vague).

We don't? According to Steve Jobs' death certificate, issued by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, "respiratory arrest brought on by a metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor" was the official cause of SJ's death. That's pretty darn specific.

I'm guessing Tim knew the end was near, since there was no Q&A at the iPhone 4S event earlier that day. If Steve were relatively healthy, Cook could have held a Q&A to manage expectations for earnings and explain why there was no "iPhone 5" (avoiding some of the negative press the next day). However, since Jobs wasn't at the event at all (even though FaceTime), the question would have come up. As CEO of one of the largest companies in the world, he couldn't lie about the health of the executive chairman.

If TC knew the end was so near that he couldn't even make a FaceTime call, and he can't lie about the health of the executive chairman as being ok, then why did he give the false impression to Son that Steve was in good enough health to talk shop? Or is it ok for a CEO to lie about the exec chairman's health as long as they are foreign?