Steve Jobs, chained to a rock
He was a Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave to mankind the tool that allowed mortals to rise above the beasts. For his sins, Jupiter had him chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus. Every day a vulture feasted on his liver, which grew back overnight.
Steve Jobs, who announced on Wednesday that he is taking a medical leave to focus on his health, must feel something like poor Prometheus, chained to his rock in the hills above Palo Alto. The vultures this week are an ever-expanding team of reporters from Bloomberg News — and whoever is feeding them medical updates.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reporters Connie Guglielmo, Rochelle Garner and Jason Gale wrote that Jobs could be facing surgery to remove what's left of his pancreas, quoting a doctor in Australia who hasn’t treated Jobs and doesn’t know details of his condition. (link)
On Friday, Guglielmo, joined this time by John Lauerman and Dina Bass, reported that Jobs is considering a liver transplant. This time they cite "people who are monitoring his illness" and quote a doctor in Savannah, Georgia, who hasn’t treated Jobs and doesn’t know details of his condition. (link)
Not content to feed on his liver, team Bloomberg called Apple's (AAPL) CEO and somehow managed to get through. They wrote:
"In a telephone interview today, Jobs said he won’t comment further on his health.
'Why don’t you guys leave me alone — why is this important?' Jobs said." (link)
Asked to explain how she could say what medical procedures Jobs was or wasn't considering, Guglielmo referred us to a publicist, who would say only that Bloomberg News stands by its story.
[Image defaced with apologies to Elsie Russell and Encyclopedia Mythica]
WoW! Today is my son's 15th birthday as well as Father's Day. I lost my husband to Colon Cancer with liver Mets 5 years ago! Gee Steve- want me to buy another Apple product so my son can enjoy Father's Day with you? GIVE ME A BREAK. When we mentioned transplant- we were laughed out of the room! Money talks while the rest of us walk. And ALL OF US DIE in the end! Keep buying those iPhones! Titan of business-yes- but also a scammer of transplant medicine! BOO HISS!
I feel so sorry for SJ. I know the guy. Yes, he's driven and more than a little crazy most of the time. He is also fiercely private and this prying into his personal and medical history has to be devastating to him. I do NOT care how he's has treated this illness. I only care and hope he will recover and live long enough to truly enjoy his wealth and his family which he had rather late in life. (His earlier marriage and spouse/children not withstanding.) I wish him well and wish equally that the press would leave the poor man alone and let him make his decisions regarding treatment and stop chasing him to Memphis and prying around a recently sold mansion in one of Mephis' finest areas which may or may not his, but the speculation is rampant that it is!
Jobs is a giant. He has driven a revolution that has all our lives better. I hope that all goes well for him. The parasitic journalists hassling him are beneath contempt.
I think people should support homegrown giants like apple.
There is always an attitude of David and goliath.
These companies employee ALOT of people and are economy makers or breakers(other than banks).
Apple come up with fantastic equipment such as the touch ,iphone,mac.
Governments are keen to control these giants as they feel threatened by their size.
WTF is up with the media and Apple. It seams that everyone is determined to make one of the last profitable American companies around fail. I'm reading stories about the SEC investigating SJ for possible lying to the board about his health. Seriously WTF!
Apple beats estimates every quarter, employs 10s of 1000s (mostly americans, and not Indians like MS) and is one of the very few American companies that makes products that people actually what to buy.
The Apple share price continue to plummet, the better they do. This is the direct result of the fear mongering by the media. Really, this has to stop! Why not back good companies, instead of trying to cut them off at the knees.
CNN/Fortune magazine has used Elsie Russell's painting without her permission. How does she get compensated for her work?
ex ped: In most cases, parody of a work is considered fair use.
Thanks for sticking up for Jobs Phil.
I guess Jobs is news and as long as Apple and Jobs keep a lid on his condition the media is forced to speculate and speculate they will.
LOL I love the comparison. Steve Jobs definitely gave us the tools of the gods, i.e. the Mac. That man is my hero. Give Him a break. Go worship Obama darn media mongers!
Jordan.
Jzjz:
You could not possibly be more mistaken, either from a marketing or technical perspective.
Sure, you are right, Apple does not have dominant overall market share. (And that is about all you are right about.) But one does not need dominant share in such a large market to be not only a force, but to be very, very lucrative to one's investors.
Apple is an utterly dominant force in the creative media market. Not sure of your background, but if you'd ever been in design or advertising, you'd know this.
Now, to the technical correctness (or lack thereof) of your comment about susceptability to viral and malware infections: there is absolutely no evidence that the Mac OS is in any way inherently more vulnerable. None, cited by you, and none in existence.
The Windows OS has been successfully penetrated thousands of times. Many of them resulted in serious exposure and damage. No one OS can claim invincibility to hacking, and no informed person would claim otherwise.
You can dislike Apple all you want, I myself prefer the Windows environment. But when you cast about rhetoric like you have, it is not Apple that looks silly.
It is sad that the media feels that everything about a public figure must be public. Jobs is sick, this sickness will likely cost him his life, and cost the industry a visionary, if far from perfect, leader.
To do your job as journalists, please focus on what Apple will do without Mr. Jobs' leadership. They are famous for being a company with a lot of smart people and little evident strategy. How will they fill this vacuum?
To fulfill your journalistic obligation, remember what is important, report that, analyze that, and leave the irrelevant details of Mr. Jobs' illness alone.
When the CEO of a Fortune 500 company who had cancer at one point gets sick again, there is going to be speculation. With the stock market in a already volatile condition, when the sole reason for Apple's return gets ill, possibly terminally, it would be irresponsible not to investigate. Here at CNN.com you can see 4 videos about Jobs' health, and read many articles.
This terrifying comparison of Jobs to a Greek God is indicative of the kind of thinking that is expected from the Apple fanboys post Jobs' return. After Jobs got fired, no one was singing Apple's praises, and those that were were being ignored by anyone who knew anything.
After Apple began to fail, they decided to suck up their pride and hire Jobs back. They owed it to the stockholders. Jobs begins some aggressive (and misleading) advertising and Apple's new image was born.
The rabid Apple fanboys refuse to acknowledge Apple's success has stemmed from Jobs' commitment to forcing the rabid Apple fans to buy Apple hardware (marked up, of course!), Apple software (sub-par until FCP came around) -which was itself a Macromedia rip-off…- and spinning the image of Apple into one of shiny user-friendly and happily-colored plastic. The reality is that all apple products are built by the same hardware companies that make cheap PC components, Mac OS is easier to hack than Windows, always has been (they aren't hacked as much because businesses are smart enough to know this, meaning hacking Mac OS wont make the hackers as much money), and there are no Mac programs that are in any way superior to cross-platform ones.
Mac is a 'lifestyle' that Jobs has sold to the rabid fans. It is a luxury some can afford, but those who buy into it feel a sense of entitlement, some superiority. Capitalism is great, and I have no objection to any of this, but has anyone wondered what will happen to all this if it's creator, Jobs, is not on the job anymore?
Well, yes, the stockholders have. So far there has been over a 10% drop in the value of Apple's stock since Jobs' announcement. The potential failure of a Fortune 500 company in a time of economic failures and financial bailouts isn't newsworthy? If not, why is CNN running stories about it on the same webpage that this blog is complaining about it? In fact, the only newspage that doesn't seem to say anything about it is Apple's own newspage. When a company neglects such newsworthy press-releases, it usually has something to hide.
The question we should be asking is in a time of economic unrest, with Apple's stock falling daily, why are they keeping Jobs' condition secret? Are they afraid if we knew the truth, the reaction would be even worse?
Remember, Jobs didn't invent Leopard, Safari or the iPhone. He just convinced the public to buy the over-priced underpowered tech. Without him around to spin the Mac image, who is going to convince people to buy the Mac lifestyle when there are better, cheaper products available?
Flame away.
I could think of a few captions for that image, but I realize this is a family blog. Still, the media speculation on this — especially from the financial sector — is even more tasteless. What's next, a live Webcast of the surgery? Give us a break!
This is irresponsible "reporting". None of these doctors quoted have examined Jobs. How ridiculous. And to jzjz from Florida who posted below – you are a complete moron with no understanding of this company, its products, its services, its markets, its value proposition or its consumers. You deserve the WinCrap you so tenaciously cling to.
interesting that some hated this article. I loved it. Short and to the point. These Bloomberg reporters don't really have a clue so they create news with Doctors reports that are simply speculation. Best article on any subject I've read in a long time.
Incorrect final link in the story to Bulfinch goes to a parked page domain.
ex ped: Right you are. Thanks. Replaced with a link to the artist.
To jzjz: Your comment really does not deserve a response but here goes. #1 referring to anyone as a variant of 'retard' really indicates you must be in first grade or something. #2 Stockholm Syndrome refers to a mental status attained after being held hostage and in no way applies to this article or subject. To throw out this term is simply a pathetic attempt to 'snow' people with terms but really indicates your own stupidity. #3 The 'shiny white boxes with nothing plugged into them' actually are using bluetooth to communicate with each other; very elegant and clean looking. Check it out, sometime. #4 Mac OS simply is better. I have used both extensively. There is a reason that it is preferred by so many of us. #5 You do have a point that Macs will be a bigger target and will likely be more subject to attack as market share grows. Only time will tell if the unix-based core is indeed more resistant to attack than the layer-upon-layer crap Windows shovels onto computers and calls an OS. #6 I also wish Steve the best.
That is about the most stupid article ever written.
Steve Jobs is a genius who has the foresight to do special things. Computers just happens to be his thing, good for him and his success.
As for the article writer, get a grip moron, start looking for another line of work, this is not for you!
I'll bet the people who really created the iPhone and such are enjoying the anonymity. Those engineers aren't being harassed day and night. Not yet. Probably won't happen.
mstards are the Charlie Browns of the world, and Microsoft is the Lucy.
This time she'll let you kick the football, mstards. Really.
Well that article was a waste of my eyesight. Steve Jobs is one of the most insightful people alive today! It's a great thing that he's attacked Microsoft…they've had the computer market for too long, and their operating systems SUCK. I used to be a Microsoft fanatic and think like you other half-minded idiots that support Bill Gates, but then I was turned to a Mac, and I never wanted to touch a glitchy, crashy Windows system again. It is horrible that Steve jobs has this illness, because he is the inspiration to Apple's biggest products! Now how many of you airhead Microsoft people own an iPhone? It's one of the best phones out there! (Made by Apple)
And what's with the introduction? I'm pretty sure you can't compare Steve Jobs, a human being who is just as much as a human as you, to a dying mythological person chained to a rock with his liver being eaten? How would YOU like it if someone compares you to something like that?
Stop bothering Jobs, he's sick. He needs to recover. You media jerks are one of the main reasons the world is so horrible today.
Give me a break. What do you really care about — Steve Job's health? Money? A tardy story? You'er the dregs, man, the dregs of a capitalist hack
Quite an analogy that you have created for Steve's media image. Do you not realize that by such articles, however, you are adding to the media feeding frenzy? You are the media!
Let's let Steve have some privacy and stop speculation and reports of speculation. Let's restore some dignity to our society.
"Titan who stole fire from the gods"? It's more like he's the vulture that picked away at microsoft for 25 years to support his fake 10% of the market. For the iTards that don't know it, Apple has made most of it's business out of making fun of pc's and windows to attract it's small share of idiots suffering from Stockholm syndrome when it comes to Steve Jobs. They can't just be a normal company. NO. They must put up deceiving ads showing shiny white boxes with nothing plugged into them to attract all the little iTards who want to "Think Different". Just that slogan is a proof of this. Then the little iTards run around in news groups and make fun of people and boast their os is best. It's the mentality that Apple collects and targets that is truly disturbing. Even worse Jobs sits back like a vulture waiting for windows to get attacked by malware so he can then claim that when apple is not attacked, that it must be bcause osx is so much better. Truth be told, if apple got it's wish. If it a magic wizard suddenly cast a spell and it was on 90% of desktops, it would be ripped to shreds by viruses and malware over night. Why? Because it's not hardened or ready for that at this point. 90% of the time, iTards can't even prove why they even want one other than they are shiny and seem cool. I hope Jobs gets better, but apple is more hype than it's worth.
Christ was a mythical figure who's persona was used to enslave the minds of the masses.
Jobs isn't that evil.
NeXT was bought by Canon, not Apple.
ex ped: Canon bought large chunks of NeXT, but the company was ultimately purchased by Apple. See here.
And fluff articles like this every 5 minutes are just as ridiculous as the Bloomberg ones.
Why not just compare him to Christ while you are at it. "Steve Jobs must feel like Jesus, delivering the world OS X, then nailed to a cross by his pancreas and poked at by the evil Romans at Bloomberg."
Give me a break.
mike jones == moron wrote: "…given that many of Apple's supposed innovations…"
and this is different from Satan from Redmond?
So as an "investor" in Apple (owning just a single $82 share), there is some mandate that gives the the right to know Steve Jobs' personal medical condition? If that doesn't sound right, then why would it be more right if I owned 100,000 shares?
Yes Matt from Seattle. The author makes very clear in the second paragraph that it is Prometheus. That's the style of the opening; it keeps you guessing and then nonchalantly reveals the name of the character in the second paragraph. You have stated the obvious for anyone who bothered to read beyond the first sentence of the story. Thank you for your insight. 
The fact is that the Apple's stock price dropped just slightly on the news of his medical leave. It is business as usual.
The artist who did the image of Jobs as Prometheus deserves a credit! It's a very good parody of the neoclassic style.
ex ped: The original painting was Elsie Russell's (see here). The cheesy Photoshop work was mine.
Whether you like, love, dislike, or hate Apple and/or Steve Jobs, there can be no disagreement over he fact that these Bloomberg reporters are freaks and jag-offs. These people are utter pukes.
I am not surprised at all, for this is what the media is like: vultures who feed on the misfortune of others.
Reporters, cameramen, photographers et.al. actually think they have a right to shove a camera or microphone in your face and you are obliged to tell them what they want to hear. If not, they'll make it up.
I have to disagree with David from Miami up there.
NeXT wasn't wildly successful but it certainly was not a miserable failure. The company was bought by Apple in the early nineties and many have stated that NeXT OS is the current basis for OS X. If I ever sold a company I wouldn't consider that a failure.
And let's not forget Pixar while we're talking of Steve Jobs' successes…
Actually was it not Zeus that chain him to the rock and not Jupiter? I wthink you are getting the Greel and Roman Gods mixed up!
ex ped: Zeus to the Greeks and Jupiter to the Romans, but Prometheus is Prometheus. See, for example, Shelly's Prometheus Unbound.
I wish Steve Jobs all the health and success that is possible. I agree with others who have stated that this is a time to send him your well wishes. People need to stop thinking about money, stock prices, and such. This is a human being who happens to be extraordinary. That makes lesser men envious or fascinated. Just send him your well wishes. Anything else has no value.
Dear Mr. Philip Elmer-DeWitt, I thank you for your comparison of reporters to vultures. Vultures circle in the sky above carrion. Journalists are in heavy competition. Is not the carrion the "public?"
Nice little article, creative illustration. Amazing how every report on Jobs health sends Apple stock way up or way down. It could almost be viewed as insider trading on someones part. It also shows the power and influence that Jobs has in his company.
David from Miami, FL says that Steve Jobs' only successes were with Apple, citing NeXT as evidence of managerial shortcoming. David, may I refer you to Pixar, a little company Jobs bought for less than a million and finally sold to Disney for about 2 billion?
Just thought you might want that information.
Get well, Steve!
"Stole" perhaps being the operative word here, given that many of Apple's supposed innovations were actually pioneered elsewhere: the GUI, most of OS X, touch screen phones, the MP3 player, widgets, etc. And if you look at Apple's own objective research output and support (measured in grants, publications, etc.), it is negligible compared to Microsoft, IBM, and other companies.
Jobs has been good for Apple and he has packaged and sold new technologies with great style. But as far as innovation goes, he has been more of a predator than a contributor.
If the columns are "non-news", why are you reprinting them?
ex ped: That column got lost in the flood of Steve Jobs pieces yesterday. I thought I would give it a second chance. Sorry if it felt like spam.
I understand investors need for full disclosure, but when it comes to someone's health doesn't this violate HIPPA?
hey Matt in Seattle.
The sentence "Jupiter has him chained to a rock" is correct. 'him' is a objective pronoun (as oppose to 'he' which would be a subjective pronoun) So, the 'him' used as a direct object would refer to the antecedent (male) noun other than the current subject, Jupiter.
-in other words, Matt – don't be so pretentious as to correct someone's grammar unless you're paid to do so.
Neal is exactly right. The outlook for Jobs is actually very favorable. What is irresponsible, even reprehensible, is that amidst the deflation of a speculation, almost negligent bubble in the financial market apparently does not yet provide a big enough lesson for our speculative media. When will any "journalists" ever seek to regain their credibility?
The fact of the matter is Jobs is one of the most fascinating people of the twentieth century (whose health happens to affect the stock price of a tech-savvy company), so naturally he's the object of intense curiosity. If people weren't so interested (like the ones reading THIS article), the media wouldn't pursue this story–and speculate–with such vigor.
When the Model-T sold like gangbusters it was because it was a new technology that made life easier. When newer cars came out they sold either because not everyone had one yet and/or the car makers had improved upon technology either organically or through competition and people still wanted/needed them. There was never a cult of Mr. Ford and I think their ought not be a cult of Mr. Jobs but the media and lemming minded investors just find it easier to treat this story like Mr. Jobs is Willy Wonka because it is easier to get their heads around problems of one man instead of looking at the technology and the challenges of selling it to a populace that has just spent 10 years being told spending money on credit would somehow help the economy.
May of you guys think that Jobs is "God" or something…he is just a regular man who took the opportunity and had the talent up until now..nothing more, nothing less…Live the man alone with his illness…Can tell you that either people lost sense of reality and are really dumb/selfish or were never seriously sick to write some of the most insensitive articles about famous ppl…and please….stop living on the mac bubble…it's affecting your brain too…there are too many more amazing and innovative people with far more impact on the planet than Jobs…world is far bigger than an apple.
I wish nothing but health, happiness and longevity to Steve Jobs. He is a great manager, but let's remember that his NEXT company failed miserably. His only successes were with Apple and as such, Apple should be able to manage even in his absence. So let's say the stock drops to 50 or 40, you buy some shares and then Jobs makes a recovery. A small risk may pay back bigtime.
Why stop at the "journalist"? Make their company's namesake feel the shame. Leave the man who is not well alone. New Yorkers, throw your CEO out.
Pundits, journalists, analysts and their ilk continue to speculate, predict and otherwise bloviate simply because there is no penalty if they get it wrong. They can offer an opinion without ever using the products they cover, they can diagnose without ever seeing the patient, they can write about things they clearly have no understanding of. Time after after time, they can quote financial manipulators with abysmal track records or tools like Rob Enderle who will literally say anything to self-promote…all without any adverse consequence. Nobody gets fired.
So why not! It creates controversy and brings in the clicks. Good old American commerce. It's like sub-prime lending: everybody else is doing it, why leave money on the table when you can pass off the risks and consequences?
I mean how do you know if Jobs wasn’t once abducted by aliens?
I'm pretty sure this guy mean sPrometheus, not Jupiter. Prometheus was the guy chained to a rock and a vulture ate his liver everyday.
ex ped: In the sentence "Jupiter had him chained to a rock…" Jupiter is the subject, and him (i.e. Prometheus) is the object that got chained.
Steve Jobs is an amazing man, probably one of the most innovative on the planet. The freaking media needs to go chant Obama or something, lay off us Mac guys.
Jordan.
So you say his bigger than usual gods and have mind`s hart for people and after all as he is a god himself and over life .
Conspiracy theory:
There seems to be an agenda here to separate Steve Jobs from Apple that started with the retrospective moving the goal posts on options backdating. 2 decent execs were sacrificed to deflect that attack.
It's not that the rich and powerful wouldn't let him in their club if he played by their rules; what terrifies them is his growing ability to change the world regardless of them.
His return to Apple is working through stage 3 of Ghandi's: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Speculating on what is happening with Mr. Jobs health is just that…speculation. What is known – and it is commonly misunderstood (as with posters here)- is that he was not diagnosed with the deadly pancreatic adenocarcinoma but with but the rare (and usually curable) neuroendocrine tumor type. The surgery he had does result in significant problems with absorbing food and that is likely at the center of his present problems. Quoting 'experts' who are not familiar with his particular case is worse than a waste of time and throwing around terms like "if .. progressed into stage 3 or 4" and declaring him almost dead are almost as offensive as this worthless article.
The bottom line is that he has stepped down for now (possibly for good, possibly not) and that the media and public should stop speculating and simply send good wishes and prayers for him to recover. The stock has now fully priced in both the economy and Mr. Jobs' absence (and is a great bargain). Leave it alone, people. Let him be.
Most people are confused about Jobs' original cancer. It was NOT the terrible kind we usually hear about, but a rare form that responds well to treatment. People can survive 20 years or more after being diagnosed. The surgery used to treat it can cause weight loss and sometimes needs further correction. The tumor sometimes returns, almost always in the liver. It grows slowly, but can affect body chemistry in the ways described by Jobs. A partial transplant, which can actually come from a living donor, can correct the problem indefinitely. A six-month time frame fits this scenario, since the liver needs time to regenerate. I have researched this well, and it is entirely likely that Jobs will make a full recovery and return to work. Many blogs fail to make this clear, which is very irresponsible.
Does the press have no shame? Evidently not. Generally when one is diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer it serves notice of one's impending demise. It is simply a matter of time. When they noted he was considering a Liver transplant I was surprised. If his cancer has progressed into stage 3 or 4 he wouldn't be able to get a transplant. Doctors would consider it wasted effort. We can only hope and pray for his and his family's comfort and peace. And would the press simply back off the poor man.
It's looks as if there is infact no prognosis yet. I hope that for the sake of Job's his family, his privacy, Apple Inc. and its share holders, that a prognosis will be shared when it arrives. Otherwise, the media will continue to feed on the silence and myth that chain Jobs to a promethean spectacle of pity.
Hey Debbie sry but thats the way the world is.