Apple Computer

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Wall Street's recent euphoria over those new lower-cost products from Apple Computer Inc. ended abruptly yesterday when the company announced that all of its additional Macintosh sales produced no increase in profits during the second fiscal quarter ended March 29.Disappointed investors dumped their Apple stock en masse, pushing the shares down $9.50 to $62.25 on very heavy volume in over-the-counter trading. Investors and Wall Street analysts clearly had expected strong demand for new Macintosh models to fuel a sharp jump in profits.

Apple Inc., the computer maker and iPod seller, and Apple Corps, The Beatles' record label, agreed yesterday to settle a trademark lawsuit. The London-based music company had sued the technology company over the Apple name on its online iTunes music store, a move that it claimed violated a 1991 agreement between the two companies. Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, will own all of the trademarks related to "Apple" and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps. The companies, which agreed to end the lawsuit and pay their own legal costs, did not say how much Apple would pay for the licensing rights or whether Beatles songs would be sold through iTunes.

LAST WEEK'S resignation of Apple Computer Inc.'s chief financial officer in a rift with the chief executive highlights widespread uncertainty about the company's future. The two reportedly had clashed over whether the pioneering computer company should put itself up for sale. Apple's plight stems from a combination of factors: It can't meet demand for its Power Macintosh computers, its modest market share is eroding to a dangerous low, and the company has warned that for its fourth-quarter, which ended Sept.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a sign of its growing influence in the entertainment field, Apple Computer Inc. dropped "computer" from its name yesterday and unveiled two devices that promise further upheaval in the rapidly changing media industry. The long-anticipated iPhone combines a mobile phone, iPod and a new kind of hand-held Internet device that allows users to listen to music, watch video, surf the Web and make phone calls from almost anywhere, potentially changing the flow of information the way iPod revolutionized the distribution of music.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple Computer Inc. stock jumped yesterday after the company said it would repurchase up to 10 million shares, or 8 percent of its outstanding common stock, in the latest of a series of buybacks that began in 1986.L Apple stock closed at $57.75, up $2.50 from Tuesday's close.Apple spokesman Bill Slakey said the buyback "is a good use of our cash for the benefit of our shareholders."Besides approving the buyback, Apple's board of directors also declared a dividend of 12 cents per share for the fourth quarter ended Sept.

Apple Computer Inc. said yesterday that it would appeal to Nasdaq officials to keep the company's stock listed on the exchange while an investigation into the timing of option grants delays filing of quarterly financial reports. The company formally notified the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that it would not meet the deadline for filing its fiscal third-quarter results. That triggered a letter from Nasdaq that the company no longer met the exchange's listing requirements.

Q. I like Apple Computer products and was considering buying its stock. What's your opinion? - K.C., Orlando A. Sometimes your best just isn't good enough. Even a sixfold increase in profit and a 70 percent increase in revenue for the company during its recent quarter weren't enough to boost its stock price, as Wall Street had expected even better. The firm is also predicting less impressive future results. The iPod remains the superstar of electronics gadgets, delivering nearly one-third of Apple revenue.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple Computer Inc. is expected to lay off about 750 workers and trim executive pay by about 10 percent as part of a broad cost-cutting program to be unveiled this month.In addition, the maker of personal computers will eliminate a few hundred more jobs but will give the people holding those jobs 30 days to 60 days to find new ones within the company.The plan for an executive pay cut came to light through an internal newsletter obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. announced yesterday that it will switch to Intel Corp. chips in its PCs. After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs told software engineers at the company's annual developer conference that Intel microprocessors will power Macintosh computers beginning next year and that Intel will be used in all Apple computers by 2007. The move ends a long and sometimes stormy relationship between Apple and International Business Machines Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc., maker of the iPod portable music player, said yesterday that it is expanding into the music business with an online store where personal computer users can buy songs from the world's five top record companies. The iTunes Music Store will sell digital copies of songs for 99 cents each to users of Apple's Macintosh PCs and iPods, Chief Executive Officer Steven P. "Steve" Jobs said at a news conference. The record companies agreed to sell more than 200,000 songs through Apple.

Apple Computer Inc. said yesterday that it would appeal to Nasdaq officials to keep the company's stock listed on the exchange while an investigation into the timing of option grants delays filing of quarterly financial reports. The company formally notified the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday that it would not meet the deadline for filing its fiscal third-quarter results. That triggered a letter from Nasdaq that the company no longer met the exchange's listing requirements.

Certain nations in the world are strict about who is allowed to commit acts of journalism. They typically use licensing or accreditation rules to define and control who may gather information and disseminate it to the public. And these nations often tend to be repressive places such as China. Fortunately, in the United States, First Amendment protections have made it possible to resist, so far, efforts to define who should be considered journalists - leaving it largely up to the marketplace of ideas, not governments, courts or corporations, to sort through all the voices, bestowing credibility as warranted.

CUPERTINO, Calif.-- --Apple Computer Inc. took its first steps into the living room Tuesday, introducing a speaker system for iPods and a new Mac mini that can stream music, photos and video from other computers. Together, the two products provide "a clear indication that Apple intends to expand more into the home and move away from its on-the-go focus," said Gartner Inc. analyst Van Baker. Unlike other PC makers - which have launched full computer systems designed to take their place in entertainment centers - Apple is taking a more cautious approach by slowly expanding the reach of one of the world's most recognized devices.

Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs traditionally uses the annual Macworld Conference & Expo to introduce his company's latest and greatest hardware and software - and this year was no exception. Jobs' big news at the show, held Jan. 9-13 at San Francisco's Moscone Center, was that Apple's previously announced move to Intel processors would be much sooner than expected. He said the first Macintosh computers using the processor, the iMac and MacBook Pro, will be available in January and February, respectively - a full six months ahead of schedule.

The home computer is increasingly becoming the home music processing center. It's where we rip tracks from CDs, download new selections from the Internet and make our own mixes. Indeed, the computer has given us more control over our listening choices than ever before. Just one big problem. The room where you have your computer is likely not your favorite place to listen to music. The challenge is getting that music from your computer to your stereo system, where it can be enjoyed in all its sonic glory.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. announced yesterday that it will switch to Intel Corp. chips in its PCs. After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs told software engineers at the company's annual developer conference that Intel microprocessors will power Macintosh computers beginning next year and that Intel will be used in all Apple computers by 2007. The move ends a long and sometimes stormy relationship between Apple and International Business Machines Corp.

So it has happened. Luke Skywalker has gone over to the Dark Side. He has turned his back on the Force, pushed Obi Wan Kenobi off his board of directors and accepted $150 million of Darth Vader's blood money. Hell, he probably crushed a few Ewoks under the wheels of his car on his way to the shocking public ceremony announcing it all. The horror, the horror.We are talking, of course, of Steve Jobs and Apple Computer, the once valiant (if not exactly market-savvy) rebel kingdom and its disclosure this past week of a deal with the unspeakably Evil (well, smug and annoying, anyway)

Apple copyright suit endsApple Computer Inc.'s high-stakes copyright lawsuit against two rivals ended yesterday when a federal judge in San Francisco dismissed the suit's two remaining elements.U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker granted two motions that were part of a prearranged deal between Apple, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. The agreement effectively ended the $5.5 billion suit, filed in 1988, in which Apple claimed its rivals illegally copied Macintosh computer screen displays.

Q. I like Apple Computer products and was considering buying its stock. What's your opinion? - K.C., Orlando A. Sometimes your best just isn't good enough. Even a sixfold increase in profit and a 70 percent increase in revenue for the company during its recent quarter weren't enough to boost its stock price, as Wall Street had expected even better. The firm is also predicting less impressive future results. The iPod remains the superstar of electronics gadgets, delivering nearly one-third of Apple revenue.

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple Computer Inc. said yesterday that it will split its stock 2-for-1 because its share price has more than tripled in the past year on surging demand for the company's iPod music player. Apple last split its shares in 2000 at the height of the Internet bubble. Holders as of Feb. 18 will get an extra share for each one owned, and split-adjusted trading will start Feb. 28, Apple said. Chief executive Steve Jobs has used the iPod to broaden the company's revenue beyond its Macintosh computers.