Web Responds to Steve Jobs' Leave
News Commentary. Apple's CEO shocked some people by announcing a medical leave today. I was only surprised he didn't step down as chief executive. |
That's my—what some people will call "putrid"—reaction. How are other people taking the grim news? Yes, it's grim, because Steve is a hero to many people, and no one wants to see their hero become sick. Heroes are supposed to be immortal.
In this post, I've collected blogger reactions to today's Apple announcement. The general consensus: Steve is much sicker than he revealed nine days ago.
Scripting News, Dave Winter
"Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs...[Etc.]"
MobileDevicesToday, Michael Gartenberg
"It's not good news for Apple (their stock was suspended from trading for a bit) but it's important to remember that no matter how closely we tie Steve Jobs and Apple together, there's still another 24,999 employees who make up Apple."
Daring Fireball, John Gruber
"For obvious reasons, today's announcement from Steve Jobs that he's taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June is, to say the least, worrisome. For one thing, today's news is quite a sudden jerk from his announcement just one week ago that he was undergoing treatment for a "hormone imbalance" and would remain on the job while on the mend...Unlike many others in the technical (and financial) press, I 'demand' to know nothing further...But it's very difficult to read this any other way than that where Jobs says 'more complex,' he means 'worse.'"
Scobelizer, Robert Scoble
"It's too late to sell your Apple stock. If you sold it today, you are a genius. But tomorrow? You'll be the biggest loser. Why? Apple has the best team, the best distribution, the best supply chain, the best management in the business. Everyone, from Palm to Microsoft to Google wants to be like Apple. Hint: they can't. Hint: they won't (although Palm got very close by hiring a ton of key iPhone execs and developers and PR people away from Apple). Apple is more than just Steve Jobs. Now you're about to find out just how much more."
Valleywag, Owen Thomas
"He might as not well return after June, for his health and for Apple's. As much as he claims that he wants to remove the 'distraction' from Apple, by leaving things so unresolved, he guarantees it will remain as a cloud over Apple's Cupertino headquarters...Apple needs to prove it can thrive without Jobs. And Jobs, for the sake of his family and friends if not Apple's investors, must show he can thrive without Apple."
Gizmodo, Brian Lamm
"We got a lot of heat for breaking the unpopular rumor of Steve being too sick to present at Macworld a few weeks ago, and speculated that he was resigning months ago. Peers at CNBC and All Things D and others were not convinced, because it was hinging on one particular source, and in conflict with what Apple and other sources have told them. The NYTimes edited Jesús Diaz's piece out of the first draft of the story, and the AP reported it out of thin air. Apparently, they all believe the story now."
Silicon Alley Insider, Dan Frommer
"Apple will gradually lose its lead. Pundits will argue all day that Apple is more than Steve Jobs. Fine. But Steve Jobs is Apple. He might not write code or sit in chip fabs. But he makes the big, important decisions that make Apple products Apple products. Heck, it's always possible that there are some geniuses working at Apple that Steve Jobs is holding back. Apple could be better without Steve.
"But we—and Apple shareholders, who sent the stock down 6 percent in after-hours trading following Apple's announcement—are sticking with the idea that Apple without Steve is not as good as Apple with Steve."
Apple 2.0, Philip Elmer-DeWitt "Wednesday's e-mail, while consistent with the six-month timetable for recovery that Jobs offered last week, suggests that his health problems are, indeed, more complex than a nutritional deficiency."
TechCrunch, Scott Merrill
"Mr. Jobs is taking a well-deserved breather from Apple. We here at CrunchGear hope he gets well soon, and think he's doing the right thing: few jobs are more important than one's own health, and certainly not being the CEO of a company that makes computers and portable music devices. And while Steve is taking care of Steve, Apple can take care of Apple. I think Steve's respite will be a good thing for Apple in the long run."
GigaOm, Om Malik
"If you are looking for speculation about Jobs' mortality, Apple and other ghoulish musings, you would be better served to look elsewhere. I respect his privacy and wish him speedy recovery and send him and his family my prayers and best wishes."
[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com].
Related Posts:
- The Steve Jobs Era Is Over, Apple Watch, Jan. 14, 2009
- Steve Jobs Leave of Absence E-Mail, Apple Watch, Jan. 14, 2009
- Apple's Board Issues Statement of Support, Apple Watch, Jan. 5, 2009
- Hormonal Imbalance? Like Male Menopause?, Apple Watch, Jan. 5, 2009
- Steve Jobs Sets His Priorities Right, Apple Watch, Dec. 18, 2008
- Web Responds to Jobs Macworld No-Show, Apple Watch, Dec. 16, 2008
- Steve Jobs Won't Give Macworld Keynote, Apple Watch, Dec. 16, 2008
Comments (12)
So saddened to hear of Steve Jobs stepping down. Please know many, many of us are wishing you well with a much needed & deserved respite. Be missed? Of course, as YOU are Apple! We support you on the job or not. Heartfelt thoughts to you & yours.
Posted by sharlee | January 14, 2009 10:47 PM
Make as big of an impact in this phase of your life as you have done in the others areas. You can do it. You have the mojo and power to do it. You can help millions suffering everywhere. This just may be why you are on earth, for this moment. Everything else was a warmup. You are here now. How will you do awesome things in an un-awesome time? Just like you always have. Force of will, guided by single-focused purpose - backed up by the masters of paradigm shifting. Go do it.
Posted by ttaylor | January 15, 2009 12:19 AM
Make as big of an impact in this phase of your life as you have done in the others areas. You can do it. You have the mojo and power to do it. You can help millions suffering everywhere. This just may be why you are on earth, for this moment. Everything else was a warmup. You are here now. How will you do awesome things in an un-awesome time? Just like you always have. Force of will, guided by single-focused purpose - backed up by the masters of paradigm shifting. Go do it.
Posted by ttaylor | January 15, 2009 12:20 AM
Have you ever heard of "in development"? New product is still on the way or improved products yet to be released. Panic at the end of the 2009 if Steve has not returned. If the Steve Jobs era is over, then it was one hell of a good ride! I was late in becoming an Apple Man with the purchase of a little thing called an ipod at Christmas in 2004. Today there is not a PC turned on in my home and the only thing I maintain with Microsoft is my old email account.
Posted by K. Pearson | January 15, 2009 12:38 AM
Steve has the "mojo" and "power" to help millions of others? Steve will be missed? I'm amazed that so many fanboys are deluded by this illusion of who Jobs really is -- he's as heartless as Gates ever was in his heyday.
I know people who worked at MS and endured the that's "F-ing stupid" review sessions with Gates. Jobs was just as feared, if not more, on the campus. He is renowned for taking an elevator ride with employees, deciding their intelligence was lacking, and having them fired that day. People actually avoided even being around Jobs for fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing and losing their job. That's not the epitome of a caring heart.
Just because someone is a luminary in their industry does not make them some sort of messiah who is going to want to help others. We're not going to see another round of the "Last Lecture" as we saw with Professor Pausch out of Jobs. He's just not that kind of guy. Sorry to break the news.
Posted by Jason Bailey | January 15, 2009 8:59 AM
So, how WEAK is Apple as a company if Steve Jobs is not around?. Isn't that the 'real' question?
If a single company, any company, is so wrapped up in the "cult of personality" would you buy their products or stock? Sorry for Steve, more sorry of the people that believe that Apple will cease to exist as a viable and innovative company without him. Everyone "assumes" he is the only real genius there with any creative ideas. In my opinion.
Posted by dennisl59 | January 15, 2009 9:31 AM
The 'mojo' and the 'power' of Steve Jobs? I've been associated with computer technology since 1972 and it has been wonderful. Jobs and Gates have been giants. But in the thousands of years of recorded history there have been many gigantic men and women that are not even known of today. People that had a tremendous impact on thier times. But no matter the power no matter the mojo it all comes to an end at some point and the world continues to spin. I hope the best for Mr. Jobs and his family. He was the leader, the focul point. But many contributed to the success and I believe they will continue to do so.
Posted by mike migliano | January 15, 2009 10:03 AM
Nobody can decide their fate in the end and neither Jobs nor Gates have enough money to fight some health issues or diseases even if they are affected themselves.
While I hope it helps him, I was recently witness of the sad and tragic effect cancer can have on people. Steve Jobs may have been operated succesfully. And unlike e.g. Pavarotti it's reported he was lucky just to suffer from a less severe pancreatic cancer form which did not kill him immediately.
After all, some innovations may not have been driven that fast without him. The iPhone while not technically well cooked in V1 spread almost like (sorry) cancer at least in parts of the US. Mostly thanks to Jobs' personal involvement and marketing talent.
While the "Apple" might seem fit and shiny on the outside, cancer often develops metastatic offspring long undetected. This 6 month leave does sound more like chemotherapy or something similar than a simple "wellness" cure with alternative nutrition and warm bubble baths.
Gates on the other hand at least pours Billions into healthcare projects. Maybe not to cure Cancer, Malaria or AIDS all by himself either, but at least partial treatments and "patches" seem possible from that. Just like Microsoft has always done with their OS and other products btw. ;-)
I wish Steve Jobs all the best and hope, whatever treatment he might receive, it at least borrows him some time. As a real "Time Machine" or similar miracle device may be possible in Mac OS, but only there so far...
Posted by Werner Keil | January 15, 2009 11:18 AM
It will be interesting to see how the development process continues with Jobs on vacation. Supposedly he will remain in contact and consult on major decisions. However, someone is going to have to step up and "replace" him for the time being.
My firm was already hesitating on allowing iphones to join our bb network due to supposed security/compatability concerns (unjustified IMO); these events will probably not help us to go that direction.
Posted by KTG | January 15, 2009 5:40 PM
Somehow I got a feeling APple will do just fine in Jobs absence! Heck, if I had Jobs money in the bank, Id take a few months off myself!
RT
www.privacy-center.vze.com
Posted by JOhn Jones | January 16, 2009 12:11 AM
One of my best friends died of cancer about 3 years ago, tragic. It's a horrific and damaging disease that should be wiped out as soon as it can.
So many good people have been taken from us by this terror, please cure it or make sure you detect it early.
Beyond that I think Apple can survive without him, sort of levels the ballpark between Microsoft now Bill Gates has left.
'find something you enjoy and do it, the rest is just background noise'
Have a good one,
John.
Posted by John Griffiths | January 16, 2009 5:46 AM
Sometimes we all make choices in our lives that create situations that we do not want. Poor health, bad relationships, fear, extra weight, financial insecurity, etc...etc...
None of us need remain confined by our past choices, we are alive now, the point of power is truly here now...and only here now. This is where change can actually happen.
If we stop thinking about what we do not want and instead invest our energies in what we can create from here now...we will begin to witness our true power.
How sad it must feel for Steve to hear of so much talk about him as a business and not as a person, and concern not for him, rather for their own pockets. And...
This is a wonderful opportunity - illness and challenge is actually an amazing opportunity to expand beyond anything we have yet lived! Now is the time to get in touch inside with all that really matters and decide WHO I AM in the midst of it all. This is where true power emerges from.
Steve, if you read this I want you to know that I support you in the midst of what you are experiencing now and I actually have the ability to help. I can be reached @ riverofmiracles@gmail.com
May all who read this be inspired to live from the True Source of Power within!
Posted by Jyoti Deva Conradi | January 26, 2009 7:35 PM