Our source was first approached this week by NBC for what a producer called a "feature" on Jobs, but later admitted was an advance obituary. Then a CBS news producer called and also requested an interview on Jobs that when pressed, they admitted too was also an advance obituary for the ailing Jobs.

Newspapers and wire services prepare obituaries far in advance that can sometimes sit on the shelves for years. Sometimes it can lead to embarrassment, such as when Bloomberg News inadvertently released a canned obituary for Jobs. And while TV news operations are quick to prepare packages of archival footage if they so much as hear a famous person is ailing, actually taping interviews for those packages is more difficult. Even if news producers can find people willing to talk about someone as if he were dead on camera, it's expensive to send out camera crews to gather footage that might go stale.

Jobs, who is on a six-month medical leave, has said he expects to return to work after dealing with a medical problem he first characterized as a "hormonal imbalance," but later admitted was more complex. In 2003, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and underwent surgery to treat it in 2004; most observers believe his present problems stem from aftereffects of the surgery, which likely involved a Whipple procedure, a rewiring of the digestive tract akin to a gastric bypass.

Is Jobs dying? No major TV network has reported that. But those same networks' producers must believe it is likely enough to roll their cameras.

(Photo by Gizmodo)

So remember when you're fiddling with the height on your painstakingly designed machine — Stumpf took an extra year to make sure a 4'11" test subject could adjust it without standing — raise a Vitamin Water in toast to the man who put your comfort in control.

Bill Stumpf, 70, a Designer of the Aeron Ergonomic Office Chair, Dies [NY Times]
Photo by JDRF Capitol [Flickr]

The San Jose Mercury News is shuttering its tech blog, SiliconBeat, which (along with Good Morning Silicon Valley) displayed the insight and cleverness that the Merc News itself is missing.

Co-author Matt Marshall is leaving the Merc to launch VentureBeat, an independent blog about Silicon Valley ventures. As of press time, the site's down, so give the site a moment to recover from first-day traffic. Judging by Marshall's past work, it'll be a blog worth following, at least for the laughs.

SiliconBeat to retire...VentureBeat has launched! [SiliconBeat]
VentureBeat Launches [VentureBeat]

Goggins worked behind the scenes of Wired. In addition to editing, he composed many of Wired's headlines, cover lines, and pull quotes. His skill earned him the highest respect of the magazine's best writers. Contributing editor Steve Silberman says, "He used to give our features their last look, catching things everyone else had missed — I used to call Bill's edit 'the beauty pass.'" Silberman calls Goggins "the wit in the mix" at Wired.

Wired contributor Paul Boutin writes on his blog:

I'll remember him most for his dryly pointed wit around the office. When Chris Anderson's first Wired cover, "Is Japan Still the Future?" was punched up by Condé Nast's editorial director to "Japan Rocks!" Bill protested by posting a note above his desk in the same font, "If Japan's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'."

Wired writer Xeni Jardin calls Goggins "a kind man and a masterly editor." Boutin praises his "meticulous yet hilarious verbal skills." Silberman calls him "charming, witty, elegant, and wonderfully idiosyncratic."

Anyone wishing to write (or link to) memories of Goggins here can contact tips@valleywag.com. More Goggins stories are at Boing Boing.

Bill Goggins [Paul Boutin's blog]
In memoriam: Bill Goggins, formerly of Wired Magazine [Boing Boing]
15,000 go all out in marathon [SF Chronicle]
Photo by Joe Jarrell [Mediabistro]