I’m not the only Mac user and Apple follower to notice that Steve Jobs did not look healthy during his keynote presentation at WWDC ‘08. Jobs appeared gaunt, tired, listless, thin, and positively unhealthy; almost the opposite of the vibrant, self-assured chief executive of Silicon Valley’s hottest major tech company.
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Reader Comments (18)
Jan Keller said:
You’re right on target with this ‘missive.’ The real concern is what effect Jobs’ health has on Apple the company, and AAPL the stock.
The company has an obligation to ensure a leadership transition. Who is in line to take over after Steve? No one. If he is diagnosed with cancer and has to step down, the stock will be adversely affected. It cold drop 20 or 30 points and that is billions of dollars of market value.
I don’t like the idea or the title of ‘Death Watch’ but I share the sentiment.
iggy pence said:
Poorly named, Kate, but an appropriate topic of concern. I suspect that most customers of Apple products could not even name the CEO, but those who watch can, and any Jobs ‘disturbance’ will impact the company’s stock. As an investor I have a right to know about the health of a major executive, especially one whose health is suspect. I remember reading something about Jobs’ cancer a few years ago, where he decided not to undergo surgery but sought natural methods which didn’t work. That stubborn insistence in doing it ‘my way’ may work for Apple’s products, but health is different.
travis said:
This commentary, and especially the title is despicable and positively ghoulish. Have you no sense of decency?
sanity said:
I’m Steves Neighbor. Last week he was puking his guts out. The cancer is not back but on a frame like Steves it takes very little weight loss to make him look gaunt. He is fine and BTW… Apple will be fine if and when he decides to leave which I think will happen way down the road… not for years.
Ev Willis said:
The ‘Death Watch’ idea is a probably too ghoulish but the idea you’re expressing—concern for Apple and your stock investment—is well considered. Apple does not show much of a succession or transition plan for life beyond Steve Jobs. I worry about the company should Jobs depart, but there are seasoned, experienced executives there to keep things running. The stock price will drop but may not recover to previous levels. Investors should be concerned and should express that concern to Apple. Apple is not a one man show. It only seems that way.
Scott Farcus said:
I’ve rarely seen such callous disregard for decency and respect for the feelings of others in this vile attempt to mask self-seeking under the guise of “news” and “concern” about the future of Apple and its stock. Steve has family and friends. How do you think the unjustified and capricious use of “death watch” effects them? Of course you don’t care, you’re concerned about getting hits. Lame. Lame. Lame. And just pathetic. Kate, you just ruined your reputation.
a real human being said:
Excuse me, but what the &*($#?!
How would *you* feel if someone suggested we all have a “death watch” on your father?
My goodness… have you no shred of decency left in your body? Are you even human?
And I disagree. He looks thin, but certainly not
Mort Blort said:
Ghoulish article headline, yes. But I agree that there needs to be a succession plan at Apple. A vote here for Jonathan Ive.
istara said:
Ghoulish? Maybe, but a very accurate summary of the massive amount of Steve-Jobs-health-questions coverage going on. Hundreds and hundreds of news articles have been written about this. Financial analysts admit to studying photos of Steve Jobs to gauge his health.
Yes - he’s a husband and father - but he’s also the CEO of a multibillion dollar company whose demise would likely dramatically adversely affect its fortunes - and more importantly, market sentiment towards it - in the short to medium term. It’s partly the market’s fault for building him up into an icon, and it’s partly the fault of Jobs for allowing it and keeping such ultimate control (at least in public perception - maybe things are less vertical behind the scenes, though one has to doubt it based on the testimony of myriad former Apple employees).
But his health is a matter of legitimate public concern for the millions of Apple shareholders, fund managers, analysts, brokers, and companies that supply to or work with Apple in various capacities.
He is the “president” of a large technological nation, if you will.
Jonny Bowers said:
Ghoulish? Not really. People get paid to check on Steve Jobs’ health, Apple’s health, both of which are important to shareholders. It isn’t so much a ‘death watch’ as it is a ‘life watch’ to see how the man is doing, and I tend to agree that he’s not looking all that well.
Dave Goldstein said:
I was there and fairly up close. He looks like someone on chemo or radiation or both. Really not good. I was at the WWDC last year and looked like someone in the best of health.
Chris said:
How could anyone in their right mind author a headline as insensitive and dumb as this? It boggles the imagination.
David Charles said:
A ‘Death Watch’ is appropriate if there is concern about the health of someone in question. Steve Jobs’ health is in question. While I hope he doesn’t die, at least any time soon, I am glad that someone is paying attention to his health and how he looks and the effects his absence will have on Apple. Apple is a business. I bought Apple stock to make money. If Jobs’ health impacts Apple’s business and my stock value, then I’m concerned. It is NOT ghoulish, it is NOT offensive, it’s business. Keep an eye on Jobs and I’ll keep an eye on my stock.
Love your site, Kate. Keep up the good work.
Margo Esquandolas said:
This is simply hilarious. Setting aside any questions of rights, you can absolutely express concern without dredging the depths of this sensationalist garbage, as you did. You can editorialize the question of health without stomping on his feelings or the feelings of his family and friends.
I question the public statement of the company—a company whose stock trades on public statements—as a huge projection of one’s trustworthiness or lack thereof. You’re accusing them in advance, with no evidence, of lying to their stockholders, not by omission but out-and-out lying.
Suggesting that stockholders get to judge a successor acceptable, is only dwarfed by the absolutely unacceptable editorial…. and of course the headline calling all vultures and non-vultures alike to watch. Well done.
Editor’s Note: Edited to remove abusive content, improve grammar, add clarity.
acker bilker said:
I fail to see all the hub bub and noise over the title of your missive, Kate. It looks to me as though you were one of the first of many to identify the exact same issue—Steve Jobs looks like death warmed over. His physical condition, possibly explained by the longer term effects of his pancreatic cancer operation, is of major concern to investors of AAPL stock, me included. Look at Apple’s stock price since the keynote presentation. It’s being hammered. Not because of the iPhone, but more likely because of worries about Steve Jobs’ health and the impact at Apple should he step down, or, I hate to say it but it’s accurate—die.
Anyone complaining about your rather direct but accurately considered headline is not paying attention to the facts and concern you presented. People, many people, stock analysts and pundits, and Apple fans are watching Steve Jobs’ very closely.
That smacks of a ‘death watch’ to me.
Matt Connors said:
OMG. WTF? I’m sorry, but I had to laugh. Are you people serious? A ‘death watch’ is what happens when someone of public significance is publicly ill. Steve Jobs looks ill to me. That ‘look’ has caused Apple’s stock to drop about $20-billion in value in a week. Imagine how much worse it would be if Apple announced that his cancer was back and terminal.
I read Margo’s seemingly heated response and I have to admit that I could not understand most of what she wrote, other than some of it was harshly undue criticism and some of it more than a little over the top, and some of it grammar and clarity impaired. Would publicly traded Apple lie about Steve Jobs’ health? Yes. Steve himself withheld public knowledge of his cancer for 9 months. He lied about Apple’s interest in an iPod with video capability. People in high positions lie all the time.
Margo doesn’t seem to think so but there is plenty of evidence suggesting health problems. Steve’s gaunt and frail look. The so-called ‘Whipple’ procedure and the after effects. The beating the stock took after his minimal keynote performance. Like it or not, it’s pretty much a death watch, huh?
Somehow I don’t think Steve Jobs’ children read web sites with articles about Steve Jobs.
Rupert said:
Really, Matt Connors? “That ‘look’ has caused Apple’s stock to drop about $20-billion in value in a week.”?
The stock is now $12 lower than it was at the presentation on June 9th. It’s usual for stock to drop after good news. It’s called profit taking. It had surely built up enough in anticipation of the news. It may be $12 lower than it was 5 weeks ago, but it’s a full $50 higher than it was 5 months ago. That’s a 42% increase. In 5 months. Death watch, my [censored]. Good linkbait, though, if a bit icky.
Editor’s Note: Analysts attributed AAPL’s $20-billion drop to rumors of Steve Jobs’ poor health.
Tom Gabriel said:
A comment after almost a year since this article first appeared:
The title of Kate’s article is to the point and in view of the circumstances, accurate.
I might say from experience that in many instances a vegan diet can cope with any threat to the immune system, from any source, not too well owing to the lack of iron, B-vitamins, and complex amino acids. Its ability to keep bad cholesterol at very low levels is excellent (if you aren’t sneaking in Ben & Jerry’s on the side).
Like the original Pritikin Diet, however, people who are very faithful to it tend to look anywhere from gaunt and ill to survivors of a concentration camp—as Steve Jobs did, particularly just before he announced his medical leave.
I hope this is the answer to all this. I don’t want this visionary with the sense of decency to insist on the best his company can provide, leave us this early. I don’t want to see the company he created suffer. I don’t want us to be without the benefit of his genius.
I hope for the best for Steve Jobs and Apple.
And that’s it.