OK, MacWorld approaches and the rumour mill is going nuts about why Steve Jobs isn't going to be giving the keynote address as normal.
The consensus, such as it is, comes down to three possibilities:
1. Apple is playing hardball with IDC, the conference organiser, to get some kind of reduction in next year's fee.
2. There aren't going to be any revolutionary new products and so Steve can't be bothered to show.
3. Jobs' health has deteriorated so much that he can't manage to do it.
It's the third option that is most worrisome for Apple executives, and the share price is looking jittery.
Of course, if Jobs had followed Bill Gates' lead and obviously groomed a successor like Steve Ballmer this wouldn't be an issue. But Jobs is quite happy being Mr Apple and, some have said, remains paranoid about being pushed out of the company a second time.
Whatever the reason it's clear the Apple board is going to have to have a sit down with him and sort this out because it's not good for the company. Analysts estimate Apple stock could take a 20 per cent hit if Jobs pops his clogs.
05 Jan 2009
