Steve Jobs On Medical Leave Of Absence From Apple
Looks like Steve Jobs’ health issues are “more complex than originally thought.” El Jobso is taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June. COO Tim Cook will take over day to day operations until then.
I wish Steve Jobs the best. And I’m not selling any Apple stock — which is sure to take a hit on this news. I still have a lot of faith in the company and its future.
Amazing, isn’t it, that Apple’s stock, which was at $200 a year ago, is now at $85, despite Apple having had its best year ever by a long shot? Where’s the logic in that? There’s no way I’m selling at this point. It can only go up from here, once the initial panic wears off.
Even if Jobs were forced to retire today, and if the remaining execs at Apple were all complete nincompoops, Apple’s current product lineup and future roadmap would practically guarantee success in the short term. And Apple’s exec team is one of the best in the business, which bodes very well for the long term. All this panic is insane.
The iPhone still has no real competition. Palm’s pre won’t launch until late this year, and won’t get very far thanks to massive losses in the fan base, high price (it WILL be more expensive than an iPhone), and several lawsuits from Apple for patent infringement. Google’s Android has gone nowhere fast. How many people do you know who own a G1? Where are the apps for Android? Blackberry will keep its business share, but go nowhere with consumers. Microsoft WinMobile is officially dead, now that Palm will no longer sell WinMoblie phones.
The iPod still has even less competition. Steve Ballmer all but announced the death of the Zune earlier this week, which surprised no one. Sony’s Walkmen are a joke at this point.
iTunes has no real competition. Amazon, the best to try so far, has not taken any significant market share from Apple, despite not having DRM. Now iTunes has no DRM. Game over.
The Mac will continue to grow, thanks to the halo effect from all of these other products. Apple is adding new business opportunities for its low-cost apps (music lessons), to augment its iTunes revenue.
And the Retail Division is still kicking butt and taking names, guaranteeing Apple a strong presence in some of the most populated, high-priced shopping sectors in the world.
The company could easily run on Autopilot at this point, though it doesn’t, and it won’t, with or without Jobs.
So what’s all the fuss?
Best wishes for Steve’s speedy recovery. I hope he retires soon, regardless. Just to spend more time with his family.
Wow, a comment longer than the original blog post — love it.
Anyhow, totally agree. Apple is in a great position with a solid
product line, great OS, lots of cash in the bank, etc. I think it’s a
safe bet Steve already signed off on enough products to take them well
into 2010. It’s not like Steve Jobs pulled the plug and everybody’s
Macs and iPhones suddenly shut off. The *worst case* scenario here is
Jobs retires, the company loses direction, and it fades away. But that
process will take *years*.