Steve Jobs Could Attend Apple Event

Will Steve Jobs confound the rumor-mongering tabloids that are obsessed with his failing health and show up at the Wednesday event at which Apple could unveil its new iPad 2?

Speculation is rife that Jobs will attend, despite skipping many other Apple events, including the company's annual shareholders meeting, since he went on medical leave in January.

According to several sources close to the situation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs–who is on a health-related leave from the company–is definitely considering an appearance at its big iPad 2 event tomorrow, All Things Digital wrote. .

However, if Jobs does attend the event on Wednesday, his presence will be the bigger news than the possible unveiling of the new iPad itself.

Assuming Jobs does emerge, the press will heavily scrutinize everything about his attendance. Apple fans and investors would welcome the CEO’s presence, but it could also serve as an interruption. After all, the event is not about Jobs, but rather the introduction of the second generation iPad, said appadvice.com.

The tech world is waiting with bated breath to know what features will be added to Apple iPad, which changed forever the dynamics of the computing business. The question is if Jobs can afford to stay away from such an important event in the Apple calendar.

The only major event Jobs attended since the start of his medical leave in January was a dinner organized by the White House at which President Barack Obama met tech leaders.

Though Jobs took a new medical leave in January and handed over the company's daily operations to chief operating officer Tim Cook, he never completely disappeared from the scene. There were reports last month that Jobs was deeply involved in a project to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone, and he was seen on the Apple campus in Cupertino, Calif.

However, rumor mills went into hyperactivity last month after the U.S. tabloid National Enquirer published an article which said Jobs was close to death. The tabloid quoted doctors as saying that Jobs had roughly six weeks left.

Even as the Internet was ablaze with news of Jobs' critical illness, there were also reports that he was sighted in various places, including at a cafe.