Public Speculation About Steve Jobs' Health

I'm hardly a Steve Jobs apologist; I've been known to be a bit critical of him, more than once. But the public obsession with his health, before, during and after his pancreatic cancer crisis, has gone beyond all bounds.

Yes, I know, Steve Jobs is a CEO. But if you look at the team he's assembled, you can see that while Jobs' critical eye and creative vision are key, they aren't the only things driving Apple. Yes, they're vital, and yes, they'd be deeply missed, but the company won't spontaneously implode if Jobs has a private life (or even death, frankly).

The fact that public speculation about his health on sites like this, or this, or this—forced Jobs to publicly post this letter about his health, does not reflect well on the journalists, pundits, and others who violated Jobs' right to privacy. Nor does the assumption that he has no right to a life that isn't entirely public.

I'm heartily sick, and deeply offended, at journalists, financial investment advisors, and Apple fanatics insisting that they have a "right to know." No, you don't have a right to know, no it isn't "your business," and no, you don't get to dictate the terms or the ways in which another human being conducts his personal life.