Can Apple live up to its stock price

I get a little tired of hearing analysts bash Apple for not doing enough. A. few years ago, according to Wall Street..Apple was dead.. Now they're being punished for not meeting unrealistic sales expectations. The reality is that Apple has re-invented themselves into a great company that makes really cool products. (similar to the type of company they originally were). What Apple has done is turn two industries on their head. Music and Video. I don't know what additional developments they have in mind, but Apple has become quite significant on many fronts. I wouldn't worry too much about the stock. This is a company that has vision. I am hopeful that they will continue to make great products..and I will be the first in line to buy them.

So, he's projecting the bubble's going to burst because this quarter's computer sales are going to be down slightly. Bah! One disappointing quarter, in one sector of company sales does a bubble burst make. But I do wish that Apple would take some of their "war chest" and promote their computers more. The iPod is superior to other digital music players, but Apple's computers and OSX way outclass any windows box out there. The author looses credibility with me on so many fronts, but what gets me is that he talks about investors not wanting to invest in Apple just because the iPod and ITMS are dominate, since Apple, at heart, is a computer company. Then he admits that he invested in Microsoft because he's betting on the new Xbox doing well. Excuse me, is Microsoft, at the heart of it, a software company, and not a video game console maker? Why doesn't he apply the same logic here, especially since Microsoft stock is doing oh so well! BTW, is the Xbox available at Sam's Club?

Upgrade cycles might have something to do with this. With Intel hardware coming up, why push out large numbers of non-pro machines when you absolutely know they will be running a completely different architecture in 6 months?

What the percentage RISE on Mac sales are down compared to this time last year? Meaning instead of a !00% rise in Mac sales, it rose 75% this year? Big freakin deal, thats still a very nice rise. Lets try to put it another way. Lets say they sold 100 Macs two years ago, then the year after that they sold 200, which would be a 100% increase. Then this year they sold 325 Macs. For it to be a 100% increase over the year before they would have to sell 400 Macs! THAT would be a lofty goal to say the least. So saying shipments are down doesn't really mean as much as it may seem. Just my two cents.

The iPod name has nothing to do with music. So why name it that? It's working up the chain to eventually become the de-facto centerpiece around all Mac hardware. Soon you'll just have your iPod with everything that you need and plug it in to a computer for extra processing power and space. The iPod is the keystone in the digital hub strategy. Stock prices are also valued on future potential, which Apple has tons compared to competitors. For example, a lot of investors are skeptical about how the XBox is going to be a centerpiece to all home entertainment. This is what keeps Apple's stock rising while Microsoft's stock is looming around 25 dollars.