Steve Jobs Watch Hits Fever Pitch

Apple watchers lit up the Internet when it was reported this weekend that Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs underwent a liver transplant in Tennessee two months ago. Now, the Jobs watch has reached a fever pitch with a news release the company sent on Monday that actually quotes Jobs.

News about the purported surgery was broken by The Wall Street Journal, which did not cite its source. When the Journal contacted Apple via e-mail, an Apple spokesperson would only say that Jobs looked forward to returning to work.

Then on Monday, Apple put out a press release that the iPhone 3.0 software had reached a milestone of 6 million downloads.

"Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Jobs, in the release. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever."

Whether Jobs actually said that or the company is merely attaching his name to the statement to him is debatable. On the one hand, skeptics may think that the timing of the statement was aimed at helping build iPhone hype. Then again, a quote from Jobs' may have been released to soothe shareholder fears over Jobs' purported operation.

Jobs took medical leave in Januaryafter months of speculation that he was ill again after a previous battle with pancreatic cancer.

In a letter to employees at that time, Jobs said he planned to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he was out and that Apple's board of directors "fully supported this plan." Jobs also named COO Tim Cook as his interim replacement.

While many wished Jobs a speedy recovery on a personal level, the company's board had to contend with some angry shareholders who worried that Apple stock would nose-dive because of his illness.

Reportedly, complaints from shareholders prompted an investigation into whether Jobs was legally bound to disclose his health issues in a timely fashion.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that as a publicly traded company, Apple is legally obligated to disclose pertinent news that may affect stocks. The question is: Does Jobs' health qualify as public or personal information?