Apple Inc. founder and CEO Steve Jobs sent a note Monday to employees saying he’s taking a medical leave of absence so he can focus on his health.

Jobs, who was treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004, says he will continue as CEO and be involved in major decisions but has asked chief operating officer Tim Cook to be responsible for all day-to-day operations.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has taken a medical leave of absence so he can focus on his health. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has taken a medical leave of absence so he can focus on his health. (Associated Press)

He said he loves Apple and hopes to be back as soon as he can and that he and his family would appreciate respect for their privacy.

Jobs, 55, has been instrumental in turning Apple into the dominant producer of portable music players, a leader in the smartphone business and, with the iPad, the inventor of a new kind of tablet computer. He is Apple’s public face, its master showman and its saviour since he returned in 1997 after a 12-year hiatus to rescue the company from financial ruin.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2011/01/17/steve-jobs-medical-apple.html#ixzz1BPN1uBOV

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