Could Apple's (AAPL) Tim Cook become the permanent CEO soon?

So, are they? Interim CEO Tim Cook seems to have not missed any beats during Jobs' absence, although six months is really not the best performance measurement period. Still, is Cook about to take on the head Job if Jobs relegates himself to some other role (like sole Chairman) that may be easier on his health?

My prediction is that this will happen by the end of 2010, if not earlier. In some ways, the situation at Apple is eerily similar to when Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder and then-CEO Bill Gates left the CEO position years ago to become "Chief Software Architect" and left a powerful (although not really creative) executive to run Microsoft every day: Steve Ballmer.

Apple's shares really have done nothing but go up since Jobs took his leave back in January, so investors must have had faith in Cook or that Apple could survive its game plan -- regardless of who was running the ship -- until the end of June. Maybe the street believed an operational guru like Cook could run Apple just fine (which he has, apparently). Is Apple ready for a change in top leadership? If it happens, the company will operate business as usual with Jobs somehow in the picture. That will be the case until the day he retires for good, most likely.