When Steve Jobs strode onto the stage in San Francisco today to unveil Apple’s latest iPods, the Apple boss poked fun at recent speculation about his health by borrowing a line from Mark Twain.
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggeraged,” read a slide that flashed up on the screen as he began his hour-long spiel.
After the presentation Mr Jobs spoke briefly to CNBC, but only agreed to address his health in an off-camera interview:
So after the interview, I did ask Jobs how he was doing. “I’m doing fine, really,” he said. I asked him about the rampant speculation and rumors on the blogosphere about the issue, and whether he was surprised by it. Where did he think it all came from, I asked. He picked up his briefcase and told me it was from “hedge funds with a big short position in Apple.”
He was kidding, right? Apparently, yes. CNBC explains:
I think a little context here might be helpful. He said it in passing. It wasn’t as if he was lobbing some specific grenade on Wall Street.
