Hugh Hefner announced yesterday that Playboy is coming to the iPad. It may just be a coincidence, but Steve Jobs has always insisted that the the app store and iTunes be squeaky clean, and family friendly, with nothing over what seemed the equivalent of a PG rating, and now the Playboy announcement comes quite literally on the heels of Steve Jobs announcing this week that he will be taking a medical leave of absence.
On Monday, January 17th, Steve Jobs sent this email to all Apple employees:
Team,At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.
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I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.
Steve
[Ed. note: Above all, we wish Steve well – get well soon, Steve!]
Then just 24 hours later, yesterday, January 18th, Hef announced (on Twitter, of all places) that Playboy was coming to the iPad, saying “Big news! Playboy — both old & new — will be available on iPad beginning in March,” later adding that “Yes, all the back issues of Playboy will be available on iPad, & current issues as well,” and remarking elsewhere that it would be uncensored.
So, the question is, did Steve Jobs relax Apple’s standard for the maturity-level of content available on Apple devices, through the app store? Or did his health cause him to take stock of what was important and what wasn’t, what is worth fighting for and what isn’t, and re-evaluate the question of content? Or was he removed from the picture on that decision, with Hef pressing a “Steve’s not here, man” advantage?
Or something else?
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