Steve Jobs Taking Medical Leave of Absence Until June

[FSUSem1noles]

From a sympathetic point of view, I hope Steve is able to pull through and get better.. I wish him and his family well...

On a monetary side note, AAPL after hours is already at 79.80 since this news came out, I'm so focked come tomorrow..

 

[pianojoe]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Steve and his family.

This is what the focus should be on until we see the signs of any other windfall at Apple.

Keep the positive thoughts out there so that Steve will get better, resume the helm, and grow Apple to what we ALL want it to progress to.

Thank you.

 

[swagi]

I need a MR break, I guess

To Steve Jobs: I wish you all the best. May your last episode of life be without any pain.

To general public: I think the most sensible point made was that he's doing a Freddy Mercury. He will not return. Get over it. Give that man a nice free time to work on his bucket list.

<rant>
To the investor cry-babies: I lost 80% of my stock invested money last year with Apple stock options. But I can safely assure you that I dont give a d@mn. It's just money, you dumb@sses. Look at Steve and learn, that money can't buy you a happy life, a functioning family and relief from pain.

If you are so money fixated, then learn a lesson. Spend your money the LOHAS way and learn, that it's not all about stocks, margins, and cost-benefit structures.

Look, what heaps of money help you, when you have a severe health condition. Steve will die, and all his money will just be printed paper in his eyes he could care less about, if he just had some TIME to spend and ENJOY LIFE!
</rant>

 

[the vj]

Well, it took Steve 10 years to fix apple.

Wonder how long it will take for them to break it again? I bet 5 years

Apple will end up like a Sony Vaio, a regular nice looking PC.


I believe Steve has to hang the towel and rest in peace while he is alive and enjoy all his achivements.

We have to acept we just were part of an era, nothing last for ever but we were lucky we had our chance.

Thanks Steve Jobs.....

 

[arj7297]

Get well soon!

Get better Steve, we miss you!

 

[leekohler]

Oh man. I hope he's able to beat whatever this is. It doesn't sound good though, and I'm afraid Apple will start to rot again after he's gone.

Good luck, Steve. All the best.

 

[Peruna]

For you people criticizing Steve for every being too private about his health, get a life! He has privacy too.

Is this the end for his time at Apple? Perhaps. But even if that is so, with Cook, Schiller and Ive there, Apple is well positioned for the future.

 

[archipellago]

I wish him well if only for his children...

I think its a measure of the man that he has done nothing to raise awareness or help others with cancer since way back in 2004. No campaigning or publicity or government lobbying.

truly an I con.


the whole mess stinks to high heaven of corparate spin and lies and shows just what the senior execs think about AAPL chances sans SJ.

 

[cleareyes]

Best of luck Steve

Steve,

I don't know if you'll read this, but if you do I just want to say that taking a leave of absense is the best call. I know many people feel that apple will revert back to the state that it was in before your return, but I personnaly don't believe that will be the case. I do t think you were able to truely able to develop your vision for what the personal computer could be before you were forced to leave apple in the 80s. Before your return in 97 I hated the mac. It seemed like such a limited platform without a user interface or software that was all that useful. It wasn't the fancy ads or multi-coloured iMacs that brought me around. It was seeing hands on demos of software like iLife that showed just how simple creating a professional looking movie or great looking photo albums could be. Yes it was possible to do this on other platforms, but the end result was often less professional looking and took a lot more effort. You turned the Apple computer back into what a computer should be, a simple, easy to use platform where the average user can make something that they can be proud of without needing the training of an industry specialist.

I think you've established your vision, and that in your absense that vision will continue. The best thing is for you to focus on your health. When you're ready to return, apple will still be carrying on with your vision. And if health reasons dictate that the best thing for you would be to permanently retire, your vision would continue at apple.

You should know that back when I used windows, I often pirated software because I didn't feel the capabilities of the software justified it's price. Ever since switching to apple I have paid for every version of the OS, every version of iLife, and every version of aperture because I feel that these applications are actually worth far more than what they cost.

I am not a so called "fan boy". I dont blindly follow apple and steve because of the marketing hype. I am a fan of the Apple platform because it is what a computer should be, and that's because of your vision. Best of luck to you and your family.

Brendan

 

[Warbrain]

Poor guy. He's still quite young, relatively speaking. Cancer is a real bitch, even after the disease itself has gone.

So I wonder... what will happen in 6 months time... he likes to keep himself to himself so will we be wishing him well on his trip to the great Apple in the sky, or will he do a Jesus and come back fit as a fiddle and all like "behold, I have been reborn"? The latter suits his character, the former suits the sad reality of life. Pretty much 50/50, IMO. We'll have to wait and see.

Best wishes to Steve and his family.


P.S. Those who are saying that if he leaves / dies Apple will fail. No. Yes, it'll be a very sad event and they might struggle for a bit, and whilst you can replace a position you can't replace an individual like that. But I'm sure the other managers of Apple haven't been sat on their thumbs learning nothing all this time - he'll have taught them a heck of a lot.

When Steve went the first time, it was due to some arrogant backstabber (that he hired!) who wanted him out and effectively sacked him, and started taking the company his way. The wrong way, obviously. I doubt they'll make the same mistake twice.

Steve put money men in positions where they shouldn't have been. That caused the problems with Apple during the 90s. Steve hasn't made that mistake this time - he put people who he knows are passionate, loyal, and love Apple and won't let it become what it did during the 90s. I have full faith in Tim Cook to handle the company now and again when Steve has to leave for whatever reason he chooses. We know the successor to the crown and he's extremely capable.

 

[kironin]

AAPL is going to tank tomorrow

Then it's time to buy while those idiots dump stock based on irrational choices.

Bad for Steve, but it doesn't change how profitable and successful the company has been and promises to be.

 

[liven2]

Get better Steve -- Do not assume the worse

First off no matter what Steve has I wish him the very best for him and his family and least of all Apple. As much as I love my Apple products the company will move on with or without him.

We need to stop assuming the worse and it is possible that even the doctors are not sure what he has. I am sure over time we will all find out.

I am with all of you as I know this is a shock to us and very sad on so many levels along with being a bit scary for us Stock holders. We do need to take a deep breath and see where we are a few months from now and on the scope of things this is a short time so we just need to relax, take a deep breathe and wish him well.

 

[koobcamuk]

To general public: I think the most sensible point made was that he's doing a Freddy Mercury. He will not return. Get over it. Give that man a nice free time to work on his bucket list.

Wooo! I said that.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

Bless Steve and his family as they enter this hard time. It's never easy seeing someone who is always so strong become weak.

We stand behind you Mr. Jobs.

 

[koobcamuk]

Then it's time to buy while those idiots dump stock based on irrational choices.

The stock market's not based on idiots and irrational choices.

Wait a minute.

Yes, yes it is.

 

[queshy]

Too bad. I hope he gets better quick. Interesting how he said June and not indefinitely...maybe what he has is very treatable (hopefully).

 

[kironin]

Argh and I just bought 5 more shares on Monday!

That only matters if you are a day trader.

If you are day trader, no sympathy here.

 

[DMann]

Ironically, it is Gates, his archnemesis, who will likely go down in history as the classy one: the one who knew how to exit gracefully, the one who is devoting the later years of his life, and all of his billions, to helping the world's poorest people—and not clinging to his CEO job while he insults reporters and plays petty cat-and-mouse games with Apple shareholders and fanboys.

Ironically, Gates has gone down in history as the CEO who bailed out of his own company, one which caused him more of an embarrassment than the act of returning some of the ill-extorted billions back to society in a tax-exempt fashion. Classy facade at best, since he had nothing left to cling to. Although I do admire his efforts, I would not classify BG nor his actions as anything greater than ruthlessly opportunistic.

 

[CaptainCannabis]

This is actually worse than we think.

I know from experience that a CEO taking such a huge leave is not a good sign.

 

[Stridder44]

Some of you idiots need to get your heads out of your asses.


Stop claiming the world is ending. He is sick, yes. But he will return in the summer. And even if he doesn't, it does NOT mean the end of Apple. Apple isn't ending. The stocks won't plummet. Maybe drop initially, but will rise one again. Change is always inevitable. You knew this day would come. But that doesn't mean dark skies are on the way. New awesome products will continue to be developed. The Stevenote is gone anyway. I can't even believe some of you asshats would even bother mentioning the lack of FW800 on the new MacBook Pros.

I love Apple and I love Macs, but you guys make up a majority of the users. And after reading these comments it's no wonder people hate Mac users.


Stop running around like a bunch of chickens with your heads cut off.

 

[Wild-Bill]

This will hopefully give the folks at Apple some time to put firewire back in all the computers, before he comes back.

And while they're at it, they should release the 12" Powerbook G5 and the headless mid-range tower.

 

[kironin]

I hate to say it, but Apple post-Steve will likely be an utter failure. Think Apple, circa 1995.

Lets face it people, Steve is on his way out. I am a doctor, ...

This is not the same Apple. You should stick to being a doctor.

 

[JoshJosh117]

.

 

[andreab35]

Get well soon Steve...
Best of my thoughts go to him and the family..

 

[larrybeo]

All The Best Steve!

Sadly, I think hearing this news ranks right up there with the day G.W. Bush announced that he was attacking another country on false pretenses. I love my iPhone! I just hope someone over in Cupertino has half the mind Steve Jobs does.