Gizmodo has posted a rumour from one of its normally reliable sources under the headline: Steve Jobs' Health Declining Rapidly, Reason for Macworld Cancellation.
This would be big news, if it were true, but the odds are against. Apple hasn't commented, even though its shares took a hit on the rumour. All Things D points to a CNBC video response, as follows:
But CNBC's Jim Goldman – who earlier this month reported that Jobs's decision to skip the Macworld keynote had nothing to do with his health – is calling BS on the Gizmodo report. "I spoke to Apple after these headlines crossed and the company, which officially doesn't comment on rumors, reiterated the reasons it offered two weeks ago: Apple was pulling out of Macworld because the company didn't see the need to continue its investment in the expo, which included Steve Jobs's keynote. I was told this morning (Tuesday) that nothing has changed since then. The same reasons apply today that applied two weeks ago. I was told two weeks ago by sources inside Apple that the decision had nothing to do with Jobs's health. I got the same message today. Period."
Gizmodo had itself argued in October that by shifting the emphasis to other people in the company, Steve Jobs was "preparing his farewell".
However, this doesn't look like a problem that's going to go away until Jobs actually retires. Some investors clearly think Jobs's health is a material factor, and Apple has a duty to disclose material factors that affect the company, but how much concern does there have to be to make that happen? Who measures it? Who decides?
Well, it would be pretty simple to rig Steve up with health-monitoring equipment so everybody could track his condition on a minute-by-minute basis. The results could be distributed via a special How's Steve? icon on the iPhone. Or, of course, Apple could sell tickets….
iHealth monitoring of some sort is likely to become a very big business as the US population ages, so it could help propel Apple into a whole new growth phase.
