Steve Jobs returns to work at Apple

Steve Jobs went back to work today at Apple. How many other CEOs can make the news just by going to work?

This is one of those days when I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the secretive Cupertino company, which has mastered the art of operating in stealth.

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He seems to have come back from his liver transplant able to perform his job as chief executive officer. He left the post in January and during his time off, chief operating officer Tim Cook seemed to do just fine getting products such as the iPhone 3G S, a bunch of Mac laptops and the iPhone 3.0 software out the door.

Cook seems capable enough. Jobs had his liver transplant just two months ago. And he survived cancer before. Now, at 54, with billions in Apple stock, he clearly doesn’t have to work. But he must be inspired to come back for some reason. He seems driven to succeed.

Apple investors drove the stock down 47 cents to $141.97 today. But the stock is way up, more than 66 percent, this year. They seem to believe that Jobs has lots of tricks up his sleeve. This move will likely reassure investors that Jobs is going to work his magic on something new. Clearly, he doesn’t want to waste his time on little things. I think he wants to make his mark and doesn’t feel like his job is done yet.

What’s it going to be? How to turn Apple TV into a game console? How to use your iPhone as an interstellar Star Trek communicator? I’ll wager it’s going to be a doozy.