Hasta La Gadget!

Apple today confirmed the news that the company’s longtime head, Steve Jobs, would be taking a medical leave until June, releasing the letter he sent earlier today to employees.

“Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well,” Jobs wrote in the letter. “In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.”

Jobs explained that he wanted to take the “limelight” off of himself, in order to focus on his health, stating that he planned to return to the company in June. Jobs also announced that the company’s COO, Tim Cook, would be filling in for him.

Jobs ended the letter on a hopeful note, “I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs told employees Wednesday he is taking a leave of absence because of health issues.

"Unfortunately, the curiosity over my
personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family,
but everyone else at Apple as well," Jobs wrote in a letter to staff. "In addition, during the past week I have
learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally
thought."

Jobs said he will be off duty until June, and COO Tim Cook will serve as interim CEO.

The announcement shortly follows a letter published last week by the CEO, in which he cited a hormone imbalance as the cause for his noticeable weight loss. In that letter, Jobs said he was undergoing a "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment. However, scientists told Wired.com that Jobs’ explanation was contradictory and made little sense.

The five-month duration of Jobs’ medical leave suggests his health is in more serious condition than in the past. In 2004, Jobs sent a similar letter to staff saying he was taking
a one-month medical leave to undergo surgery.

"I think Steve has done just a magnificent job for the
shareholders and the company," said Guy Kawasaki, a former Apple evangelist. "Right now we should leave him alone."

"Steve has done
more than enough — more than anyone could possibly expect," Kawasaki added. "Let him take
his leave and come back when he can."

Journalists, investors and Mac fans alike have been discussing Jobs’ health for the past year, noting his gaunt appearance when he spoke at conferences. This led many to speculate that Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, was getting ready to step down due to deteriorating health.

Though Jobs acknowledges his health problems, neither he nor Apple have named the disease or condition plaguing him.

Vijay Rakesh, a ThinkPanmure analyst, said though Wednesday’s news may come
as a shocker to investors, it should come as no surprise that Jobs’ health appears to be in trouble.

"I think it’s a little bit of a seesaw," said
Vijay Rakesh, a ThinkPanmure analyst. "One day everything is good and
the next day everything is bad…. What he’s indicating is it needs
more
urgent attention."

Analysts continue to debate over the CEO’s impact on Apple if he were to leave the company. Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst, said in the end, a Jobs-less Apple will have no effect on the company’s product innovation.

"From a consumer experience standpoint it won’t change anything," Munster said. "But it
definitely does impact people’s perception of Apple because he’s an
irreplaceable salesman."

However, Roger Kay, an Endpoint Technologies analyst, said Apple will be dramatically affected if Jobs leaves the company.

"Whatever
the condition of Steve’s health, his cancer has caused a certain amount
of soul searching by the company," Kay said. "How do you replace the maestro?  The paradox of
the dictatorial personality is that it can’t replicate itself. Genghis
Khan’s empire was gone 130 years after it was created…. So, a big
question mark relates to how the product development process will work
once he’s out of the picture."

In after-hours trading, the Apple stock is down $7.61, or 7.6 percent, to $78.76 as of 5.03 p.m. EST.

Jobs’ full letter is below the jump.

Team,

I
am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very
personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my
personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my
family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the
past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex
than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the
limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to
focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a
medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim
Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he
and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As
CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am
out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

Apple Media Advisory [Apple]

Photo: James Merithew/Wired.com

(Wired.com staff writer Priya Ganapati contributed to this story.)

A memo from Steve Jobs confirms previous reports that his health problems are more serious than last week’s note indicated, and he’s taking a six-month leave. Tim Cook is taking his job now. UPDATED

The piece reported by CNBC, contradicts their earlier reporting and Apple statements from only a week ago, before Macworld, is followed up by All Things D with the full memo:

Team,
I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

The memo has also been posted by MDS, here.

The letter above clearly notes that his health issues are more complex than previously thought, but his reasons for stepping down include the fact that stories about his health distract the company from doing its core work. When Jobs took off last to undergo surgery for pancreatic cancer, he took one month off. Here’s he’s taking six.

Also, the NYTimes is hinting that either Jobs found out about a change in his condition after the Macworld keynote, a little more than a week ago, or the resignation was carefully timed to avoid conflicting with previous statements news. (This analysis comes in spite of the part of the memo stating he found out his health was discovered to be doing more poorly “during the past week”.)

The silver lining is that Steve is looking “forward to seeing everyone this summer”. I hope his rest goes well and he returns well in June.

[CNBC and All Things D and the NYT, Photo by Ben Stanfield]

Editor’s Note: We got a lot of heat for breaking the unpopular rumor of Steve being too sick to present at Macworld a few weeks ago, and speculated that he was resigning months ago. Peers at CNBC and All Things D and others were not convinced, because it was hinging on one particular source, and in conflict with what Apple and other sources have told them. The NYTimes edited Jesús Diaz’s piece out of the first draft of the story, and the AP reported it out of thin air. Apparently, they all believe the story now. Special thanks to Josh Q. at Time and Dan F and the team at Silicon Alley Insider for the faith and for not shooting the messenger.

So it looks like wannabe cloner Psystar’s supposedly hotshot law firm of Carr and Ferrell regrouped for a deep think after pumping out some fairly weak arguments in its case against Apple — according to a new draft of Psystar’s countersuit, the Florida-based computer reseller should be allowed to sell whitebox Mac OS X machines because it legally purchased copies of Leopard at retail. That’s the first sale doctrine, if you’re into copyright law — it states that the purchaser of copyrighted materials (like a book) can sell or dispose of them however they want. Here’s the thing though: a big part of Apple’s case (but not all of it) is based around the fact that consumers license OS X under the terms of the EULA — and courts are basically up in the air over whether the first sale doctrine should apply to software transactions. It’s an interesting tactic with a ton of repercussions beyond Apple if it’s successful, but we honestly can’t see it working — in the cases where first sale has been used to overcome a EULA, it’s generally been for used software, not companies like Psystar, who are modifying and installing new copyrighted software sold by a first party. We’ll see how Apple responds — things just got interesting again.

Update: World Of Apple notes that this argument has been present from the outset, but it sounds like Psystar’s really pushing it now. We’d say so — we think it’s the only plausible one we’ve heard so far.

[Thanks, iB3nji]

Disclaimer: Nilay’s a lawyer and about to fall over from CES, but he’s not your lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice or analysis.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Psystar’s lawyers regroup, try another tactic against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for more iPhone nano rumors? Good, because apparently the Chinese trade paper Economic Daily News is now reporting that Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC) will be handling chip manufacturing for a low-cost device being referred to as… you guessed it: the iPhone nano. While the paper has a fairly good reputation, it is filtered through the lens of DigiTimes on our end, so as usual, take it with the required grain of salt. Still, the source is calling a June launch of the handset on the heels of an order for the components in March. The time frame is reasonable enough, and if history is any lesson here, Apple loves to intro iPhones in the Summer. Given that China has yet to see a deal for the iPhone proper, and a lower-cost entry may be perfectly tuned for vast Asian markets, the nano could gather in a whole new fold of users (and the smaller screen would be less of an issue given the need for character recognition). That theory falls in line with statements from analysts, though as always, putting too much stock in any of this speculation could be hazardous to your health. Just ask Steve Jobs.

[Via AppleInsider]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone nano now rumored for June, Unicorn delayed again until September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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