Steve Jobs said to sound "healthy", makes surprise appearance at Apple's campus

In mid-January of 2009, Steve Jobs announced via an email to Apple employees that he would be taking a leave of absence from Apple in order to address a medical condition which had caused him to lose a noticeable amount of weight.

"In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June."

While some critics envisioned Apple falling by the wayside in Jobs' absence, Apple, in the capable hands of interim CEO and current CFO Tim Cook, has proven more than capable of persevering while its visionary sat on the sidelines recuperating. Since Jobs' absence, Apple has released a slew of new products, and has continued to post impressive financial results, an incredible feat for any company in today's turbulent economy.

But rightly or wrongly, Jobs is considered an integral factor in Apple's future success as a company, and investors and Apple fans alike are understandably anxious and excited at the prospect of Jobs returning to the helm of the company he helped co-found in 1976.

In his initial letter to Apple employees, Jobs wrote that he would be out until the end of June, and seeing that June is just a few days away, all eyes are once again focused on Jobs and his anticipated return to Apple. While some have speculated that Jobs would return to Apple in a reduced capacity, reports from earlier in the week suggest that Jobs will make a return to Apple as scheduled and in full capacity as the company's CEO.

First, Steve Wozniak mentioned to the Wall Street Journal at the All Things D Conference that he had spoken to Jobs and that he sounded "healthy" and "energetic." Woz went on to say that Jobs “doesn’t sound like he’s sick."

Second, an Italian language Mac site reported yesterday that a healthy and what appeared to be in shape Jobs made a surprise appearance on Apple's campus this week in order to meet with other Apple executives to discuss unknown initiatives.

Apple has a number of rumored products in the pipeline, and hopefully it's only a matter of time before we see Steve Jobs introduce them to the public with the same bravado he used to show off the original iPhone.

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