Report: Steve Jobs on track for June return

Apple CEO Steve Jobs briefly addressed his state of health onstage at an Apple event last October.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News)

Steve Jobs is on track to return to the helm of Apple this month after nearly six months of medical leave, according a report in The Wall Street Journal that cited unnamed sources.

Jobs announced in January that he would be stepping down temporarily from the chief executive post while recuperating from a hormone imbalance, and a return to the company this month could coincide with an appearance at the Worldwide Developers Conference, which opens Monday in San Francisco. The centerpiece of the conference is expected to be the App Store and the new features of the iPhone OS 3.0, but there has also been speculation that Apple will unveil a new iPhone as well.

Jobs, 54, has been the subject of heated speculation regarding his health since last June's Worldwide Developers Conference, when he appeared to have lost a great deal of weight. At the time, Apple insisted that Jobs' health was a private matter but revealed in early January that Jobs was suffering from a hormone imbalance that was impeding his body's ability to absorb certain proteins.

"He was one real sick guy,'' said a source whom the newspaper described as having seen Jobs in recent weeks. "Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn't digest protein. (But) he took corrective action.''

Last week, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told the Journal that Jobs seemed healthy and energetic.

In August 2004, Jobs underwent successful surgery to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which sidelined him until September of that year. Much of the speculation over the past year had been over whether that cancer had returned.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, has been running the company during Jobs' absence. Apple has said Vice President of Marketing Philip Schiller will deliver the WWDC keynote address, assuming Jobs' customary role as he did at the Macworld conference earlier this year.

[Vegaman_Dan]

And I fully expect he'll be the 'one more thing' in the WWDC keynote.

"I'm back."

[monkeyfun14]

Steve Jobs: One more thing! We will be changing the boot screen in OSX to a picture of my face.

-crowd cheers in excitement-

[chapibol]

@monkeyfun14

lol that is so true.

[joetesta70]

$teve Job$ will likely be even thinner if my guess is right. The guy looks like a corpse.

I guess hording your dollars while Gates, Dell, Ellison, Brin, etc all do things to improve the world takes a lot out of you.

What has $teve Job$ done except line his own pockets?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Mr. Jobs has ruled Apple with the iron fist of a dictator, allowing nobody but him to control its destiny and focusing only on his vision. No distractions, no indecision, no compromises to the public or investors. That sort of tight control has allowed him to take what would be a very small minor niche company and make it into a very powerful one in its area with a huge devoted fanbase and customer loyalty.

Give him his due and respect- he's earned it.

[Mr. Dee]

If you only knew what you just started. :)

[The_happy_switcher]

Many billionaires make anonymous charity donations. I doubt he's hoarding all his money and probably has given much to charities that hasn't been made pubilc knowledge.

[ace10134]

Jobs has not earned any respect, period. As joetesta70 said, Gates donated millions of dollars to charities. Jobs just keeps the money for himself. Why would you respect a selfish, careless person?

[baconstang]

Oh yeah. And he 'lines his pockets' with $1/year salary. Although he's probably done OK with his stock. As has anyone who invested in Apple 4 or 5 years ago.

[PhaseDMA]

How much exactly do you people give to charity?

Something tells me you donate a smaller percentage of your worth then Steve Jobs.

Hell. One would assume as such if only because it makes sense come tax season.

That said who are you to say how anyone should spend their money?

Whether by luck, hard work or anything in between a person's money is their money, and theirs to do with as they please.

[rubenerd]

joetesta70, ace10134, you guys have no class whatsoever. You may dislike Steve Jobs, but this article was merely a report regarding his return to work after going through medical hell. My mother died of a related condition that lasted over 12 years, let me tell you it's brutally painful and difficult.

If you don't like the guy or his business, there are plenty of places online to voice your anger, frustration (or I suspect envy). In the meantime, don't go trolling on news stories about a person's health; if anything all it does is attest to your lack of character.

It's sad that intelligent discourse online is drowned out by such childish antics, same goes for "fanboyism". For me I'm only 23 and it's already getting really old.

[nite41]

I do not see any reason whatsoever to relate this article to charity.

[freemarket--2008]

What a hypocrite! Charity is about more than money. Your lack of charity for a suffering human being is glaringly obvious.

[sprachnessmonster]

What Steve Jobs did was to prove once and for all that the problems people have with their PCs are not caused by hardware makers like Intel but by a virus. A virus called Windows. OSX has forced Microsoft into making their operating system useable...mostly...sometimes...I'm actually using it now. And it only took Microsoft 7 years to get XP to this point.
He also brought Apple back from the brink...maybe he should be the Pres. of the USA. Hell, anyone who can save Apple....
And finally ...since his return to Apple... he has taken a salary of $1.00 per year.
Maybe Bill Gates coulkd give some of his money back to people who lost productivity due to Perpetual Blue Screens of Death. Or to companies who had to hire people full time to solve their Information Technology issues.
People who need/want a Mac to do their work are more than willing to pay more for a completely engineered product. Apple spends more on R and D than giants like Dell.
And for those that think a Mac is a toy....I don't know aqnyone playing games on a Macintosh gaming machine.
And...FYI...I build PCs for people. and I rarely use a Mac I love playing with the latest PC hardware. I think I'll even like Windows 7. But when Mom wanted a computer, I got her a Mac. I can't afford to do free tech help to all my relatives. So I tell them to buy Macs. After all...Apple has great customer support..

[nite41]

It's a shame some people comment on other's lives. I mean, you do not even know them! You just read or hear about them in the news etc. Doesn't that make you selfish as well? Commenting on other's personal lives without any logical reason!

[ckh1272]

I second that!! Good health to everyone, even the trolls!! For without trolls, there would be no one to laugh at!!

[Wookiee-1138]

I agree. Fanboyism has no place here.

Besides, everyone knows Stallman and Torvalds are the real technology gods. Not those posers, Ballmer and Jobs. ;)

[tipoo_]

"oh, and One More Thing!"

*Zombie Jobs comes on stage*


"I'm BAAACKK!!!"

[terminalblue]

he'll do great

[terminalblue]

he'll do great

[topgunb2]

stop using mac, you'll post only once then

[terminalblue]

im not a mac user

[TechnoMan475392]

@topgunb2

Fail.

[Razzl]

I say this with no personal animosity, but Jobs' return to Apple is not a good thing for Apple. He seems to have become a dogmatic defender of the status quo he set up and Apple is about to be met with market challenges which require willingness to adapt. Apple needs to go netbook, not tablet, and it needs to put a flavor of its OS onto other makers' desktops (though it can keep the latest and greatest version for its own boutique hardware line). Apple needs to make bolder moves in home theater and not rely too heavily on the iphone: it needs to also have more low-price entry level product. Wall street is smart enough to see when all that cash may become just a cushion against inevitable decline. Apple needs to evolve beyond Steve Jobs' personal vision; they are, after all, a public company.

To be fair, I think Microsoft is not well served by Steve Ballmer's crude and narcissistic anti-consumer world view and penchant for mistiming and mis-strategizing future trends (Microsoft probably had another 3 decades of profitability as a software company ten years ago when Ballmer tried to push the company into web services in competition with Google. The evidence of the marketplace is that none of his sideshows made any dent in Google or Yahoo and software is still what floats their boat)...

[pentest]

I have asked this question many times,yet those who say Apple is a hardware company can't answer it: how does putting off the shelf components together make your company a hardware company?

Do people know the difference between circuit design and computer design?

[David Dudley]

So the liver transplant was successful?

[Gimpymw]

What fricken universe are you living in Vechs? Cause it ain't the one I'm living in.

[amd0505]

In all honesty, Vechs... Im a fan of both companies(both have strong areas) and your comment had to be one of the dumbest comments I have ever read. You should keep your opinion to yourself if your going say bs like that.

[shycelticwitch]

I agree with ckh1272.... life would be boring without the trolls and their clown-like antics. Fun to watch, but easily dismissed when it is time to get back to work.

[startouch]

I would like to see an APPLE funded space program !!!
I also would like an I-PAD tabblet.

[molotov]

Palm Pre? Din't it come out already? Isn't it old news? Has almost everyone forgotten about it? Well, yes, yes, yes! Clearly CNET has made a sound judgement on the other-wise unworthy competitor: not up to par on every frontier.

Don't judge Apple on Steve Jobs health - he doesn't actually sit there and create new, amazing and leading devices himself. SOHO, NYC

[vargavision]

Everyone here who are leaving personal attacks againts the guy has nothing to do with his success @ Apple. Over-Achievers a little screwed up. Every one of them. So what? Who cares if the guy pays himself a dollar a year, if he's smart enough to get returns in an investment he was going TO MAKE IT WORK FOR HIM and everyone else who has stock in the company. It's good business sense. You don't lead a business and be broke @ the same time. You run a business to make it successful and get paid for it. It's that simple. It's not to suggest he doesn't have a charitable heart either. I'm sure he'll donate to charities that are personal for him (and anyone in his position and wealth does so for those reasons), but he has a business to run.

Look @ Bill Gates-Love him. Hate him. Who gives a crap. The guy built a business from nothing to where it is today. Now, Gates and his wife run a multi-billion dollar charity. is he doing it out of the kindness of his heart or is he doing it to be cute for the media, yet nefarious about it? In all the interviews he's done, he always talks about how things don't make sense to him and he has the money to set out solving the problem. Not too aulturistic, but enough that he has the ability to tackle a problem to solve. God Bless Him.

None of us know either men personally, and if anyone says; "I met him". Yeah? So what? Doormen have met more famous people than either of us.

I can imagine the mental and physical stress he put upon himself (and others) to make it to what it is today.

Bottom line: Steve Jobs was hired to put Apple on the right path. He did his job SUCCESSFULLY and now he had to take the time for his health to enjoy the rewards of his hard work.

If anyone of you sorry-excuses-for-hard-work have a problem with that, match what he's done (and better), then get back to me.

[shycelticwitch]

bravo. cannot argue with intelligent logic such as that. Steve and Bill went their separate ways because Bill thought computers should only be for rocket scientists. Steve thought we all should benefit. Apple's OS was the first "Windows". In 1989 when you still had to type c:/win (or whatever) to "open" Windows, getting to the user interface on a Mac was a simple as turning on the computer. Looks like they've been trying to catch up to Steve ever since. W7? Closest imitation yet, but still no cigar Bill.

[tipoo_]

Guys! I just had a BRILLIANT idea!




I'll create a new electronics company and name them Orange.

My CEO will be Steve Welfare.



Apple will have Jobs, but I will have Welfare, and we all know there are many people that prefer Welfare to Jobs.



*BADAM- CHING!*

[darkpoet25]

ROFLMAO!!

[tipoo_]

Lol, i expected that to get groans but I'm glad you found it funny!

[TheStairMaster]

*groan*

=D

[Pon666]

Glad to hear the man's well enough to be back in action. Good luck Steve Jobs. And remember, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. (To which Windows users will reply - The Doctor also advices the patient to open the windows). :D

[jscott418]

Just a few weeks ago he did not show for a meeting with the city about some construction with his house. A spokesman said he did not feel strong enough? Now all of sudden he is all better?
If he does not make a appierence at the Developer's conference everyone will question his health again. I have yet to read anyone who will go on record and state that they have seen Steve Jobs in person and describe his health. Its all rumour and heresay.

[Zeke Canidae]

No one is basing anything on facts; just rumors, personal feelings, and guesses. There isn't even an official announcement that he has or will return to working daily at the company. How can people speculate on his charitable contributions when no one knows except the man and the IRS or the lawyer who has his Will. No facts but plenty of unsubstantiated opinions. This isn't constructive or reliable.

[play7]

I think the apple people really need to rethink how the iphone was created. They still think it was apple`s own idea? But remeber the Korean company that had the patient for the touch screen phone? so if you still think apple is the founder of the real touch screen phone you really are brain washed. The Ipod well haha