Apple CEO Steve Jobs today decided to "share something very personal with the Apple community"--in an open letter posted everywhere, like here at Silicon Alley Insider. Responding to persistent "rumour, speculation and unhealthy ghoulishness" about his health (says Stuff & Things) and to "stories of me on my deathbed," Jobs writes that his visible weight loss has been due to a "a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy." No need to panic: "The remedy...is relatively simple and straightforward," Jobs writes, (via Cult of Mac). He'll take time at home and stay CEO. "Steve's no dummy," says The Unofficial Apple Weblog. "I applaud him taking this time to be with his family...let's hope this puts a little water on the doomsayers out there." The disclosure should help reassure many that his tenure at Apple is not coming to an end, says Mac Observer. Concurs Furrier.org:"Steve will be around for a while."  Everyone wishes Jobs a speedy recovery, but not everyone is ready to relax...

Apple had told everyone that Jobs was staying away from this month's Macworld Expo not due to his health but because Apple had fallen out of love with the show. Apple 2.0, in disbelief, thought Jobs might show up anyway as a surprise. "It looks like Apple PR lied...Again," gripes Gizmodo. "Apple shareholders have every right to be outraged about the way the company has handled this," writes the former/disgraced tech analyst Henry Blodget at Clusterstock. Put another way, from the first commenter responding to the news at Infinite Loop: SELLLLL!!! It's not just about feeling-lied-to; many recall the words of a non-endocrine-related (fake) doctor, The Marketing Doctor, who notes that Jobs is a brand unto himself and irreplaceable for Apple. Busy blogger Om Malik of GigaOM, who suffered a heart attack about a year ago, sees both sides: "In the most technical sense, Jobs, by not coming clean, was lying to the community. But on a more emotional level, I totally understand why he didn't tell us sooner. Investors seem to be forgiving; in midday trading AAPL shares were up almost 5 percent after the disclosure.