.... they're anticipating update in models????

I guess I know why I don't play the stock market ... it's because even people who don't know the reasons make statements like "The sky is falling" and the world sells off it's stock, and then they report that the sky was only being lowered for renovations and then the stocks go back up?....

The day analysts actually predict one correct thing, is the day the sky actually does fall.

All idiots that fail business school become analysts and their predictions back-up my claim! 'ummm ya, we lower our target price for Apple because umm Steve Jobs didn't shave this morning.' Gimme a break! The sad thing is that it seems that investors are even bigger moronsfor jumping ship right away.

I do play the stock market, and trade Apple more than any other stock. Overreaction both positive and negative are money making opportunities... Though I've got to admit, buying and holding Apple anytime in the past four years would be another way to make a LOT of money. For my money, being a user and a MACNN reader is a great way to keep your pulse on Apple (not the dumb analyst's recommendations)...

There will be a buying frenzy in the professional market. This market will want to buy proven hardware that they know will run their current software. While the iMac is in limited supply now and can not meet the current demand it will be a big seller when production finally ramps up to meet demand. MacBook Pro sales will be neutral until professional software is available, but should also sell reasonably well to the consumer market who has been waiting for an updated Mac portable and don't want to wait for the iBook, which by the way, will be released in the spring and will sell like crazy. Minis will also be released in the spring and will also be big sellers.

Warren Buffet, the world's second wealthiest man and chief investment manager for Berkshire Hathaway, offers some good advice. Never invest in a company unless you understand their business, what they do, how they do it, why they do it. Most professional analysts don't have a clue what the companies they "analyze" do to make money.

As the old cliche warns, "Those who can...do. Those who can't...teach (or become analysts)."

There will be a buying frenzy in the professional market. This market will want to buy proven hardware that they know will run their current software. While the iMac is in limited supply now and can not meet the current demand it will be a big seller when production finally ramps up to meet demand. MacBook Pro sales will be neutral until professional software is available, but should also sell reasonably well to the consumer market who has been waiting for an updated Mac portable and don't want to wait for the iBook, which by the way, will be released in the spring and will sell like crazy. Minis will also be released in the spring and will also be big sellers.

The iMac isn't for the pro market. The mini isn't a pro computer. The MacBook pro is barely a pro computer itself.

But that's not the problem I have with your post. That's the second line: "This market will want to buy proven hardware that they know will run their current software."

Great, except these computers aren't proven hardware, and they won't necessarly run their current software.

I can see a surge of iMac G5s and PowerMac G5s being bought by those wanting to keep classic compatibility (yes, many people still need it), PPC compatibility (for things like Virtual PC, pro apps, etc), hardware compatibility (PC Cards, PCI cards, built-in modems, various scanners and printers that don't have converted drivers or kexts), etc. These are proven hardware platforms that'll run their current software.

No pro business is just going to jump full bore into a whole new architecture on the promise of compatibility down the road. Even pro users would be doing this carefully (buying a machine to use as a secondary machine to test all software and stuff on before migrating themselves to it).

Has any one noticed the trend lately of news stories about Apple? No amount of advertizing can match the impact of the number of inches of print and seconds of sound bites that Apple is getting these days.

Compare that kind of buzz to what is happening for any other desktop computer company.

Experts are suddenly talking like Apple is the most understood product and company around. Two years ago they could only say its a niche market and that seem to be the breadth of their knowledge.

Blogs are buzzing with conversation about duel boot with Windows. Contemplating that with duel boot their next computer will be a Mac.

Windows folks are talking better security with Vista, which is an upgrade of those before it rather than a redesign and rewrite. "Better Security" is so resource consuming that either MicroSoft fixes what they have or makes a new, Vista, product because they have shown by past delays that as big as they are they can not do both. Apple doesn't have security problems to the degree Microsoft does.

Matching vaperware, Vista, against Apples improved market penetration with then Apple will have security problems is getting lots of people to future think with Apple in mind. Those kind of conversations have Apple in lots of peoples future considerations. Bird in hand worth two in the bush kind of security conversations.

People/companies tend to do again what they have done before. On security , elegance where does Apple fall? Where does Microsoft fall? Without a vast improvement in MicroSofts products there are lots of desktop computer hardware manufactures that could be looking at a bumpy roads ahead.

Jim

The purchasing frenzy will be on PowerMacs, not iMacs. I am going to replace a couple of computers myself with probably Quad Core G5s so I don't have be concerned with waiting on UBs.