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Evidently, just because iconic Apple figurehead Steve Jobs has officially removed himself from the technology limelight in order concentrate on his health doesn’t mean he won’t still be targeted by all manner of bizarre speculation.
Does anyone really care if Jobs isn\'t actively using his chat client? Image: chakote/Flickr.
More pointedly, a report published this weekend by Robert X. Cringely (a.k.a. former InfoWorld and PBS columnist Mark Stephens) has chosen to hand crank the stalling Jobs rumour mill by suggesting the industry legend’s apparent lack of recent online activity is indicative of… well… something.
During his “Where’s Steve?” article, the aptly named ‘Cringely’ notes how Jobs, once a master of media management, has used his skills with the press to increasingly distance himself following a much publicised battle with pancreatic cancer in 2004.
Cringely then claims ‘a friend’ who has been an Internet chat buddy of Jobs for many years has noticed that the Apple boss is no longer logging on to his chat client each day – which has duly drawn attention because near-constant online availability is of great import for a Silicon Valley heavyweight of such standing.
And, without providing any concrete evidence to support his claim, Cringely then offers that Jobs has totally abandoned his computer. As many Cringely.com commenter posts point out, perhaps Jobs is concentrating wholly on his announced medical sabbatical, has changed his chat client, or has maybe avoided said ‘buddy’ because they’re prone to relaying spurious rumour to blog writers that hide behind pen names.
“And yes, [Jobs] might have changed his name after many years, he might have disowned my source, might have done any of a number of other things mentioned BUT HE DIDN’T,” said Cringely in addressing the polarising reaction garnered by his article.
“You think I don’t check these things out?” he added. “I’ve had this [information] for 10 days and wouldn’t have published on a Saturday except it took that long to confirm.”
While Cringely’s unnamed source could well be credible and the writer may have procured confirmation that Jobs has indeed stopped using his chat client and computer, how does this article qualify as news?
If Jobs was in perfect health and still active as Apple’s CEO, then perhaps such an abrupt break in online activity would rightly raise a few eyebrows. However, Jobs has publicly stepped away from the Apple boardroom, publicly withdrawn himself from the industry spotlight, and publicly explained that his health is of paramount importance at this time.
The Tech Herald can’t help but visualise the clutching of sensationalist straws here.
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