Or are you saying that that you don't think less of him, but believe that everyone else will view him has having less dignity.
The call for him to do this came from above him. Not from a single person above him, but the thousands of Apple fans and stockholders demanding this information. I think anyone who demanded to know every piece of Steve's life should feel ashamed for forcing a good man into this situation.
This wasn't about sacrifice for the company. This isn't Jobs working a week without sleeping to get a product launched, or his leaving his own company because he thought it was going downhill. This was rumormongering. Jobs had a history of cancer, so people thought the worst; while that's partly understandable, the people who accused him needed to assume that Jobs was enough of a dick to just not tell people about a life-threatening disease for short-term growth. This continued after Jobs called that one reporter, insulted him, and then promised to tell him about his health condition off the book.
As such, it's pretty shameful that Jobs had to come out and tell everybody about the state of his health. Media types, even tech media types, care more about a dramatic narrative than they do about accurate reporting, and that showed itself here.
Jobs will go to extremes for his sense of justice. He could have stayed at Apple the first time, but he quit instead to make a new company that did what he felt he ought to do.
Really?
In John Scully's biography he made it clear that Steve was told he would have to leave in no uncertain terms, by both the board and John Scully.
They wouldn't even allow him to stay as the janitor because John couldn't trust that Steve wouldn't go around undermining him.
That I always assumed meant he left for something else, but rereading I can see that he does specifically say fired. Huh! I don't know where I got the impression that he left voluntarily, though it's one that I've had for a while now.
When Steve dies Apple's stock is going to drop no matter what and it may not recover. Whether this info is given out months before or immediately after it makes no difference.
Slow and painful or quick and painful, take your pick.
Really? Why?
to at least give people a small idea of what is going on with him, so they can gauge risk
That's not in his best interest. It is in the stockholder's best interest, the company's best interest and (perhaps) that market's best interest.
I fail to see how it is in Jobs's best interest.
It's not, but people are rather reasonably concerned given the typical survival rates of pancreatic cancer.
Can I use my get out of jail free card now?
Why is it your business to know about every detail of his personal life? And don't give me this 'I'm a stockholder, I deserve to know' BS. Apple isn't going to magically fail overnight.
3%+ shift in Apple stock since this press release hit. 100% decline in Steve's dignity.
My thoughts and wishes are with Steve and his family.