[avt123]

I wish Steve luck and hope all is well with his health. He is a brilliant man and definitely a technological leader. I wish Apple luck as well as I enjoy using their products and enjoy the competition they bring to the table.

[snowindec9]

iphone 5 in the history books as steve jobs's last iphone.i think apple will continue to prosper but jobs tenure was huge in the tech industry.

[ADFXPro777]

Uhm, you do realize that Steve Jobs has been on medical leave several times and Tim Cook was acting CEO during those periods? Apple didn't die. In fact they did pretty well.

You do realize that Tim Cook was in charge of day-to-day operations, while Steve Jobs still had full control over important, long-term decisions, right?

[grunt0300]

It does sadden me to see someone who has wonderful ideas have to retire. I assume its sadly health related as i cant see him ever giving up the company he has led into an empire as it is

Where did you hear that he was retiring? He's switched jobs, and is now the Chairman of the Board of Apple. From what i can see...nothing's changed.

[DJLILM]

This would be a good time for RIM to make a come back.

[pilsbury]

It's been said, but like him or not, he was an innovator, mover and shaker, and ALL the tech industry has benefitted from his lead. I do wish him the best.

[dalton4L]

This would be a good time for RIM to make a come back.

This isn't just some tech-related story. This is about a man in struggling health.
Show some heart and humanity.

[grunt0300]

This would be a good time for RIM to make a come back.

Come back from where?

[DJLILM]

This isn't just some tech-related story. This is about a man in struggling health.
Show some heart and humanity.

you takin this the wrong way.

Come back from where?

a comeback from being at the bottom to being up top again.

[soccernamlak]

Without Steve Job's leadership, the company is as good as dead. In the short term, Apple will be okay, but on the longer term, especially when major problems and markets change, I don't see much of a future for Apple. As I mentioned before, Apple was at the brink of collapse prior to kicking out Steve Jobs. Who brought it back from the dead? That's right, Steve Jobs.

Again, I do wish him well with his health. But if he's gone, Apple's gone.

I think you're sorely mistaken. Apple now isn't the same Apple from the late 1980's. Perhaps they won't continue to be the dominating force as they've have been, but all companies fluctuate. I don't think they'll disappear or have no future left. Plus the whole point of companies is that regardless of whose in charge, they have to adapt to market changes. With the financial backing Apple has, I don't think that will be an issue.

You have to consider that, first and foremost, Steve Jobs and Apple know that Steve Jobs won't be around forever. Even if he ran Apple until he passed away, there still would be a time that Apple would be Apple sans Jobs. With his health going back and forth in the past few years, you'd be crazy to think that a multi-billion dollar company didn't have succession plans in place or have anybody primed internally from Jobs himself to take over.

Tim Cook may have ran day-to-day on front, but he's one of Job's right-handed men. No one knows how much (or perhaps little) Cook's advice had on Job's final decision for the company.

Second, you still have Jonathan Ives, who is still with the company and is the one who designed many of the products that we see today. With him still at the helm, you're guaranteed to still see the Apple-esqe devices come from Cupertino.


My point is this: Apple is in much better shape, both financially and internally, then they were in the 1990's. Steve Jobs may have brought them back to life, but the core beating heart of the company is the company itself, not the face of Jobs. It may be different, sure. We may not get Job's zen-like appearance at keynotes. But Apple, Inc. is different from Apple Computer, Inc.


Plus, at the end of the day, he's still Chairman of the Board. If you don't think he still will have input into Apple's operations, you're crazy.


TL;DR: It's a 350 billion dollar company. Trust me, they have the resources to figure out to keep being Apple long after Steve's left the company for retirement.

[stackberry369]

Without Steve Job's leadership, the company is as good as dead. In the short term, Apple will be okay, but on the longer term, especially when major problems and markets change, I don't see much of a future for Apple. As I mentioned before, Apple was at the brink of collapse prior to kicking out Steve Jobs. Who brought it back from the dead? That's right, Steve Jobs.

Again, I do wish him well with his health. But if he's gone, Apple's gone.

don't forget:MSFT invested millions in apple.so bill gates saved apple.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[stackberry369]

Apple sold so many products because of jobs and jobs alone.owning an apple product is akin to owning a piece of master jobs.apple with any other ceo other than jobs during the tech explosion would be dead in the water.does cook ooze charisma like jobs?if not goodbye apple.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[tedzone]

I don't like Android that much but watch them pick up speed now.
Best wishes to SJ. Can't deny the guy knows his stuff

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[blackberry-unlocking710]

I wish him the best... i don't like apple too much but i have a lot of respect for that man and his company, their products and their donation to the tech world.

[kevinnugent]

don't forget:MSFT invested millions in apple.so bill gates saved apple.

What do you think that $150m investment would be worth today? It was probably the most profitable investment Microsoft has ever made.

[ADFXPro777]

I think you're sorely mistaken. Apple now isn't the same Apple from the late 1980's. Perhaps they won't continue to be the dominating force as they've have been, but all companies fluctuate. I don't think they'll disappear or have no future left. Plus the whole point of companies is that regardless of whose in charge, they have to adapt to market changes. With the financial backing Apple has, I don't think that will be an issue.

You have to consider that, first and foremost, Steve Jobs and Apple know that Steve Jobs won't be around forever. Even if he ran Apple until he passed away, there still would be a time that Apple would be Apple sans Jobs. With his health going back and forth in the past few years, you'd be crazy to think that a multi-billion dollar company didn't have succession plans in place or have anybody primed internally from Jobs himself to take over.

Tim Cook may have ran day-to-day on front, but he's one of Job's right-handed men. No one knows how much (or perhaps little) Cook's advice had on Job's final decision for the company.

Second, you still have Jonathan Ives, who is still with the company and is the one who designed many of the products that we see today. With him still at the helm, you're guaranteed to still see the Apple-esqe devices come from Cupertino.


My point is this: Apple is in much better shape, both financially and internally, then they were in the 1990's. Steve Jobs may have brought them back to life, but the core beating heart of the company is the company itself, not the face of Jobs. It may be different, sure. We may not get Job's zen-like appearance at keynotes. But Apple, Inc. is different from Apple Computer, Inc.


Plus, at the end of the day, he's still Chairman of the Board. If you don't think he still will have input into Apple's operations, you're crazy.


TL;DR: It's a 350 billion dollar company. Trust me, they have the resources to figure out to keep being Apple long after Steve's left the company for retirement.

Financial backing and resources are important, but proper management of them are far more essential. History has shown that without proper management (and leadership), the biggest of businesses and even empires, ultimately fall.

Sure, any person with common sense knows that Steve Jobs won't be around forever and anyone would think that the current management would be capable, but I am very doubtful. Tim Cook has been nothing more than Job's personal secretary and his real capabilities remain unknown and unproven. Add in the loss of one of Apple's key, pivotal figures, Ron Johnson, the head of Apple's retail/marketing division, and you have a questionable team to manage Apple's future.

I believe the current management can help with the short-term goals of the company, but for the longer-term aspect, I do not believe it will have adequate vision and leadership to push it forward. To make it simple, Apple without Steve Jobs is like a fighter plane without a war-seasoned pilot.

[stackberry369]

What do you think that $150m investment would be worth today? It was probably the most profitable investment Microsoft has ever made.

MORE than MSFT current market cap maybe?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mmcpher]

Whomever said that there were no Second Acts in American Life obviously never met Steve Jobs. He's had Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Acts, each one improbably topping the previous one. Let's hope he has many more in him, and one's that will be even more rewarding to him on a personal and family level, which might be the best trade-off he will ever pull off.

Maybe he wants to step back and pilot the building of the new Apple facility in Cupertino. It's not as if he lacks ambition, and it might be his legacy vehicle, not just for a new device, but of the memorialization of new way of working, thinking and living. Don't misunderstand, I don't personally go in for all that Apple blather, but you'd have to be a dolt not to acknowledge Jobs as the preeminent business genius of his era (and he could stand tall among any other era as well).

It will be sad if so vibrant and relatively young a man has had to withdraw before he's finished, but its quite a resume as it is. At some point, the image of Jobs was going to have to morph from the day-to-day, talking and stalking presence of the company, and ascend as first among Apple's iconic figures (like Einstein, Dylan, etc.).

I do think this is a change that can not entirely be addressed by exacting corporate planning and PR. It seems qualitatively different than when Gates drifted upstairs at MS (and that was a sea change) maybe because of Gates' and the MS's personalities were more suited to relentless and ceaseless grinding away, the continuity loss will have been less for MS than for Apple.

I am a confirmed Apple Conspiracy Guy, but I have no doubt the Company will be force in the immediate future. But Jobs was much more the public face of Apple, he was the inspirational spirit, visionary mind, and the dynamo at the Company's heart. The only parallel that comes to mind is the passing of Walt Disney. The last time I checked, they were still around and still remember Walt.

[johndoe086]

iThis, iThat, and now iQuit !!

[01itr]

I can't help but draw parallels to the recent events that led up to the loss of Jack Layton (RIP). As much as I don't like Apple, I wish Steve Jobs the best of luck and hope that he can fight whatever he has off and make a full recovery.

Let's not make this post about RIM vs Apple, as this is an issue about a man's life, which is more important than any business or phone.

[flyersfan76]

Uhm, you do realize that Steve Jobs has been on medical leave several times and Tim Cook was acting CEO during those periods? Apple didn't die. In fact they did pretty well.

Mostly like cause of this was because people knew Jobs was coming back. This time he is not.

Tim should just stick to making beer.

[reeneebob]

iThis, iThat, and now iQuit !!

And you're an iAss.

Good to know that someone's failing health is a joke for you.

[Accidental Post]

SO typical Reneebob..johndoe086 see's a chance to make a dbag out of himself and TADA!!!!!!!!!!!!! It worked......

[Accidental Post]

Financial backing and resources are important, but proper management of them are far more essential. History has shown that without proper management (and leadership), the biggest of businesses and even empires, ultimately fall.

Sure, any person with common sense knows that Steve Jobs won't be around forever and anyone would think that the current management would be capable, but I am very doubtful. Tim Cook has been nothing more than Job's personal secretary and his real capabilities remain unknown and unproven. Add in the loss of one of Apple's key, pivotal figures, Ron Johnson, the head of Apple's retail/marketing division, and you have a questionable team to manage Apple's future.

I believe the current management can help with the short-term goals of the company, but for the longer-term aspect, I do not believe it will have adequate vision and leadership to push it forward. To make it simple, Apple without Steve Jobs is like a fighter plane without a war-seasoned pilot.

I agree 100% with what I put in BOLD look at RIM......

[CousinIT]

This news might allow RIM to get another finger on the ledge. It was SJ's anal-retentiveness that kept sub-standard Apple products from being shipped (other than the recent antenna debacle), I doubt whatever bean-counters take over now will adopt that responsibility. However, Apple's current offerings still have the commanding momentum and market share.