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Comment by phwd | Hacker News Reader

Why does it have to mention Steve as a key part to the process in such a way that his leave of absence determines the success or failure of Apple ? The last few quarters have been pretty good for them right ?

Jobs was absent for a good bit in 2009 (the same year 3GS was released). I think that if Jobs is the visionary and leader everyone talks about then a few months without him cannot dent the Apple market and development. The company will still run, it is still running. It did it in 2009 and it can do it again in my opinion.

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Because most business journalism isn't all that good.

If the product is going to be out in the summer you can bet a good amount of the design has been going on for many months. Obviously Jobs would be heavily involved in it, and would continue to be. This point of the article doesn't make much sense to anyone who thinks about it for more than a few seconds or who is familiar with how products are designed; it's as if they intentionally decided to keep the story at the surface-level.

Because most business journalism isn't all that good.

Science journalism is bad. Political journalism stinks. Is it a case of those who can do, do, but those who can't report?

The 3GS was an evolutionary product. If the Iphone5 is a revolutionary departure from what Apple has been doing (e.g. like the iPod was from Apple Computers), then who controls the company matters greatly.

It's very likely that without Jobs, the iPhone5 will be released with all kinds of little warts that a team under his guidance would have caught.

3G was also an evolutionary product, as was the 2G. The revolutionary products take a long time. Long enough for Jobs to take a vacation, come back, and they will still be working on it.

I thought he was taking a "medical leave of absense" and not a vacation.

It's possible that his condition is deteriorating, especially considering this is his second length leave of absence.

How long will the product development take---2 years? 3 years?

How long will Steve be out---a year? When he returns will he be at a 100% or will he likely leave for medical reasons again? For many people, this looks like the 'end of an era' with Steve Jobs.

The cult of personality around Jobs cuts both ways. For years he (and Ives) has been viewed, if not held, as the rock of Apple, and the font of its inspiration.

That perception can't just suddenly change overnight when its no longer convenient.

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