also spent 2010 without a major update, though Apple did ship . iWork has made its way through the rumor mill, however, with speculation that iWork ’11 will be the marque software suite featured in the Mac App Store when it opens on January 6, 2011.

All this talk about the death of the Mac made us almost forget that it wasn’t long ago that Steve Jobs was facing his own mortality. In 2009, Jobs took a from Apple and had a , which left many doubting whether Jobs could continue as Apple's CEO.

But in 2010, Jobs was back in full force. He appeared on stage giving keynotes, though he now lets others perform the deep-dive into products. He checks his e-mails from the general public, and replies in a terse style that’s become a signature of the Apple CEO. He makes public appearances to . He's having . And he even has time to take a jab or two at competitors and products that don’t follow in The Apple Way.

Jobs led Apple to and the company seems poised and ready for the new year.