Brent Schlender, Fortune’s well-sourced technology reporter, knew Jobs and was familiar with his thinking, and in March he came out with a story detailing the mess. “Apple Computer, Silicon Valley’s paragon of dysfunctional management and fumbled techno-dreams, is back in crisis mode, scrambling lugubriously in slow motion to deal with imploding sales, a floundering technology strategy, and a hemorrhaging brand name,” he wrote. “To the Machiavellian eye, it looks as if Jobs, despite the lure of Hollywood—lately he has been overseeing Pixar, maker of Toy Story and other computer-animated films—might be scheming to take over Apple.”

　　 《财富》杂志消息灵通的科技记者布伦特·施伦德（BrentSchlender）认识乔布斯并且熟悉他的想法。3月，他写了一篇文章，详细描述了苹果的混乱局面。“苹果计算机公司正步入危机，面对销售剧减、科技战略错乱、品牌价值流失等一系列问题，行动迟缓、手足无措，它已成为硅谷管理失控、说着科技呓语的典型代表。”他写道，“从杈谋家的角度看，似乎乔布斯可能会策划接管苹果，尽管有好莱坞的诱惑——最近他在管理皮克斯，制作《玩具总动员》和其他电脑动画影片。”

　　Once again Ellison publicly floated the idea of doing a hostile takeover and installing his “best friend” Jobs as CEO. “Steve’s the only one who can save Apple,” he told reporters. “I’m ready to help him the minute he says the word.” Like the third time the boy cried wolf, Ellison’s latest takeover musings didn’t get much notice, so later in the month he told Dan Gillmore of the San Jose Mercury News that he was forming an investor group to raise $1 billion to buy a majority stake in Apple. (The company’s market value was about $2.3 billion.) The day the story came out, Apple stock shot up 11% in heavy trading. To add to the frivolity, Ellison set up an email address, savapple@us.oracle.com, asking the general public to vote on whether he should go ahead with it.

　　 又一次，埃利森公开表示想要对苹果进行恶意收购，然后让他“最好的朋友”乔布斯做CEO。“乔布斯是唯一可以拯救苹果的人。”他告诉记者们，“只要他开口，我随时准备助他一臂之力。”跟狼来了的故事一样，埃利森最新重申的收购想法没有得到很多关注，所以当月晚些时候，他告诉《圣何塞水星报》的丹·吉尔摩（DanGillmore），他正在组建一个投资团，将融资10亿美元，收购苹果的多数股杈。（苹果公司当时的市值约为23亿美元。）这条消息公布当天，苹果的股票价格就飙升了11%，交易量巨大。更搞笑的是，埃利森还设立了一个电子邮箱mailto:savapple@us.oracle.com

　　Jobs was somewhat amused by Ellison’s self-appointed role. “Larry brings this up now and then,” he told a reporter. “I try to explain my role at Apple is to be an advisor.” Amelio, however, was livid. He called Ellison to dress him down, but Ellison wouldn’t take the call. So Amelio called Jobs, whose response was equivocal but also partly genuine. “I really don’t understand what is going on,” he told Amelio. “I think all this is crazy.” Then he added a reassurance that was not at all genuine: “You and I have a good relationship.” Jobs could have ended the speculation by releasing a statement rejecting Ellison’s idea, but much to Amelio’s annoyance, he didn’t. He remained aloof, which served both his interests and his nature.

　　 乔布斯被埃利森自封的这个角色逗乐了，由于他不太肯定如何理解这种做法，便对此避而不谈。“拉里时不时会提起这个想法，”他告诉一位记者，“我试图解释过，我在苹果的角色是个顾问。”而另一方面，阿梅里奥却勃然大怒。他给埃利森打电话，想斥责他，可是埃利森不接电话。所以阿梅里奥就给乔布斯打电话，乔布斯给他的答复模棱两可但也半真半假。“我确实不知道这是怎么回事，”他吿诉阿梅里奥，“我认为这一切都疯了。”然后他又说了句连半真都算不上的安慰话。“你跟我交情很好。”他说。乔布斯本可以发表一个声明，拒绝埃利森的想法，就能停止外界的猜测。但是让阿梅里奥非常烦恼的是，乔布斯没有这样做。他一直冷眼旁观，那既符合他的利益也符合他的本性。

　　By then the press had turned against Amelio. Business Week ran a cover asking “Is Apple Mincemeat?”; Red Herring ran an editorial headlined “Gil Amelio, Please Resign”; and Wired ran a cover that showed the Apple logo crucified as a sacred heart with a crown of thorns and the headline “Pray.” Mike Barnicle of the Boston Globe, railing against years of Apple mismanagement, wrote, “How can these nitwits still draw a paycheck when they took the only computer that didn’t frighten people and turned it into the technological equivalent of the 1997 Red Sox bullpen?”

另外，媒体也不再支持阿梅里奥。《商业周刊》的封面标题以问句开场：“苹果一盘散沙？”《红鲱鱼》杂志刊登了一篇编者按，大标题是“吉尔·阿梅里奥，请辞职”。而《连线》杂志的封面上，苹果的标志变成了一颗恐惧之心，戴着荆冠，被钉在十字架上，标题是“祈祷”。《波士顿环球报》（BostonGlobe）的迈克·巴尼克尔（MikeBamide）抱怨苹果多年来经营不善，写道：“那些笨蛋怎么还在拿工资？他们手里有举世无双的不让人望而生畏的电脑，却把它变成了1997年波士顿红袜队替补队员的技术水准。”5月底，阿梅里奥接受《华尔街日报》记者吉米·卡尔顿的采访，对方问他能否扭转外界认为苹果已陷入“死亡螺旋”的看法。阿梅里奥直视着卡尔顿的眼睛说，“我不知道如何回答这个问题。”