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Is Steve Jobs sick?
Tuesday, August 08, 2006 - 09:39 AM EST

By SteveJack

I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Many of us are thinking the same thing. Nobody wants to say it, but I will: I'm worried that Steve Jobs is sick.

I'm not saying he is sick, I'm saying that I'm worried that he's sick.

He looks very thin, almost gaunt - and I'm not the only one saying it, either: see here and here. I've also been getting emails about the subject, too.

And, what's with the tag-team keynote address? Does Jobs need the rest breaks? No offense to Phil Schiller, but zzzzz. And, Bertrand Serlet? Puleeze, if you're going to crack on Microsoft, please use someone who knows the language. Honest-to-God, I thought he had C.P. for the first minute or two. About the only thing usable from that mess is the written transcript. This is not a "French thing," and no offense Mr. Serlet, it'd be the same with some American trying to do it in French with a severely weird accent and off-kilter delivery; it just doesn't work. All of the good Microsoft zingers were ruined because they were delivered as if by Peter Sellers as The Pink Panther. Jobs should know better. It was Roz Ho on acid. (I will say that Scott Forstall, Apple's VP of Platform Experience, did an excellent job.)

Anyway, back to Jobs: he looks thinner now than he did at the opening of the NYC glass cube Apple Retail Store which was when I first started to worry. On the other hand, he seems to bound around the stage just fine (see for yourself via Apple's QuickTime stream of the WWDC keynote presentation). His color looks good, but they can do wonders with makeup, right? Jobs is reportedly a Pescatarian, but he has supposedly been eating this way for years, so why the drastic weight loss recently?

All I want to know is: what's going on? As a human being, I'm worried that Steve is sick and I'm praying that he's not. As a shareholder, I'm nervous, for obvious reasons.

Now, let me restate: Steve looks fine and healthy in the video. He's not "too thin," just noticeably thinner than he was recently. It's the change in his weight that makes me worry, not his actual weight. He looks like what a normal non-Twinkie-eating, healthy person should look like; he just looks noticeably different than before and we all know all too well about the Pancreatic cancer scare. I'm not saying Steve Jobs is sick, I'm just worried that he might be sick. I'm looking for some clarification on the matter.

Please, Steve, tell us that you're dabbling in a some far out air diet, running six 6-minute miles per day with your Nike+iPod Sport Kit, and that everything's just fine; that you just wanted to drop a couple of pounds. Just tell us what's going on, because we worry.

Boy, sometimes I wish he'd just let loose and have a nice steak once in awhile.

SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.

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Aug 08, 06 - 05:01 pm Comment from: Jimbo von Winskinheimer

Not to mention that this is SteveJack's second editorial asking these types of questions. His first was entitled something like, "What happens to Apple when Steve Jobs leaves or dies?" You guys make a big deal out of Enquirer-type stories, then you post one equally as bad. You guys are "journalists" - have you tried contacting Steve or Apple to ask?

Aug 08, 06 - 05:15 pm Comment from: macaroni

What do people want? A sweating fat fuck like Ballmer?

That said Steve J should go back to his 1984 look.
Anyone is going to look bad in stubble.

Aug 08, 06 - 05:15 pm Comment from: The man in the grey flannel shorts

I agree that Steve looked thin.

But then he's 51 years old, he's had cancer in the last couple of years and, there's been just a little bit going on at both of his companies in the last year and a half or so.

I'm willing to bet he was short on sleep, has been under a great deal of stress with the options situation and prepping for this keynote. He's also been at the head of a company that has radically changed it's entire product line in just over six months. Fortunately we all know he's not a micro-manager (joke).

And all of that's been said above.

I have a different perspective on it. I work in advertising. I used to work at one of Apple's ad agencies and I've worked directly with Mr Jobs. He doesn't do anything half way. He's ALWAYS the smartest and most on-target person in the room. I'm not kidding. I've seen him shut down a legend in my field - and be totally, absolutely correct in doing so. He's passionate and he's totally present when he's involved in something. I've never seen anyone in my life with his intense powers of concentration.

And that has to be physically wearing when you're in middle age and a cancer survivor.

I think his health is probably fine, he's just a bit worn down.

As to the other presenters, I've gotten used to Phil Schiller, he's the Keynote Komic Relief® and the fact that he's a bit of a dorky buffoon is kind of a nice relief from Steve's relentless coolness.

Bertrand Serlet's timing was impeccable and I had no trouble understaning him (and I'm a native American English speaker, actually a SF Bay Area native). I thought he was hilarious and his deadpan delivery was spot-on.

Scott Forstall was just fine. He had the right amount of enthusiasm and obvious competence. He also had the coolest thing in the entire OS presentation to show - and that helps.

To sum this rambling note up, I'm fine with the tag-team style of the keynote and I expect that they'll be like this from now on. It's a good thing because we're finally getting to see some of the other people at Apple and perhaps we're even getting an inkling of what the future might hold. I'd love to see Jonathan Ive on that stage at some point...

As a long-time Apple stockholder, I was pleased with the keynote.

And, boy howdy do I want Leopard - can anyone say Time Machine?

Mark

Aug 08, 06 - 05:23 pm Comment from: Connor MacBook

Because Apple's health is so heavily reliant on Steve's, if he had anything life-threatening he'd be duty-bound to inform the market. I put it down to a change of lifestyle or treatment since the cancer scare.

Aug 08, 06 - 06:01 pm Comment from: The man in the grey flannel shorts

I agree that Steve looked thin.

But then he's 51 years old, he's had cancer in the last couple of years and, there's been just a little bit going on at both of his companies in the last year and a half or so.

I'm willing to bet he was short on sleep, has been under a great deal of stress with the options situation and prepping for this keynote. He's also been at the head of a company that has radically changed it's entire product line in just about seven months. Fortunately we all know he's not a micro-manager (joke).

And all of that's been said above.

I have a different perspective on it. I work in advertising. I used to work at one of Apple's ad agencies and I've worked directly with Mr Jobs. He doesn't do anything half way. He's ALWAYS the smartest and most on-target person in the room. I'm not kidding. I've seen him shut down a legend in my field - and be totally, absolutely correct in doing so. He's passionate and he's totally present when he's involved in something. I've never seen anyone in my life with his intense powers of concentration.

And that has to be physically wearing when you're in middle age and a cancer survivor.

I think his health is probably fine, he's just a bit worn down.

As to the other presenters, I've gotten used to Phil Schiller, he's the Keynote Komic Relief® and the fact that he's a bit of a dorky buffoon is kind of a nice relief from Steve's relentless coolness.

Bertrand Serlet's timing was impeccable and I had no trouble understaning him (and I'm a native American English speaker, actually a SF Bay Area native). I thought he was hilarious and his deadpan delivery was spot-on.

Scott Forstall was just fine. He had the right amount of enthusiasm and obvious competence. He also had the coolest thing in the entire OS presentation to show - and that helps.

To sum this rambling note up, I'm fine with the tag-team style of the keynote and I expect that they'll be like this from now on. It's a good thing because we're finally getting to see some of the other people at Apple and perhaps we're even getting an inkling of what the future might hold. I'd love to see Jonathan Ive on that stage at some point...

As a long-time Apple stockholder, I was pleased with the keynote.

And, boy howdy do I want Leopard - can anyone say Time Machine?

Mark

Aug 08, 06 - 06:23 pm Comment from: alan macdougall

I'm a Pescetarian and have been since college. I just completed an Ironman and I run, ride and swim about 20 hours a week. Being a Pescetarian does not lead to thinness.

That said, wow, this is a lot of idle speculation. At the end of the day Mr. Jobs either is or isn't sick and either will or will not chose to comment on it. One poster mentioned stock holders- I think if Mr. Jobs were sick he'd have a responsibility to share that with the BOD, but not the general shareholder population.

Regardless, Mr. Jobs could walk away from Apple tomorrow and he will have done more for it, and us, than can be repaid, much of it perhaps not entirely tangible.

Aug 08, 06 - 08:37 pm Comment from: Worried

I am shocked, but I shouldn't be that others saw this also. As a apple supporter, stock holder and cancer doctor I see this every day. The type of cancer he has is "sometimes" curable, unlike the more common type of pancreatic cancer. If I had to guess, I would say his cancer has recurred and had probably spread before they did his surgery, hence the weight loss all of you saw and his awkwardness on stage and need to have the others involved.

I'm afraid he is mortal after all. As we know there is no one else like him. We could see that Schiller and the others are not him, but it will take all of us to save what he created and returned to create, but I think his time is coming near even though none of thus like to think about this.

Don't panic, keep the stock strong and let's find another with creativity and charisma like he had, although it may take time. If we panic, we are letting him down.

Aug 08, 06 - 08:45 pm Comment from: nedhead

saw the presentation. thought he looked slim, maybe he's doing tantric yoga techniques. to me he just looks like a guy who just came back from vacation. he seemed the same to me. the only difference was in the format of the presentation, where he acted more like an mc. he looks healthly. he looked like he lost the middle age pouch. lots of people giving up sugar and such and eating south beach way.

Aug 08, 06 - 08:55 pm Comment from: random

It is actually Dr. Serlet

Aug 08, 06 - 09:33 pm Comment from: Connor MacBook

When the cancer scare first came to light, Steve said he was expected to make a full recovery. Apple's fortunes are so dependant on his health that if he had a life-threatening condition he'd be duty-bound to disclose it. I put it down to a change in lifestyle and/or treatment since the scare.

Aug 08, 06 - 10:02 pm Comment from: scoodog

Let's hope Steve is okay. He's done a lot of great things -- including being responsible for furthering computer capabilities for the masses.

He is one of the most passionate persons I have ever known of. He is so full of life!

Aug 08, 06 - 11:52 pm Comment from: IONLYUSEOSX

He does look much too thin. I think if he was sick, he would not be wasting time at Apple, he would be with his family. He may be possibly doing some treatment to make sure he never gets cancer or some other kind of detoxification method. I'm guessing he will gain back some lbs soon. Eating ice cream is the quickest way for that to happen.Is there such a thing as organic ice cream?

Problem is, if you get sick, you usually lose some lbs. That is why he needs to gain some back, kind of like having extra RAM when you need it when running a second OS in VMWare or Parallels.

Aug 09, 06 - 01:27 am Comment from: tardo montelban

===
there are 2 types of pancreatic cancer, one slow-growing, one fast-growing. From what he said at the time, he had the slow-growing variety.
===

IS TAHT "TEH GOOD KIND"?

Aug 09, 06 - 05:33 am Comment from: carbs

Since when is thin bad? What do people want, a sweating fat fuck like Ballmer?

That said, SJ should bring back his 1984 look. Anyone will look bad in stubble.

Aug 09, 06 - 07:45 am Comment from: eacher

carlo: "he tumor they found was NOT malignant. there was a tumor, they cut it out, end of story."

If so then he has some other cancer or sickness.
Easy to clear up - APPLE PR dept - issue a definitive statement on Steve´s health. Or better yet, Steve, come out and make a statement.

Aug 09, 06 - 08:52 am Comment from: Will

Wow, love the self-righteousness of the non-Americans in this thread! Must be great to be a perfect, the thin pinnacle of European perfection, Truly you are all gods among mere mortals (read: all of us fat slovenly white Americans). Also note the dripping sarcasm.

Get over yourselves.

Could some of these posts be any more stereotypical? Pathetic.

Aug 09, 06 - 11:11 am Comment from: mac 1984

I really take exception to the tone of all this FUD manure spreading. It's one thing to have concern for a beloved CEO, it's quite another to openly speculate and create uncertainty, fear, doubt...

STEVE JOBS LOOKED F-ING GREAT. HE SOUNDED GREAT. He has as much vitality, poise, presence and boom in his voice as ever. He was strutting and shufflin' with top energy. HE LOOKED ON F-FORM!

THE TAG-TEAM WAS EFFECTIVE AND POSITIVE AND DAZZLING. You wouldn't expect Jobs to droll on for over an hour on all the minutae of that stuff, that would be more boring than the tag-team which gave color and variety and multiple perspectives.

MAC PRO LOOKED GREAT. LEOPARD LOOKED GREAT. Time Machine and Spaces alone are going to have Redmond spies sweating and salivating.

We all care about SJ. That's not the same as permission to create vile rumors about his health which have NO F-ING BASIS in the reality of his performance and presentation.

Aug 09, 06 - 01:17 pm Comment from: iDon't

All of us are gonna die some day.

Aug 09, 06 - 04:32 pm Comment from: Not Bill

There have been no denials from Endless Loop Way. I think that is very telling. He did lack vitality, in my opinion, in the WWDC keynote.

Time will tell. Life without Steve Jobs pushing us into a way cooler world is a very sad thing to contemplate.

Aug 09, 06 - 04:36 pm Comment from: Not Bill

In a way it is good that this article has run. If it is true, it has been insider information for some time now.

It may have some bearing on why the stock of a company that is doing everything so very well, with financial numbers to support it, cannot sustain a price rally.

We all deserve to know the truth.

Aug 09, 06 - 06:00 pm Comment from: Relatives had cancer

Cancer is a terrible thing.
Enjoy everyday of your life.

Aug 09, 06 - 09:12 pm Comment from: jonathan Cooper

it really concerns me that so few of you actually seem to know wat gaunt looks like. Steve Jobs looked good,. If that is now our standard of "gaunt" we are a more seriously obese nation than I thought. Do you guys actually know anyone who is in shape?

Aug 09, 06 - 11:23 pm Comment from: Erik

Noah Wyle should be Steves replacement!

Aug 10, 06 - 12:31 am Comment from: Keynote Watcher

Yes, Steve is thinner. However, if he were a bit thinner and still bounding with enthusiasm nobody would say 'Boo'. The reason Steve's keynotes lately have been lacklustre is to me obvious. He has been presiding over a period of transition, from PowerPC to Intel, in which the main watchword has to be 'stay the course' and they have intentionally not experimented with new enclosures in order to reassure everyone that they are getting the same old Macs. At the same time, OS X has reached a point of maturity in which software upgrades, while exciting and innovative, start to seem like just icing on the cake.

It all adds up to not a very inspiring environment in which to be a Keynote presenter. I bet Steve has been thinking, maybe I should hand over some of these less momentous keynotes to a talented up-and-comer in the company who is a good speaker. And that is probably Scott Forestal.

Steve has been putting in the time himself mostly to reassure us that the Mac isn't changing. But now that this transition is over, I think, in the next year, we should see them start to push the envelope again on hardware (hey, they must have wanted to go for performance-per-watt for a REASON -- I bet there are some really interesting enclosures coming down the pike). Nothing gets Steve's juices flowing like an amazing new piece of hardware -- and I'm not talking about specs.

I bet that we will see Steve return to his sparkling style sometime in the next year. Provided he doesn't die of cancer first. wink

Aug 10, 06 - 05:54 am Comment from: Bill Gates fan

I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Many of us are thinking the same thing. Nobody wants to say it, but I will: I'm worried that Bill Gates is sick.

I'm not saying he is sick, I'm saying that I'm worried that he's sick. I've also been getting emails about the subject, too.

Look this picture below:

Bill Gates 2004
http://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bill_Gates_2004_cr.jpg

Bill Gates 2006
http://students.hamilton.edu/2008/ereile/img/Bill Gates.jpg

Really, who care's these "news"?

Aug 10, 06 - 05:55 am Comment from: Francois

Bertrand Serlet? I'm French myself but at first I wondered if he was an actor supposed to entertain the audience. He may be very good at his job but should'nt speak in public in English. I had a hard time understanding him.

Aug 10, 06 - 06:51 am Comment from: Wally

I agree. Enough is enough. You are like bunch of old biddies spreading rumors as fact!

Aug 10, 06 - 02:31 pm Comment from: duper

THE BOARD DOES NOT WANT JOBS HOGGING THE LIMELIGHT


It is that simple. If anyone was looking at a weakness for Apple, they'd have to conclude that it has become even more of a Cult of Steve Jobs, especially in the last 4 or 5 years. Since being back at Apple for almost 10 years, it is becoming increasingly difficult for fans of the Mac to see Apple without him.

This keynote said something really important: Apple is a team of innovators, not just one man. For the sake of Apple, the move away from a Steve-only keynote can only be good.

Aug 10, 06 - 03:04 pm Comment from: zupchuck

Considering Steve recently finished a bout of pancreatic cancer, I don't think the speculation is completely unwarranted. I do hope the man is cancer-free and generally healthy.

About the keynote address - any decent company has succession planning. It really is a must regardless of the apparent health of the CEO. Perhaps Steve is beginning to loosen his reigns to see who's got what it takes? I hope back-dating of stock options isn't going to the thing that boots SJ out for a second time (or bad health).

Aug 11, 06 - 06:16 am Comment from: Rick (The Netherlands)

Hi, the first thing I said to the guys, after seeing 10 seconds of the keynote was : damn, Steve looks sick to me, he' is too skinny. Hope his cancer did'nt came back.
So, yes i'm worried too, so Steve, just tell us you're fine !!

Groeten uit Amsterdam

Aug 11, 06 - 05:45 pm Comment from: pherein

Like most I was concerned. Steve Jobs is one of the few that came from nothing and built something first, and got it right.Their are maybe 3-4 truely creative inventors in the computer world that can do that. I heard a stupid comment from many mag’s and it was this “Apple is Steve Jobs, and can apple survive without him?”
Um no.
Physic’s is Einstein, and netscape was James Barksdale, and caesar was rome. Of course a company, government, science is nothing without the person that did it. India fell into ruin after gondi died. No apple can not survive so stop asking, no one has, read a book.
If steve jobs is sick then the world of computing is about to get allot more boring. If he dies the computer world will suffer too. Hes one of the few that can do it.
Do I think he’s sick , na he was open to talk about it last time, and I’m sure he would display the same class, and it’s none of our business. Can MS survive without gates predatory practices , no. People make companies.
I truely hope you are ok Mr. Jobs, and its none of my business. My interest is a selfish one, your very cool to have around and the computer world would suffer without you.
That said I believe, actually leopard is a OS that Job is adding enhancements, so that it will not be a minor upgrade. I believe hes declaring war, and is willing to risk it all, its his nature.

Aug 19, 06 - 02:55 am Comment from: Joel Conrad Bechtolt

I hope in my heart of hearts two things:

1. That Steve Jobs is OK. I love that guy so much.

2. That in my wildest dreams my French is ever as good as that French dude's English.

Aug 21, 06 - 06:50 am Comment from: Marc

He bought a bicycle some time ago, and he was very happy. That could be the reason.

Sep 04, 06 - 10:00 am Comment from: MacSmiley

1) Steve knows more about his own body than anyone else does, and he has a right to tell us about it and the right to *NOT* tell us about it.

The computer business is more like the Tour de France and less like the Superbowl. Psychological strategy means a lot, and there have been situations where opponents have allowed themselves to look weak in order to get their adversaried to become over-confident.

Is that what's happening here?

None of my business.

2) The second and more important reason for me to post is a prior comment made by Jeff:

"He's not sick, he's a vegan. This is what people who don't eat enough protein look like. This is also what people look like who don't consume fast food."

There's a positive aspect of this comment coupled with a negative spin, and I am not sure which one Jeff was going for.

What concerns me is the implication, whether intentional or not, that vegans don't get enough protein.

"He's not sick, he's a vegan. This is what people who don't eat enough protein look like."

It's almost impossible for any American <i>who's eating enough calories<i> to NOT get enough protein, even without eggs or dairy products, unless all that's being eaten are empty calories. Resorting to counterfeit meat, like soy hot dogs (which I happen to eat for variety, by the way) is also unnecessary for sufficient protein.

The typical adult human requires only 11% of his diet to be protein, since he is no longer doing any major vertical growth. Eleven per cent is all he needs to grow hair, nails, skin, and to maintain self-repair (that is, a healthy immune system).

If all you ate for every meal of every day of your adult life were baked potatoes, you would not develop a protein deficiency. You'd be a bit vitamin deficient, but not protien deficient.

Even breastmilk, the perfect food for human babies, the perfect food for growing at the at the fastest rate in one's entire lifetime... even human breastmilk consists of a mere 5% in protein.

AS I said, if all a person eats is junk food, they will get sick (although to the other extreme of weight gain, not weight loss). Jeff adds this to his comment with his 3rd sentence about fast food. However, by that time, in the mind of the reader, the damage has already been done.

Whatever is going on with Steve's body, protein deficiency it is not.

Sep 04, 06 - 10:09 am Comment from: MacSmiley

MDN MW: personal

1) Steve knows more about his own body than anyone else does, and he has a right to tell us about it and the right to *NOT* tell us about it.

The computer business is more like the Tour de France and less like the Superbowl. Psychological strategy means a lot, and there have been situations where opponents have allowed themselves to look weak in order to get their adversaried to become over-confident.

Is that what's happening here?

None of my business.

2) The second and more important reason for me to post is a prior comment made by Jeff:

"He's not sick, he's a vegan. This is what people who don't eat enough protein look like. This is also what people look like who don't consume fast food."

There's a positive aspect of this comment coupled with a negative spin, and I am not sure which one Jeff was going for.

What concerns me is the implication, whether intentional or not, that vegans don't get enough protein.

"He's not sick, he's a vegan. This is what people who don't eat enough protein look like."

It's almost impossible for any American <i>who's eating enough calories<i> to NOT get enough protein, even without eggs or dairy products, unless all that's being eaten are empty calories. Resorting to counterfeit meat, like soy hot dogs (which I happen to eat for variety, by the way) is also unnecessary for sufficient protein.

The typical adult human requires only 11% of his diet to be protein, since he is no longer doing any major vertical growth. Eleven per cent is all he needs to grow hair, nails, skin, and to maintain self-repair (that is, a healthy immune system).

If all you ate for every meal of every day of your adult life were baked potatoes, you would not develop a protein deficiency. You'd be a bit vitamin deficient, but not protien deficient.

Even breastmilk, the perfect food for human babies, the perfect food for growing at the at the fastest rate in one's entire lifetime... even human breastmilk consists of a mere 5% in protein.

AS I said, if all a person eats is junk food, they will get sick (although to the other extreme of weight gain, not weight loss). Jeff adds this to his comment with his 3rd sentence about fast food. However, by that time, in the mind of the reader, the damage has already been done.

Whatever is going on with Steve's body, protein deficiency it is not.

Nov 02, 06 - 09:52 am Comment from: nicole gonzalez

when did you die

Feb 20, 07 - 04:33 pm Comment from: William Gates

I PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR TEA, YOU HIPPEE!!! HAHAHAHA

May 12, 08 - 04:48 am Comment from: Climent

If we have a look at the keynote presentation in apple , we can notice the change in Steve Jack. Anyway it's a great news .
http://www.indiaovenlasvegas.com

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