Steve Jobs comes clean-ish

Finally, finally, Steve Jobs and Apple decided to release some details about his health. Yes, Steve is ill. After months of speculation that he was dying of cancer or some other terrible illness, he has said that he has a hormone imbalance that can be basically treated as a nutritional problem.

His bulletin to the Apple community was upbeat as he explained that he was speaking out now so that everyone could sit back, relax and enjoy Macworld.

Investors liked the news and sent Apple's share price up, even as the Nasdaq was heading in the other direction. So far so good. However, there are a coupe of problems with all this - but let's get to those after acknowledging the human side.

First of all, get well soon to Steve Jobs. As comments on the tech blogs already show, he is a brilliant and much-admired leader and innovator.

He said in his note that only in the last few weeks have his doctors discovered the cause of his worrying weight loss. Imagine what he and his family have been going through in the last months as they have worried about his health.

All cancer survivors, no matter how solid their all-clear from the doctors is, have the fear of a relapse lurking in the back of their minds. Jobs says in his bulletin: "For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote." I am guessing that spending time with his wife and kids as they face the uncertain future of his treatment is very important to him. Good for him.

But back to the bigger picture. The first problem is that his health bulletin, aimed at killing speculation, will of course only set off a whole new round. Steve does not help in this as the details in the note are pretty sparse. What exactly is the condition he has (he does not give it a name) and is it linked to the cancer treatment he had? Some will say that his illness will distract him from his duties as CEO and he should temporarily step aside. Speculation about the succession at Apple will be rampant. (You can be sure that that is only game in town inside Apple today.)

Perhaps Jobs and Apple cannot win in the transparency stakes. Because of their iconic products and insanely enthusiastic fanbase, whatever information they put out, it will never be enough. Investors liked today's announcement but in the days to come, I am not so sure that the rise will be sustained. Stock prices do not like uncertainty and there is enough uncertainty left in today's bulletin for there to be some rocky patches ahead.

Secondly there are already some who are saying that today's note is just another part of Apple's reality distortion field. They point out that we were told just weeks ago that Jobs was not doing his Macworld keynote because Apple was pulling out of the expo. That is clearly now, at best, only part of the story.

So is today's annoucement only part of the story? I suspect so. Jobs wants to keep his private life as private as possible but the health bulletin is also part of Apple's rigid efforts to control its message. That should not be forgotten.

So three cheers for today for filling the information vaccuum, at least partially. Good luck to Steve in his battle to regain full fitness. But allow me to remain sceptical about Apple and its relationship with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

pic: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Comments

[Louis]

Rumours and news about the health of leaders Steve Jobs, Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Il have an annoying similarity.