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"Aren't questions hard? You know, if you buy Apple you can just sit back, stop asking questions and be one of the cool folk whose head doesn't hurt." |
Posted on 08/12/2006 7:36:40 PM PDT by glorgau
Letter follows Apple telling regulators it will delay its 10-Q
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Apple Computer Inc. said late Friday that the Nasdaq Stock Market has warned the company its decision to delay filing its most-recent quarterly financial report puts Apple in violation of Nasdaq's stock-listing requirements.
The letter came on the same day Apple officially notified federal securities regulators that it would delay filing its quarterly report, or 10-Q, for the quarter ended July 1, until an outside legal counsel completes an investigation into how the company accounted for employee stock options.
The company reiterated to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Friday's filing what it had already revealed on Aug. 3, when it also said it would restate some past financial results based on an internal inquiry into options granted to executives and other employees between 1997 and 2001. See previous story.
The technology giant said it hasn't determined how big a charge it will take related to the options issue, nor for which periods it will restate results.
"The company is focused on resolving these issues as quickly as possible," Apple said in Friday's SEC filing, which was made before the open of U.S. markets.
In a separate statement released after U.S. markets closed, Apple said it has requested a hearing with a Nasdaq panel on the matter of delisting. Public companies that don't file timely financial reports with the SEC risk having their shares delisted by the Nasdaq.
The maker of Macintosh computers and iPod music players is arguably the most high-profile technology company ensnared in the scandal over the backdating of employee options. The SEC and federal prosecutors in New York and Northern California are investigating dozens of companies over discrepancies between when their options were actually granted and when they were priced.
In some cases, executives reaped immediate financial windfalls from grants that were priced just before huge run-ups in their company's shares. More than 70 companies have said they are conducting internal reviews of their past options practices, and some, like Apple, have said they plan to restate results based on those inquiries.
Apple said on June 29 one of the grants it investigated went to Chief Executive Steve Jobs. That option grant was later canceled and resulted in no financial gain for him. See previous story.
Companies that find evidence that past stock option grants made to executives and other employees were backdated will be required to restate results to reflect higher compensation expenses for the periods in which the options were granted, according to Albert Meyer, an analyst with Bastiat Capital in Plano, Texas.
"If you back-date, you essentially issue in-the-money options and have to account for it as a compensation expense," Meyer said. One-time charges to cover those expenses will then need to be accounted for on the income statements of restated financial reports, thereby reducing profit for the period covered by the restatement.
Confusion about restating the July quarter
Apple's Friday filing with the SEC contained language that was confusing enough to prompt some Wall Street analysts to attempt to clarify the issue in notes written for their clients.
The technology giant said in the filing "there will be significant changes in the results of operations for the quarter ended July 1, 2006 compared to the quarter ended June 25, 2005, including significant increases in the Company's revenue and expenses."
While some interpreted that to mean Apple will restate results for the June quarter in a significant way, analysts said they don't believe there will be any changes to Apple's fiscal third-quarter results.
Instead, because the SEC won't recognize the earnings report Apple filed last month as official until it files its 10-Q, Apple was using that language merely to describe its results for the quarter, one analyst wrote.
"The reference to significantly higher revenues and expenses was merely a qualitative statement of fact, not a signal that results will differ from the recent earnings release," wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Bill Shope, who reiterated his overweight rating on Apple shares.
Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton told MarketWatch in an interview that the phrase "has nothing to do with our internal (options) investigation or the restatements."
Still, when asked whether the company had ruled out restating results for its most recent quarter, Cotton referred to Friday's regulatory filing, which states that Apple "has not determined...which periods may require restatement."
In two cases, federal prosecutors have brought criminal fraud charges against company executives over backdating options.
On Thursday, both the former chief executive officer and the human resources officer at Brocade Communications Inc. (BRCD : 5.20, +0.06, +1.2% ) were indicted for a scheme to backdate stock options. Federal prosecutors said the executives gave employees favorably priced options without recording necessary compensation expenses.
This week, former executives at Comverse Technology Inc. (CMVT :19.80, +0.32, +1.6% ) were also charged with options-related securities fraud.
Of course, that's because the Mac isn't a proprietary platform using proprietary components, because the core of the Mac OS is Linux. Welcome to the PC world that's existed since the IBM PC Jr. was invented using a core platform that's existed far longer.
Didnt ride it all the way to the bottom thank you very much. Got out early. Just think it was funny that I was awarded about $15.95 thru a court settlement and all but 1 penny was taken as fees and then they spend a couple of bucks to send me a 1 cent check.
And no I didnt have control of any of this money as it came thru the settlement.
So true, so true. I tried to think of one single Mac-only app that I've heard folks mention they want, and you know what? There are none! Games? None. Business software? None. Web browsing? Hah! Not even Mac people want the browser that comes with the Mac. Face it, Mac people, if it wasn't for Microsoft, you'd still be using AppleWorks.
The core of OS X is not Linux... it is FreeBSD UNIX...
Welcome to the PC world that's existed since the IBM PC Jr. was invented using a core platform that's existed far longer.
Are you implying that Windows is the core platform? Or are you talking about the base 8088?
You're almost right... but you left out a lot. Viruses? None. Worms? Nope. Spyware? Nada. Adware? Zip.
Now, as to your list:
Games? None.
- BZZZT! Not quite... try around 3000..
Business software? None.
- BZZZT!- again, not quite... It's amazing what YOU can't think of...
Web browsing? Hah! Not even Mac people want the browser that comes with the Mac.
- BZZZZT! 85% of OS X users use Safari.
Isn't that the TRUTH!
If you do not have a title of director or above (VP) then you do not have a contract and you get SCREWED!
Time to change the RULES!
No... natively. No emulation.
I repeat, "The new Macs, all of them, can run Windows just as easily as they run Macintosh OS X."
It is amazing how ignorant you are about Macs. But then you have probably never touched one. I on the other hand make my living working on both Windows and Macs... 90% Windows... so I am NOT ignornant.
Nope. Windows isn't the core platform of the modern PC, but it makes Windows run on the modern PC.
That's a circular argument if I ever saw one... Windows makes Windows run... see Windows run on Windows...
Sorry, wrong on that one. I've owned quite a few, actually. I've even got a IIci wrapped up in the hopes that one day it'll be worth big $.
Tell you what, you go and get a handful of folks from the office, the mall, at church, whereever. You ask 'em what Mac apps they like the most, or if they don't have a Mac, which Mac apps they wish they had. You'll most likely get a big blank stare. Roll the calendar back a decade, and I could name a load of good Mac-only apps; Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXPress. All those are now available on Windows, along with pretty much the entire Adobe suite, which pretty much made up what was worthwhile on the Mac anyway. QuarkXPress of course is Quark, Inc., and they've done a good job of wrecking their own product, but that's another story.
Back to my point. In summary, if there was decent software for the Mac, and only for the Mac, you'd hear Apple say something besides "It does Windows!" If Macs are so great, why do they keep trying to be Windows boxes?
If you think 1) that a 1989 Macintosh IIci is in any way related to a modern OS X Mac, or 2) that it will someday be worth big $, then 1) you are Mac ignorant and 2) you've got a long wait (although footnote 7 on the link above might give you some hope).I've owned my share of IIcis. About 10 years ago I bought about 20 of them on eBay for a local charity. They used them for the next five years. Average price? About $35. I've also thrown away my share of IIcis... and paid the dump to take them because they are considered hazardous waste now. I suggest you do the same thing with yours.
Back to my point. In summary, if there was decent software for the Mac, and only for the Mac, you'd hear Apple say something besides "It does Windows!" If Macs are so great, why do they keep trying to be Windows boxes?
They aren't. The Windows ability in a Mac (some pundits say they run Windows better than Windows boxes do) is a "security blanket" for you Windows users who are tempted to switch but don't want to lose the training wheels. It's there for people like you who think there are no good apps for the Mac... Most switchers I have known have switched and never looked back. They find the apps are BETTER than the Windows apps for the same purpose. Check out the experience of a Newspaper PC columnist in Australia who switched in the last two months.
I can't think of a single Windows application I'd want to run - especially the most popular stuff: worms, viruses and spyware. Most Mac users don't even run anti-virus software because Mac OS X has a great track record for security. Mac OS X includes a built-in firewall, but you can even turn it off and run safely. We don't have to defrag our disk drives because the operating system does it automatically. Windows users have to waste a lot of time preventing and eliminating infections, while Mac users are getting real work done and having more fun.
"Not even Mac people want the browser that comes with the Mac."
I'm on the web all day, so I insist on using the best browsers available. I use Apple's Safari browser for almost all my web surfing - except for viewing CNN Pipeline for live news after midnight, which works better with Firefox.
"Face it, Mac people, if it wasn't for Microsoft, you'd still be using AppleWorks."
I am still using AppleWorks, and iWork Pages. AppleWorks is fine for a quick memo or drawing a diagram. I also have Microsoft Office, but hardly ever use it.
The software included free with a Mac is superb, and it all works together. I can transfer from a video camera to iMovie, add music to the movie from my iTunes library (including music purchased from iTunes Music Store, which also works on iPods), add photos from my iPhoto collection for still images, compose a theme song with Garage Band, edit the movie and transfer it to iDVD for burning, then watch it with the Apple DVD Player application on my Cinema Display. Any single one of those apps is better than what is included with Windows, and Windows does not allow that level of seamless integration between applications.
The new Intel-based Macs can now run Windows applications natively. I don't need that capability (or the risks), but it's there for anyone who needs it.
Compared to Macs, the PCs from Dell, Gateway, HP, etc. are clearly inferior and I wouldn't waste my time or money on them. I hope you have a better understanding of the advantages of Macs now.
DITTO! I use a peecee at work because I have to, but for special projects, I whip out my iBook (I like using Pages, and the way it integrates with the other Mac apps, i.e., iPhoto). The peecee is so "klodgy" compared to the Mac, where things run seamlessly together. People putting down Macs typically are referring to a pre-OS X days or older hardware they used in school. Apple is the only company that makes the hardware, OS and software -- and because of that, it all works.
Cheers, CC
Doubt it, but if you happen to have a fully-functional Apple I lying around...
Final Cut HD Pro (pro video editing), iLife (seamlessly integrated consumer media production and management, free with every Mac), Xgrid (instant, easily-managed clusters), Logic Pro (pro audio creation), Xsan (ultra-cheap SAN creation and management), Remote Desktop (haven't seen anything that good on a PC), and of course there's OS X itself.
Whoops, I think I went a bit over three, and I included titles that cater to the consumer, the pro, the scientist and the systems administrator.
One of the odd things about Apple's recent advertising is that it criticizes various things about the "PC," but actually is criticizing Windows, not PCs, which have long been quite stable running other operating systems, and, truthfully are pretty stable these days even with Windows. Then, the Mac is touted for its ability to...run Windows!
Now, which is it? Is Windows horrible, or not?
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"Aren't questions hard? You know, if you buy Apple you can just sit back, stop asking questions and be one of the cool folk whose head doesn't hurt." |
A decade ago all were available for the PC, although Illustrator was FAR behind the Mac version in capabilities. Most of the Adobe stuff worked better on Macs due to the severe limitations of Windows, especially in color management. Actually, it's still better on Mac due to the superior system-wide color management in OS X.
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