One thing that Apple has to deal with these days is the temporary (or perhaps permanent depending on his health) departure of CEO genius Steve Jobs. It is no secret that Jobs has been responsible and marked as an advertising icon for Apple computers and his absence is similar to taking out the processor on a PC. Will Apple survive the absence of their prized product endorser?

Jobs’ health problems are serious. In fact, Apple has announced that his illness has become so serious that he had to surrender his duties to COO Tim Cook until the end of June. With that said, you can imagine the rage that the Apple investors got into, seeking better explanations on the inconsistent reports and sudden turn of events made by Apple.

Did Jobs deceive Apple and shareholders regarding his health? No one has uncovered hard evidence that he did. But it sure looks bad, and securities lawyers are sure to exploit the situation given the drop in Apple’s stock in after-hours trading Wednesday and a further drop Thursday.

Apple is a notoriously secretive company. That strategy has allowed Apple to generate hype better than perhaps any company in America, but it could have backfired in a big way Wednesday. So how can Apple respond?

(Source) CNet