Steve Jobs to take a medical leave of absence

According to wire reports, Steve Jobs sent out an email to Apple staff stating that he is taking a medical leave of absence. In the email, reproduced by BusinessWire here, Tim Cook is named as being in charge of Apple's day to day operations for an indeterminate amount of time; Steve will remain CEO and weigh in on strategic decisions. The text of the note is below:

Team,
At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

Jobs had a liver transplant in 2009 to treat complications from pancreatic cancer.

All of us at TUAW extend our best wishes for a rapid recovery to Steve and our support to his family, friends and colleagues at Apple.