After being out of the spotlight for months, Steve Jobs -- Apple CEO, founder, and guiding hand -- will soon be returning from his health leave. 

A pioneer of the digital revolution, Mr. Jobs has been suffering from complications surrounding the pancreatic surgery, which he had several years ago to remove cancer.  The operation spared his life, but according to a knowledgeable party left him unable to properly gain nutrition.  The source states, "He was one real sick guy.  Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn't digest protein. [But] he took corrective action."

That turnaround is good news for Apple's fans.  After all, it was Jobs that masterminded Apple's best-selling products -- the iconic iPod, the iPhone, and the MacBook Air -- a product trio that returned Apple to a leading position in the electronics industry.  Apple's fans are hoping Mr. Jobs will show up at Apple's San Francisco WWDC conference which starts Monday.  It is widely expected that Apple will announce new hardware at the conference, including a new iPhone, and potentially new iPods or Mac computers.

Richard Doherty, an analyst at technology consultancy Envisioneering Group, doesn't believe Mr. Jobs will be at the conference.  He states, "He likes to surprise people, but we don't think that's likely to happen at WWDC."

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling merely commented, "We look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June."

However, some believe that Apple will do fine whether he comes back or not -- they point to Apple's success on the stock market in the past several months.  States Mike Binger, a fund manager at Minneapolis-based Thrivent Asset Management, "I think it's becoming less and less of a key variable.  This past time period has proven that Apple as an entity can survive without Steve Jobs going to work on a daily basis."

However, it’s hard to separate Jobs from Apple and Apple from Jobs, and it seems likely the two will soon be reunited.  Stay tuned next week to see if there are any surprises.