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Steve Jobs blames 'hormone imbalance' for MacWorld no-show

Not dead yet, then

Steve Jobs blames 'hormone imbalance' for MacWorld no-show
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If you have high hopes of winning a celebrity deathpool this year, you better scrub Steve Jobs off your list.

The Apple boss has moved to scotch rumours of his imminent demise, centering around his decision not to give Apple's keynote speech at this week's MacWorld Expo show.

In a letter published on Apple's website, Jobs reveals the reason for his much-publicised weight loss during 2008, saying doctors have diagnosed a "hormone imbalance".

Blogosphere chatter had been focusing on a possible reoccurence of the pancreatic cancer Jobs suffered from in 2004 - a prospect that's been unnerving Apple shareholders, given the lack of an obvious successor as CEO.

"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," says Jobs in the letter.

"I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first."

The keynote speech at MacWorld will be given by Philip Schiller, senior VP of worldwide product marketing at Apple.

It's not thought that there'll be any major new product announcements, but there may be some new games shown off, and news about the App Store's ongoing progress.

Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)