Today Steve Jobs issued a statement to apple fan boys, most still upset that they don’t get to see him this week, dispelling rumors that his chronic weight loss over the last year, and recent decision to ditch MacWorld, are signs that he will be leaving Apple, and possibly the planet.

Job’s statement was followed by an official release by Apple’s Board of Directors stating emphatically that if Steve ever decides to move on from being the CEO of Apple, we will know it.

Here is Steve’s announcement [ apple  site ] :

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

And here is the Follow-up from the BoD [ apple site ] :

It is widely recognized both inside and outside of Apple that Steve Jobs is one of the most talented and effective CEOs in the world.

As we have said before, if there ever comes a day when Steve wants to retire or for other reasons cannot continue to fulfill his duties as Apple’s CEO, you will know it.

Apple is very lucky to have Steve as its leader and CEO, and he deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board.

Steve Dowling Apple

I know that it sucks that Steve is required to lay out his personal information to the world like that, but unfortunately that is the price of greatness, and I for one, am happy that he is “ok”.

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It appears that the next version of Mac OS X is code-named “Snow Leopard,” and will indeed be Intel-only.
Following the rumors from TUAW’s original scoop about Mac OS X 10.6 being readied for shipment as soon as Macworld 2009 and being Intel-only.

Ars Technica is saying that it has been confirmed to them that TUAW’s details are true. Snow Leopard is currently on track to come out during next January’s MacWorld, and it will not contain major OS changes.

The release is heavily focused on performance and nailing down speed and stability. With Apple’s current (and future) focus on smaller, thinner, and more mobile devices, this move makes perfect sense.

Things like the MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mysterious devices that have yet to be announced need better performance for better battery life, and that’s definitely something Apple wants to excel at in the years to come.

Something else that may happen is that Apple may eventually wrap everything in Cocoa, meaning that things that are currently only Carbon accessible will not be usable.

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I recently attended MacWorld in San Francisco.  When people would ask me what that was, I would stare at them blankly, and just shake my head… Thanks to the iMac, iPod, and now the iPhone, I get a lot fewer of those types of questions then I did in years past when I attended.

MacWorld is Disneyland for geeks… or at least it always has been.  This year was little disappointing.   Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast, met some cool new vendors and got to play with the new MacBook Air.  However. You knew there was a however coming.  This year, they should have renamed the show “iPhoneWorld”.  Now, bear in mind that I am a proud iPhone owner, and my friends are endlessly annoyed by how I can take any topic and swing it around to talking about how great my iPhone is.  The show, though, is supposed to be about MACs.. all macs, not just the iPhone.  I swear there were probably about 70 vendors doing nothing but showcasing iPhone accessories.  Now at first I thought this was great, since I wanted to get a few accessories for my iPhone (have I mentioned how great it is?).  This brings me to my next problem with the show.  No one was selling anything… NO ONE.  On the last day a new booth magically appeared and they were selling a smattering of supplies, but for the majority of the show, no one was selling, only showing.  Everyone of them told me that I could purchase online.  ONLINE!?!?! REALLY?!?!? I am standing 2 feet from the product and you want me to go online, and pay for shipping … WOW!..  it was really really frustrating.

Also odd to me, was the lack of love for the iMac.  In every show I have attended, since the iMac was released, there have always been an area where they showed off the iMac…  not this year..  Other then the iMacs in use by the vendors, there were none to be found.

Now, the MacBook Air is very cool… Let me state that up front.  It feels great, and has a geek cool factor that tops the charts… BUT!! You knew there was a but coming…

$1799.00 for the low end.. are you kidding me ?  There is no optical drive, no expansion whatsoever, no access to the RAM, and the battery is safely locked away from access as well.  HMMM… Mr. Jobs, while I realize you believe that you can ween us off the Optical drives, a concept I am not on board with, you can not possibly imagine that people are going to want to spend as much on a sub-notebook computer as  they will on the MacBook Pro..

This really should have been a computer to compete with the lower priced PC’s on the market.

Anyway, Steve Jobs does not care what I think… Heck, you probably don’t care what I think, but there it is … what I think for all to see.

The last complaint I have is why was the show so small ?  Where have all the vendors gone? COME BACK!  and next year, sell me something.. I bring a WAD of cash with me to MacWorld, and my wife doesn’t come.. you do the math..

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