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Steve Jobs near death? Or is the Apple CEO, as one tech blogger reported, still enjoying his yogurt? Or is any speculation about Jobs' health, as one industry pundit declared, all "unsourced garbage" aimed at influencing Apple's share price?

For Apple fans, the big story this week has been the latest chapter in the long saga of the health of the company's iconic chief executive -- or, more accurately, the rampant speculation surrounding it.

The topic of Jobs' health has repeatedly cropped up this year thanks to a slew of reports and rumors that the Apple chief, who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer four years ago, was again in poor health. Those rumors persist in part because bloggers and industry watchers maintain that Apple has a reputation for being slow in updating the public on Jobs' health: His October 2003 diagnosis of pancreatic cancer hadn't been disclosed until after his surgery.

Now, Apple watchers are jumping to the latest round of gossip about Jobs' health, following the company's recent declaration that it would cease participating in the annual Macworld confab, and that Jobs would not be delivering his traditional keynote.

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