What's this ? Apple posts record after record quarters in the midsts of a recession ? How is that possible ? they sell such overpriced shiny toys !! And you have a company like Microsoft whose share value has halved over the past decade, has laid off over 5k employees and closed divisions and cancelled products(MS Flight Sim) last year !

Has hell frozen over ? Can pigs fly ?...

Oh wait.... i forgot, quality sells.

And you windoze fanboys can stick with your extra Mhzs and more RAM, and the pathetic software that drives your boxes.

HAH

Worldwide PC shipments rose 15.2 percent year over year, according to IDC, and 22.1 percent,
according to Gartner. IDC put US PC shipments up 24 percent year over year and Gartner 26.5
percent. After years of market share gains, Apple dramatically dropped, presumably with Windows 7
sapping Mac sales momentum. Gartner put Apple's US share at 7.5 percent, down from 8.8 percent
in fiscal Q4 2009 and 7.7 percent in fiscal Q1 2009. Both analyst firms ranked Apple fifth in US
market share, a one-rank decline below Toshiba. While Mac shipments grew a respectable 31
percent, according to IDC, HP shipments grew by 45.1 percent and Toshiba by a stunning 71.5
percent.

You may feel free to resume squabbling over toasters.

Spot on Donald .. the "records" are an accounting anomaly which takes effect last quarter.

I am an accountant after all

Apple's "record" quarter was due to a change in accouting rules. If not for the changes in accounting rules, Apple's results would have come in only "slightly" above Wall Street's consensus estimates. The iPod and iPhone are the two big "cash cows" at $3.4 Billion and $5.6 Billion respectively, not the Macintosh ($1.7 Billion for Desktop's / $2.76 Billion for laptops). It would be nice if one of the "Journalists" reporting this news would have bothered to notice the retroactive accouting change that re-stated the last 24 months, giving the "illusion" that Apple did significantly better than in fact they did.

And no, I'm not going to get pulled into the "my toaster is better than your toaster" debate.

Carry on...

Too funny.....

"Congrats to all the shiny lemmings who purchase exorbitantly price kit"

"Me? I actually prefer the Mercedes to be in MY garage, but, whatever!"

I guess a Mercedes is not exorbitantly priced kit....'but,whatever'.

People who buy expensive cars, clothes, houses, etc = ?
People who buy expensive computers or phones = "lemmings" or fools

...interesting.

Anti-Apple screed in 5.. 4.. 3..

This makes Apple the most profitable Tech company in the world!!!

if Apple makes $15.68 billion per quarter X4 Quarters that is $62.72 Billion annually

with $3.38 billion Profit per quarter X4 Quarters that is $13.52 Billion profit per year

-$ 62.72 Billion Anual turnover

-$ 13.52 Billion profit per year

- $40 Billion in cash in the bank

Wow not bad for a company with 5% market share lol

Mr Balmer what you think are the financial results a rounding error? bet if he had hair he would be pulling it out right now!!!

Congratualations to all the shiny Apple lemmings who purchase exhorbitantly priced kit! You have just assured most top level managers at Apple a nice fat bonus check and a new Mercedes in the garage! Thanks for contributing to the Apple Socialist Social Welfare Integration Program Effort. Your participation is always welcome!

(Me? I actually prefer the Mercedes to be in MY garage, but, whatever!)

Nick is probably too busy weeping into his Microsoft bedsheets to report on this.

In practice, wouldn't have one even for free, just too wacky and cutesy. Even now that they're merely running BSD on Intel hardware.