To many--including the mainstream press--the news that Steve Jobs will be taking a six-month hiatus from Apple in order to concentrate on his health is devastating. The entire world is on the edge of its collective seat wondering what the leader of all things Apple will do next.

Will he post his will on Apple's site?
Is Apple going to fold up shop?
Will all of our iPods, iPhones and Macs suddenly shutdown if Steve gets a cold?

The answer to all of those questions is a resounding NO. While the media, analysts and day traders speculate and argue about the proper way Steve should have told us about his medical condition, we're going to be the voice of reason here.

It's a sad state of affairs when the people who brought you the Ocarina jam of a Boys II Men song has to shrug off the panic of the media--we're looking at you CNBC and Dan Lyons--and become the level-headed ones on the Internet.

So without further ado, 10 reasons everyone should just settle down and realize that everything is going to be fine.


Medical Leave? More like working from home - We know you've seen the following sentence posted on every blog and splashed on the screen of every cable news channel:

In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

But, if you can get past that sentence, you'll see that Steve isn't going to be sitting at home all day watching soap operas and contemplating enrolling in the Devry institute:

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

We have this vision of a wall of TVs that Steve uses to keep tabs on his teams. If Jonathan Ive spends too much time playing Super Monkey Ball, Steve will know. If Tim Cook is spending his day looking at the latest road bikes instead of making sure the next great thing is on time for launch, Steve will know.

He may not be hanging out in the company cafeteria everyday, but he'll be in the mix when it comes to products being created at One Infinite Loop.

Surrounded by smart folks - While we credit Steve for turning the beleaguered Apple around when he returned in 1997, the company isn't one man. Steve has surrounded himself with the industry's brightest and most talented people. Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Jonathan Ive--these are people who share Steve's vision of changing the world with great products. That dedication doesn't go away because Steve's chilling on the couch at home. Let's not forget the approximately 32,000 other Apple employees.

The media - WTF?!? - This is actually less of a reason, and more of a call to action. Just because your favorite anchorperson calls Apple's future into question, doesn't mean the company is going under. This is the dark side of being the media's technology darling over the past few years. Every time Apple released a new product, the major media outlets would fall all over themselves to report on the next great thing. When's the the last time you saw a Sony product being praised by all the major media?

Treating Steve's announcement as the biggest news story of the week is the flip side to that media blitz. Forget about the war and the economy, the CEO of a technology company is taking time off due to health. STOP THE PRESSES!!! Journalists are even arguing over who knew what and who's a shill on cable news outlets. Really people? Come on, settle down. Buying into this hype only hurts the company. Like the great philosopher Chuck D once said, "Don't believe the hype."

Product Roadmap - While popular opinion is that Steve Jobs dreams up products, waves his hand in the air and "POOF! There it is," the reality is a tad less sexy. Apple spends a lot of money on R&D, and the next great thing could take years to see the light of day. The iPhone took at least four years of develop.

Apple has a product roadmap somewhere in the bowels of One Infinite Loop. Somewhere in the Apple campus hangs a super-top secret piece of paper that describes products that will be released over the next five to ten years. Apple and Steve will continue to follow that roadmap, and will continue to add items to it, over the next six months.

Stock drop? Minimal - In after-hours trading yesterday, Apple stock dropped to $79.65 from the earlier closing price of $85.33. Since then the Stock has slowing begun climbing and is in the $80's again as of press time. This isn't the stock drop of October 2000, when Apple stock lost more than 50% of its value in one day. From $26, to $12.87, that's a big drop. Yesterday was a hiccup.


Not recession proof, but recession resistant - Let's face it, Apple isn't some sort of magical kingdom where the real world doesn't matter. Okay, it kind of is. But, the current global financial situation is hitting everyone. Apple isn't immune to its effects.

That said, Apple is doing surprisingly well during the downturn. You can swing a stick without hitting at least a dozen folks with an iPhone or iPod. In fact, when's the last time you saw someone with a Zune or any other MP3 Player?

As other companies baton down the hatches, Apple continues to innovate and that puts them in a great position once the recession ends.

The Philnote rocked - Phil Schiller did a wonderful during the Macworld Expo keynote. He endeared himself to the audience right out the gate by thanking us for showing up. He had us laughing at his jokes and at attention when describing the new features in iPhoto.

He is not Steve, and doesn't posses the super RDF powers that makes everything Steve says sound like the greatest thing ever. It would be a mistake to try and re-create Steve's keynote powers. Instead, Phil is his own man up on that stage, and that man can sell Apple products better than most people.

Tim Cook, he's the man - If you think COO Tim Cook spends his day tuning his bike while Steve runs the company, you are sadly mistaken. In fact, according to Bloomberg's sources, Tim Cook has been taking care of the day-to-day operations at Apple for quite some time.

According to Michael Gartenberg, who has covered Apple for 13 years as an analyst for Jupitermedia Corp, “He has significant responsibility for making sure the trains run on time in Cupertino."

Tim was hired in 1998 to fix the disastrous manufacturing and logistics problems Apple had at the time. Remember the 45 different Performas and PowerMacs you could choose from at the time. He helped fix that.


We're all still buying Macs, iPhones and iPods - We've talked to Apple fanatics and casual iPhone owners and so far none has said, "No way am I buying an Apple product now that Steve is on medical leave." And chances are, you won't find that many people out there. Consumers aren't buying the man, they're buying the product. Apple makes great products that people want. The army of Apple die-hards out there probably accounts for more Apple sales than Steve Jobs. People that buy Macs. Fall in love with Macs--and then share their story with others.

We're all evangelists, When a friend has a problem with his Windows machines we gently steer him towards the Apple Store. Once people get past their Apple-phobia, they usually end up becoming an even bigger cheerleader for Apple products than you. That's what sells Apple products in the long run.

Adversity breeds innovation - Remember in the late '90s? Apple was hosed. (Hosed is a technical term used to describe being totally screwed.) Jobs was brought on as a adviser and started on of the biggest turn-arounds in the history of turn-arounds.

If Steve hadn't been fired or Apple hadn't been in dire straits, would we have the iMac? Who knows, but we do know that Apple needed to do something major to get back on its feet. While this current situation is no where near as bad as the '90s--remember all the flannel? Man, it was bad--it is a jarring event and could result in some innovative products down the line.

A good shake-up clears out the cobwebs. Right now, Apple and its employees are in the position to show the world that even though Steve isn't in his office, they're still the best technology company in the world. Nothing would make them feel better than to prove all the naysayers wrong.

Bonus Reason!
Steve leaves, and BSG and Lost begin--coincidence? Probably not, but if you had the chance to take time off to see the final outcome of the Battlestar Galactica crew, wouldn't you take it? We don't know what Steve's TV viewing habits are, and we remember a report back in the day that Steve didn't allow his kids to watch TV, but you never know. If Steve's next keynote or letter is peppered with the word "frak," then we'll know what Steve's been up to.

So there you go. The next time someone runs up to you in a panic and exclaims that, "Apple is doomed, DOOMED!!!" Sit them down and share a few of the points above. You'll feel better, they'll feel better, and eventually we'll all get that tablet-netbook-Apple TV- Mac mini hybrid we've been waiting for.