One year after liver transplant, Apple's Steve Jobs is hard at work
Though Steve Jobs returned to work at Apple in June 2009, the chief executive was not regularly seen on his company's Cupertino, Calif., campus until January of this year, according to a new report.
An anonymous employee told BusinessWeek that this year Jobs has been seen more frequently, including appearances in the company's campus cafeteria. Though he returned to work last year after a liver transplant, his presence at work has allegedly been greater since the start of 2010.
Author Connie Guglielmo also noted that Jobs has been responding to e-mails from users as of late, and even attempted to seek comment from the chief executive himself via e-mail. Jobs, the report said, did not respond.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reportedly said that he periodically speaks to his friend Jobs, and has been given the impression that all is well with the CEO's health.
"Every time I hear him, he's doing a lot of work and a lot of thinking that's involved in that work, and those things sort of go away if you're very worried about your health," Wozniak told BusinessWeek.
Jobs first announced in January 2009 that he was taking a leave of absence from work due to health issues. He maintained that he viewed the issue as a private matter.
Many view the success of Apple as largely the creation of Jobs, resulting in a great deal of interest in his health. In 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission even investigated Apple's disclosures regarding its chief executive's health problems to ensure investors weren't mislead.
A few months after he returned to work, Jobs took to the stage at Apple's annual music event in September 2009, where he introduced new iPods. The Apple co-founder gave a short introduction in which he acknowledged his road to recovery and said he was gracious for the liver he received from a person in their mid-20s who died in a car crash. The event was Jobs' first public appearance in nearly a year.
But upon returning to work, Jobs' No. 1 focus was Apple's release of the iPad, which was formally introduced in January of this year. Reports alleged that Jobs was personally involved in the development of the tablet, and that his return to Apple was "jarring" for those involved in the project, due to the chief executive's hands-on nature.
He even penned a lengthy letter slamming Adobe Flash as unfit for the modern era just weeks ago. The publicly released document declared Adobe's Web format was created for the PC era, but that it "falls short" in the mobile era of low-power devices, touch interfaces and open Web standards. Apple has not allowed Flash onto its iPhone OS-powered mobile devices, and has instead embraced open standards such as HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
Jobs has been busy outside of Apple too, teaming with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to push for reform in the state's organ donor process. Senate Bill 1395 would make it mandatory for California residents to accept or decline the option of becoming an organ donor when they renew their drivers licenses. Jobs himself underwent successful liver transplant surgery at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in March 2009. Six years ago, he also beat a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
Experts who talked to BusinessWeek said that Jobs' increased presence at work is good news for Apple, its products, and its investors.
"Except for the fact that he's lost a lot of weight, he's the Steve Jobs of old," Tim Bajarin, founder of Creative Strategies consulting firm in Campbell, Calif., said. "At the visionary level, technology and design level, he seems to be working at the same level he was before he was sick."
An anonymous employee told BusinessWeek that this year Jobs has been seen more frequently, including appearances in the company's campus cafeteria. Though he returned to work last year after a liver transplant, his presence at work has allegedly been greater since the start of 2010.
Author Connie Guglielmo also noted that Jobs has been responding to e-mails from users as of late, and even attempted to seek comment from the chief executive himself via e-mail. Jobs, the report said, did not respond.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reportedly said that he periodically speaks to his friend Jobs, and has been given the impression that all is well with the CEO's health.
"Every time I hear him, he's doing a lot of work and a lot of thinking that's involved in that work, and those things sort of go away if you're very worried about your health," Wozniak told BusinessWeek.
Jobs first announced in January 2009 that he was taking a leave of absence from work due to health issues. He maintained that he viewed the issue as a private matter.
Many view the success of Apple as largely the creation of Jobs, resulting in a great deal of interest in his health. In 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission even investigated Apple's disclosures regarding its chief executive's health problems to ensure investors weren't mislead.
A few months after he returned to work, Jobs took to the stage at Apple's annual music event in September 2009, where he introduced new iPods. The Apple co-founder gave a short introduction in which he acknowledged his road to recovery and said he was gracious for the liver he received from a person in their mid-20s who died in a car crash. The event was Jobs' first public appearance in nearly a year.
But upon returning to work, Jobs' No. 1 focus was Apple's release of the iPad, which was formally introduced in January of this year. Reports alleged that Jobs was personally involved in the development of the tablet, and that his return to Apple was "jarring" for those involved in the project, due to the chief executive's hands-on nature.
He even penned a lengthy letter slamming Adobe Flash as unfit for the modern era just weeks ago. The publicly released document declared Adobe's Web format was created for the PC era, but that it "falls short" in the mobile era of low-power devices, touch interfaces and open Web standards. Apple has not allowed Flash onto its iPhone OS-powered mobile devices, and has instead embraced open standards such as HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
Jobs has been busy outside of Apple too, teaming with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to push for reform in the state's organ donor process. Senate Bill 1395 would make it mandatory for California residents to accept or decline the option of becoming an organ donor when they renew their drivers licenses. Jobs himself underwent successful liver transplant surgery at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in March 2009. Six years ago, he also beat a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
Experts who talked to BusinessWeek said that Jobs' increased presence at work is good news for Apple, its products, and its investors.
"Except for the fact that he's lost a lot of weight, he's the Steve Jobs of old," Tim Bajarin, founder of Creative Strategies consulting firm in Campbell, Calif., said. "At the visionary level, technology and design level, he seems to be working at the same level he was before he was sick."
Comments
There is only a few things I´d wish he would pay better attention too.
1: Better software security, especially Safari (another zero day, see Applications forum)
2: Do something about reducing or eliminating the glare and reflections on their devices.
3: Better pricing, more storage/perceived value
4: Bring some manufacturing home from China to the U.S. and Europe proportional to the sales in those regions.
I'm an organ donor in case you need anything.
Hmmm. Anything? I know you meant it in a nice way, but still feels a bit creepy. Aren't you, kind of, you know, well, supposed to, like, wait until after you're.........?
Jobs is a great man, his vision has brought Apple back from the dead.
There is only a few things I´d wish he would pay better attention too.
1: Better software security, especially Safari (another zero day, see Applications forum)
2: Do something about reducing or eliminating the glare and reflections on their devices.
3: Better pricing, more storage/perceived value
4: Bring some manufacturing home from China to the U.S. and Europe proportional to the sales in those regions.
He is great man, but lets still provide destructive/non-logical comments. Only from MacTripper..oh am sorry SpotOn
Jobs is a great man, his vision has brought Apple back from the dead.
There is only a few things I´d wish he would pay better attention too.
4: Bring some manufacturing home from China to the U.S. and Europe proportional to the sales in those regions.
Hear Hear! (Here?)
You mean grateful. I should hope he was gracious towards the family of the person who's death gave him life.
Gracious mean polite. Grateful means thankful.
3: Better pricing, more storage/perceived value
4: Bring some manufacturing home from China to the U.S. and Europe proportional to the sales in those regions.
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but these two are (most likely) a contradiction. Changing manufacturing strategies is not easy. It involves a lot of a capital, even if Apple were to outsource (not offshore) its manufacturing operations.
This would make it very hard for Apple to start giving better pricing. While giving more perceived value might be easier than giving a price reduction, this too might be difficult. Apple has positioned its suppliers to be physically close to its manufacturing site. NAND flash, for example, from Samsung in Korea is close to Apple's Chinese manufacturer Hon Hai [Foxconn]). This provides a great amount of flexibility in terms of just in time inventory to reduce costs.
Make no mistake, JIT is very important in the world of electronics where supply costs rapidly decline. It would be very costly to hold items in inventory. Essentially, it would be expensive to buy parts and manufacture them much later (which would happen if some of the manufacturing were to be done in the US - time to transport the components overseas). For by the time the manufacturing starts, the price of a component may have declined $0.05 since it was actually purchased.
Basically then, an increase in more storage would not reflect a proportional increase in price if manufacturing were to be completed in the US.
Apple?s Jobs ?Fully Operational? Year After Operation
including this fascinating bit, which I'm hoping someone can explain:
The experience prompted Jobs, who doesn?t even have license plates on his car, to talk publicly about his transplant.
To quote David Byrne (Talking Heads): "How do I work this?"
I hope that, before too long, people will be able to grow their own replacement organs in a lab. I mean the genome has been sequenced for a while now. And wouldn't it be cool if the person who discovered that was using an Apple computer.
I saw that movie... I believe it was called 'The Island'.
http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-ceo-c...727#more-39727
But to publish a story that the man is still breathing, and use the anniversary of his return to Apple as the pretense, is fluff journalism IMHO.
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but these two are (most likely) a contradiction. Changing manufacturing strategies is not easy. It involves a lot of a capital, even if Apple were to outsource (not offshore) its manufacturing operations.
This would make it very hard for Apple to start giving better pricing. While giving more perceived value might be easier than giving a price reduction, this too might be difficult. Apple has positioned its suppliers to be physically close to its manufacturing site. NAND flash, for example, from Samsung in Korea is close to Apple's Chinese manufacturer Hon Hai [Foxconn]). This provides a great amount of flexibility in terms of just in time inventory to reduce costs.
Make no mistake, JIT is very important in the world of electronics where supply costs rapidly decline. It would be very costly to hold items in inventory. Essentially, it would be expensive to buy parts and manufacture them much later (which would happen if some of the manufacturing were to be done in the US - time to transport the components overseas). For by the time the manufacturing starts, the price of a component may have declined $0.05 since it was actually purchased.
Basically then, an increase in more storage would not reflect a proportional increase in price if manufacturing were to be completed in the US.
Apple might have little choice in the future, right now the Chinese are doing their best to peg the Yaun to the Dollar, the U.S. is printing money trying to inflate the economy and pay off it´s debts and the Chinese need to cool their economy and prevent hyperinflation, so soon they will have to float their currency. They are already placing real estate controls.
With a more expensive Yaun to the Dollar/Euro it would mean it would be cheaper to move manufacturing operations back and export. Naturally of course the Chinese want operations to benefit their economy, but that doesn´t mean all operations need to be there.
With manufacturing operations located in major sales regions, Apple can adjust to the economies in those areas better and provide something back to the people who buy their products.
Apple has bought a huge piece of property in North Carolina that hasn´t been assigned a purpose at this time, some propose it´s going to be a data center. It might be a state of the art factory, Steve loves factories, always has.
Doesn´t do a whole lot for the U.S. unemployment situation, but machines can beat even 60 hour a week, underpaid under nourished Chinese workers hands down and work 24 hours day on top of that. Plus gains the stability of the U.S., not crazy paranoid whims of Chinese government officials.
China could decide to kick Apple out of the country anytime, then they would be screwed. Just like Google was.
Yea, if I was Apple, I´d be looking for some security. Some say China is going to hyperinflate and blowout from too much growth too fast.
I hope that, before too long, people will be able to grow their own replacement organs in a lab. I mean the genome has been sequenced for a while now. And wouldn't it be cool if the person who discovered that was using an Apple computer.
They are already doing this with human bladders to a limited extent. With advances in stem cell research and laboratory techniques, many of us may see replacement organs grown routinely in vitro in our lifetimes.
Apple might have little choice in the future, right now the Chinese are doing their best to peg the Yaun to the Dollar, the U.S. is printing money trying to inflate the economy and pay off it´s debts and the Chinese need to cool their economy and prevent hyperinflation, so soon they will have to float their currency. They are already placing real estate controls.
With a more expensive Yaun to the Dollar/Euro it would mean it would be cheaper to move manufacturing operations back and export. Naturally of course the Chinese want operations to benefit their economy, but that doesn´t mean all operations need to be there.
With manufacturing operations located in major sales regions, Apple can adjust to the economies in those areas better and provide something back to the people who buy their products.
Apple has bought a huge piece of property in North Carolina that hasn´t been assigned a purpose at this time, some propose it´s going to be a data center. It might be a state of the art factory, Steve loves factories, always has.
Doesn´t do a whole lot for the U.S. unemployment situation, but machines can beat even 60 hour a week, underpaid under nourished Chinese workers hands down and work 24 hours day on top of that. Plus gains the stability of the U.S., not crazy paranoid whims of Chinese government officials.
China could decide to kick Apple out of the country anytime, then they would be screwed. Just like Google was.
Yea, if I was Apple, I´d be looking for some security. Some say China is going to hyperinflate and blowout from too much growth too fast.
Very good point about the NC property (among others I should add); I'd give your post rep if this forum allowed it. But don't you agree that Apple's competencies focus more on design and engineering than manufacturing? I think this is perfectly evidenced by Apple's introduction of the A4 chip.
I tend to believe that Apple's current strategy is increasing the number of higher paying jobs. Apple's position in the industry is one of an innovator. If Apple does not continue to create innovative products, it will be easily overtaken by competitors. What I mean is if Apple were to output the same products that MS does (for example), it would lose. That is why Apple's R&D costs are so much higher. Apple's position as an innovator places it so far outside the manufacturing realm. Should Apple handle more manufacturing, I think it could jeopardize its innovative capabilities (diverting Jobs' vision and attention). That could ultimately result in the loss of even more jobs.
Bring some manufacturing home from China to the U.S. and Europe proportional to the sales in those regions.
Why should I have to pay more so you can have a few more jobs in your country?
... his presence at work has allegedly been greater since the start of 2010.
Long may he continue! Go Steve!