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Steve Jobs Issues Update On His Health 320

Posted by CmdrTaco from the can't-believe-this-is-news dept.
i4u writes "Rumors about Steve Jobs' health have been flying high again after Apple announced that he will not be holding the keynote at the Macworld 2009. Today Steve Jobs issued a letter with a rather personal update on why he was losing weight in 2008. The reason for losing weight in 2008 is a hormone imbalance that has been reducing proteins. The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward according to Jobs. Steve and his doctors predict that he will have normal weight again by Spring. So stop the rumors and enjoy Macworld 2009."
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Steve Jobs Issues Update On His Health More

Steve Jobs Issues Update On His Health

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  • Hormonal Imbalance? (Score:5, Funny)

    by SetupWeasel ( 54062 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:52AM (#26329663) Homepage

    If anime has taught me anything, Steve Jobs should be back to work in no time with a huge rack.

  • News because (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kamokazi ( 1080091 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:52AM (#26329667)

    from the can't-believe-this-is-news dept

    When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Roland Piquepaille ( 780675 )

      When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

      That's because in Apple's case, it's more than a belief. Apple's success does depend on Steve Jobs, strangely enough. Remember John Sculley?

      • Re:News because (Score:5, Funny)

        by tritonman ( 998572 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:08AM (#26329893)
        yea, they need someone who has the hormones of a 13 year old girl to design their products!

      • Re:News because (Score:5, Funny)

        by Mr_Perl ( 142164 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:32AM (#26330203) Homepage

        Remember John Sculley?

        People usually pick inferior successors, egomaniacs even moreso. Makes their own "term in office" look better. It was Jobs who set up that failure and Jobs who profited from it on his return.

        • Re:News because (Score:5, Informative)

          by Chaos Incarnate ( 772793 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:38AM (#26330277) Homepage
          Sure, if by "set up that failure" you mean "was forced out by that failure".

      • If Apple's doomed the minute Jobs is no longer running the helm, you might as well start running like hell as far away as you can from Apple right now. Jobs is a mortal, and will not be around forever. Find a company or product that will not immediately collapse when its founder dies or retires.

        Do you *really* want to be running on something with a future that uncertain? I for one don't believe that Apple's on that shakey ground, but for those who do believe that, if they're still running on Apple, they'

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by morgan_greywolf ( 835522 )

          Find a company or product that will not immediately collapse when its founder dies or retires.

          Except that there was a long period of time between about 1985 and 1998 or so that Jobs was no longer associated with Apple. That's what? Almost 15 years?

          Apple didn't immediately collapse and the Macintosh line existed and was largely successful in niche markets without Jobs.

          No, Apple doesn't need Jobs, but I think that without Jobs, Apple would lose its sense of direction.

        • Re:Jobs != SinglePointOfFailure (Score:4, Funny)

          by Hognoxious ( 631665 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @12:17PM (#26331675) Homepage Journal

          Jobs is a mortal, and will not be around forever.

          With iClone technology, it won't matter!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Xest ( 935314 )

        I apologise in advance if this is a dumb question. But what exactly is Job's speciality that makes him so important to the company?

        I get the impression he's not a technical guy as Woz did all that in the early days and he has plenty of other peons to do that now.

        I understand he's not a designer, certainly credit for the iPod design goes to a British guy iirc and similarly the iPhone.

        Is it simply that he's good at hiring the right guys? Is it down to making good business oriented decisions (i.e. what markets

        • Re:News because (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Roland Piquepaille ( 780675 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:43AM (#26331165)

          He's a catalyst. He's not arguably good at anything that's directly useful to development, sales or marketing, but he fires employees and customers up. You could say he's the soul of his company.

          My boss is like that: he doesn't know much about the products we make and how they're made, nor is he particularly good at promoting or selling them, but he could convince you to put on suntan lotion in the middle of a blizzard storm.

          • Re:News because (Score:5, Insightful)

            by MPAB ( 1074440 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:52AM (#26331299)

            And, FYI, that's exactly the kind of people that make the big money while us nerds look startled at their sheer ignorance and evident feeble reasoning.

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by mjwx ( 966435 )

              And, FYI, that's exactly the kind of people that make the big money while us nerds look startled at their sheer ignorance and evident feeble reasoning.

              Speak for yourself, I for one am capable of seeing through a cult of personality, so are most technically inclined people. Its those who don't have the intelligence and/or discipline to learn that become enamoured with an image or personality.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ubrgeek ( 679399 )
            During the dot-com days, his business card would have read, "Technological Evangelist." They were the folks who would get put in front of big customers, or more importantly VCs when the next funding round was needed. They could talk about the Big Picture and how Their Product fit into it. Sometimes they were technical, sometimes not. But they were always enthusiastic.

            • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

              by bledri ( 1283728 )

              During the dot-com days, his business card would have read, "Technological Evangelist."

              I think that understates his value to Apple. A "Technological Evangelist" promotes the technology that a company has. Jobs does do this, but he also recognizes which technologies to push the development of, what markets to enter and he rides people to create products that fit his vision/version of perfection.

              That's not to say he's irreplaceable, just that since his return he has been highly effective in leading Apple's success.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Bourbonium ( 454366 )

        Remember Gil Amelio? He followed Scully, and proceeded to pull Apple stock down to around $10 a share. That's about the time I should have bought a ton of Apple stock. Too bad my time machine was running Windows NT at the time.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        You mean the guy that practically invented the PDA and could have made Apple the biggest company in the tech world with it?

        Yeah, I remember him. Getting rid of him is the the reason Apple's going to be #2 in the computer world forever.

        Sculley sucked at building PCs, that's for sure. He would have made a kick-ass iPhone/iPod combo years ago, though, and I could see him creating an Apple version of a game console, too. It's really too bad Apple didn't keep him for his non-PC related talents.

        Oh well, why sh

    • Re:News because (Score:5, Insightful)

      by je ne sais quoi ( 987177 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:06AM (#26329859)

      When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

      And this is all the more reason for Mr. Jobs to stop giving the keynote. Apple needs to break this perception that Mr. Jobs is Apple. He can't go on working there forever, and if they want to survive once he retires, they need to get him to take a back seat for awhile so the ninny-headed stock holders stop believing the sky is falling every time Mr. Jobs gets a cold.

      Incidentally, it's not surprising that Mr. Jobs might have this happen, a lot of people as they get older have thyroid or other changes that cause them to gain or lose weight. E.g. Bush Sr. had that thyroid operation when he was president because it was becoming overactive IIRC.

    • You mean like Warren Buffet?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lars T. ( 470328 )

      When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

      Seeing that much more people care about "lose" vs. "loose" - I don't think so.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by loshwomp ( 468955 )

        When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

        Seeing that much more people care about "lose" vs. "loose" - I don't think so.

        I think you mean many more people.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by eebra82 ( 907996 )

      When many people believe that the continued success of a large company depends on one individual, his health becomes news.

      An entire hockey team can depend on the performance of one player. A religion can lean on just one character/thing. Apple is obviously not successful only because of Steve Jobs, but you have to admit that his performance in recent years changed the way we look at things.

      It is easy to sit here and look at Apple's products and think "yeah, I would approve that product too, and make millions". It's an entirely different thing to have a deep understanding of how the industry works, predict products, function

  • What is weird is... (Score:5, Funny)

    by pato101 ( 851725 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:53AM (#26329679) Journal
    why is not Ballmer loosing weight despite of being unable to sit down anywhere?

  • It's January 5th (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:56AM (#26329711)

    I don't think Steve is the only one resolving to be "back to normal weight" by spring.

  • Misspelled (Score:4, Funny)

    by Roland Piquepaille ( 780675 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:56AM (#26329727)

    "stop the Tumors."

    There, fixed that for ya...

  • I only want to know (Score:5, Funny)

    by codeButcher ( 223668 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:57AM (#26329735)
    .... How does this influence the strength of the Reality Distortion Field??

  • Which Steve? (Score:5, Funny)

    by chill ( 34294 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:05AM (#26329839) Journal

    The big question is, which Steve will be commemorated by the U.S. Postal Service on a stamp? The younger, chubbier Steve or the older, skinnier, playing-in-Vegas Steve. If only there was a precedent...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sorak ( 246725 )

      Does anyone else see the irony in the idea of someone who did so much to make snail mail less relevant being commemorated in a stamp?

  • Patrick Volkerding laughs at Jobs' silly medical problems.

  • How do I *get* this hormone imbalance?

  • poor jobs (Score:5, Funny)

    by clam666 ( 1178429 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:26AM (#26330115)

    I guess Jobs should have eaten an apple a day to keep the doctor away.

  • Reading between the lines on the 'hormone imbalance' and weight loss, and not a stemming but a rapid regain of lost weight (by late Spring), it seems what Steve isn't saying here is that the doctors have put him on a Steroid (testosterone) supplement (testosterone replacement therapy) to put on weight.

    Is there another underlying issue for the weight loss, or is Steve just becoming an old man (with the loss in testosterone that goes with it)? Who knows.

    But I, for one, look forward to the new roid inspired de

  • So much for an Apple a day keeping the doctor away.

  • Update on my weight (Score:5, Funny)

    by noidentity ( 188756 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:49AM (#26330387)
    I just want to update everyone on my weight. I lost a few pounds when I got sick recently. Well, that or the scale varies by a few pounds (I just started using it, so I don't know how much it normally varies). I hope to have my weight back up in a few weeks. I hope this calms everyone's curiosity. I'll keep you updated on this as it progresses.

  • Always wondered what the i's in the Apple product line stood for? Internet, information? No, ill.

  • extreme vegetarian diet? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by peter303 ( 12292 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @10:50AM (#26330409)
    The body loses efficiency in absorbing some nutrients like B12 as one ages. Jobs has been known to have some weird diets when younger. But he has often hired private chefs who specialize in quality vegetarian preparation.

    • That's what vitamin supplements are for.

      Lots of people live perfectly healthy lives and go their whole life with a vegetarian diet.

      • I was just reading the Pixar history book this weekend and reminded of Steve's eccentricities like two months almost solely ric macrobiotic diet; Atari putting him on the night shift because he smelled so bad ...
  • The Denver quarterback had trouble keeping on weight two seasons ago and a surprise case of type-1 diabetes turned up. He didnt have other common symptoms like extreme fatigue, urination, etc., so doctors thought it was just stress. But high sugar turned up on his annual blood test.
    Steve had some of his pancreas removed during his cancer and the remainder may become insufficient.

  • I'm not dead! ... I... feel... happy...

  • Or is it a new euphemism for cancer now?

    You know, such as when some bigshot gets fired, the press release usually says so and so resigned to "spend more time with family."

  • A buxom Steve Jobs delivered a healthy keynote at MacWorld 2010. After months of hormone imbalance treatment Jobs emerged on stage at this year's MacWorld sporting a apple logo tube top, short shorts and C cups.

  • Seriously people (Score:3, Interesting)

    by d3xt3r ( 527989 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:29AM (#26330947)

    Sorry, but I can't believe the incredible amount of stupid comments posted here on this article. Jobs basically announces he's not dying and Apple's shares jump 4%. Apple isn't a one man operation and Wall Street knows that. It's probably safe to assume that every single innovation that's come out of Apple in the past 11 years hasn't been dumped straight from Steve's brain either.

    Steve's marketing genius [wikipedia.org] and patient leadership are the real value he provides to Apple, and losing his leadership is what makes investors nervous. As some suggest, Apple pulling the Stevenote from MacWorld is an attempt to address the former, but without a plan to address the latter, Wall Street will still freak out at the possibility of Apple losing Jobs.

    In a world where IT companies are constantly diversifying their offerings, rushing products to market, and generally playing a bizarre game of throw 50 products at the market and see which ones stick, Apple is playing its cards close to its chest - and has been successfully since Job's return. It's not chasing emerging markets (Netbooks), it's not trying to get into online advertising (Microsoft) and hell it's not even doing things that outsiders think it should be doing to expand its business. Apple's stock value is based on the perception that is has a master plan. This is what makes Apple unique. And this is the value of Steve Jobs.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by winwar ( 114053 )

      "Sorry, but I can't believe the incredible amount of stupid comments posted here on this article. Jobs basically announces he's not dying and Apple's shares jump 4%"

      What's even more amazing is that he didn't say he wasn't dying. He said he had a hormone imbalance. Also note the time required to regain the weight...

      Press releases are often very important for what they don't say. But most people tend to miss the obvious. Certainly doesn't rule out the dying bit....

  • hormone imbalance (Score:5, Funny)

    by jap ( 24325 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @11:40AM (#26331099) Homepage

    is an anagram of 'a common rehab line'

  • I have no idea what this means (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Invicta{HOG} ( 38763 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @12:04PM (#26331465)

    You know, there can be some pretty complicated and rare syndromes related to pancreatic hormones insofar as cancer is concerned. However, I have no idea what he is alluding to here. The most likely answer for why a person without part of a pancreas would be losing nutrients would be a deficiency in exocrine pancreatic enzymes leading to steatorrhea and calorie loss. However, the description of hormones instead of enzymes and sophisticated blood tests instead of stool tests is a little confusing. My understanding is that he had a Whipple procedure for a neuroendocrine tumor. He would certainly be at risk for steatorrhea. People with neuroendocrine tumors can overproduce certain hormones (such as glucagon) which can lead to weight loss from chronic diarrhea. However, if his problem was due to such overproduction, that would certainly mean that his cancer had not been cured by the surgery and probably wouldn't be described as an "imbalance."

    Anyway, I'm not his doctor and don't know much about his case, but can't really put together what he's given us into a coherent story. Maybe someone else can speculate, but it's a bit of a mystery what he is referring to here.

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