IT'S not a secret that the iPhone 3.0 operating system will be unveiled when the five-day Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) starts on Monday.

Among other features, it would allow iPhone users to forward text messages and do cut and paste, tasks that other cellphone owners can do for quite a while.  

Apple has made it clear that the new iPhone software as well as a new version for the Mac OS X software will be the key highlights at this year’s WWDC starting Monday  in San Francisco’s Moscone conference centre.

Yet rumours swirl. There’ll be a new iPhone, with a higher capacity of 32GB than today’s 16GB device, said one report. Another said there’ll be a low-priced iPhone at US$99 (S$145) or an iPhone with a built-in keyboard.

Most interestingly a report in the Wall Street Journal said that Steve Jobs, Apple’s mercurial chief executive who went on six months medical leave in January, is healthy and will be returning to work as scheduled at  end June. Read between the lines and one indication is that Steve may make an appearance at WWDC.

Wow, Apple fans will rock while his competitors will privately wish he had gone away, permanently. Apple’s stock price will certainly rise and concern that Apple will be left rudderless without him at the helm will disappear.

I’m not holding my breath to see if Steve really appears. Since Apple doesn’t confirm rumours, if Steve comes on stage, so be it.  

Meanwhile, I’m concerned about my breathing … especially in the airplane as I make my way to San Francisco. The airplane provides a captive audience for the H1N1 flu bug. Anyone who’s ill with H1N1 in the plane can spread the bug via the air circulation system in the plane, thus exposing all the passengers  to the bug.

Doctors say only those who’re in really close contact with H1N1 patients, that is, sitting close to them will get the disease. But I’m uncomfortable that I’m part of the captive audience. Short of not covering this assignment, I’m going but taking precautions.

 I’ve had a flu vaccination and I’m be carrying Tamiflu tablets that will fight the H1N1 flu if I get it. On the flight,  I’ll be wearing a surgical face mask for the total of about 15 hours from Singapore to San Francisco. I’ll have to sneak food and drinks under the mask.

I don’t know if these steps are sufficient preventive measures,   but they’re things I can do to keep the disease at bay. Certainly my friends and family will feel better knowing that I’ve taken precautions.

So this trip to San Francisco has been more of a challenge than my other overseas trips. I’m looking forward to completing the assignment successfully and return in good health.