The Real Story Behind the Jobs Speech Cancellation

     Ever since the announcement that Steve Jobs would not be attend the upcoming MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, speculation has been running wild about the health of the Apple CEO.  Edgelings’ sources close to the company tell us the following:

     Jobs is still suffering the after-effects of his cancer surgery. His appearance right now is very jaundiced –not an uncommon side effect of the surgery he had for pancreatic cancer.  But there is no authoritative word of any relapse of the cancer itself.  However, sources say that Jobs, though he still comes to Apple every day, still struggles from the severity of the surgery.  This year’s MacWorld – which apparently has no great announcements of the magnitude of the iPhone or the iPod appears to be a good time to bring on a replacement.

     As for the late announcement of both the Jobs cancellation and of Apple making this its last appearance at MacWorld:  they appear to have been in deference to IDG, the conference planner. Jobs had skipped the two previous MacWorld events and Apple had long ago announced its withdrawal from these kind of events. The announcement of his no-show was delayed as long as possible, in part, to insure as many exhibitors and attendeeʼs as possible signed up for this last-of-its-kind show.

     Still, suspicions linger. The lack of any statement or appearance by Jobs to deny health rumors has only added fuel to the fire for some. People who knows Jobs well point to his previous PR approach to his health and say that it would be out of character for him to focus any attention to this discussion. Of greater concern are rumors from around the Palo Alto medical community that Jobs is seriously ill, none of which can be substantiated. Itʼs entirely possible that these rumors are simply reiterating that the aftermath of pancreatic cancer surgery can be devastating — not an indicator that things have taken a more serious turn.

     In the end, the Apple Board knows its responsibility to disclose pertainent information — or at least it should by now.  And given how closely Jobs is tied to investor confidence in the company, itʼs unlikely that a cover-up is at hand.