Steve Jobs, who has effectively been filling in as chief executive at Apple Computer Inc since Gil Amelio’s departure three weeks ago, has turned down an offer to take the position on a permanent basis, according to the Wall Street Journal. The article comes a day after several papers reported that Jobs would be named CEO of the company he co-founded at next week’s Macworld Expo in Boston. The WSJ says that Jobs has essentially been running the company for the past three weeks and has turned down several offers from the board in that time, saying that he wants to spend time with his family and that he is committed to his current position as CEO at Pixar Animation Studios Inc. Instead, Jobs wants to handle Apple’s affairs just long enough to point it in the right direction and ensure that it hires a suitable CEO. A spokesperson for Apple dismissed the whole issue as a rumor and would not comment further on the search process.