Jobs missing out on Macworld

When Apple Computer holds the coming out party for the iMac in New York today, interim chief executive and cofounder Steve Jobs will not be present.

He will, however, give tomorrow's Macworld keynote address via satellite from the West Coast.

"[Jobs] has a personal scheduling conflict requiring him to be on the West Coast at this time," a spokesperson said, declining to elaborate. Added another: "It must be something he cares deeply about not to be in New York."

According to one Wall Street analyst, he is missing the trade show because his wife is expecting a baby.

Jobs is credited with helping to turn around the computer maker.

Steve Jobs

The company has returned to profitability since he stepped in, and its stock is trading near a 52-week high (See related story). Jobs also is chairman and CEO of Pixar, the computer animation studio that created the blockbuster Toy Story.

The interim CEO's keynote is expected to focus on the newest addition to Apple's lineup, the iMac desktop computer, as well as the consumer market, an Apple mainstay. The iMac already has been shown to users groups and at an educational trade show in San Diego.

"Steve grew up in the apricot orchards which later became known as Silicon Valley, and still lives there with his wife and three children," his biography notes.