News that Apple boss Steve Jobs is taking a six-month leave of absence due to health concerns has hit the company's shares and increased uncertainty.
Jobs is universally viewed as the chief creative force behind the company's line of consumer-friendly products, which include Mac computers, the iPod and the iPhone, and is regarded as a master marketer and pitchman.
As such, many fear his departure would deprive the company of its most vital and imaginative resource.
Matt Cowan reports.
