Dell, Inc. NASDAQ: DELL) indicated this week that it has no plans to re-enter the digital music player market. For some reason, the blogosphere has been abuzz in recent weeks with possible rumors about Dell -- again -- trying to compete in the digital MP3 player market. With its astounding success the last time around, it makes perfect sense, right? Of course not.

Although Dell has reinvigorated its laptop PC designs in the last 18 months, has entered retail and has gained a little of the market share back it lost of Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), the fact remains that it makes boring, commodity computer equipment. Nothing more. Almost every single time the company wants to break into another market, the competition beats them down and spits them out. So, it's good to hear that Dell won't be getting back into the digital audio player market.

The weird twist here is that Dell purchased Zing Software recently, which made wireless access technology for over-the-air audio and video downloads to digital audio players. It's interesting to see that Dell bought Zing but less in 18 months later said it would not re-enter the hardware music player business. Of course, a lot has changed for the company in that time (and in the PC industry), and launching new products and categories in this economic environment is precarious at best. Perhaps Dell has shelved digital audio players until sometime in 2010 or later.

When Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) snatched Mark Papermaster from IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) just last week, the move ended up making many analysts scratch their collective heads. Papermaster, who is a microchip designer by trade, would head up Apple's devices and hardware engineering efforts. Now, for a company that buoys itself on software and physical design more than anything, its hardware design efforts always seem to get left behind. One quick peek at the MacBook Air's design engineering, though, and it's pretty easy to see that Apple's finesses does not rest solely with software and user interface.

But in hiring Papermaster, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas didn't like what he saw from Apple's end. So much that he ruled Papermaster must "immediately cease his employment with Apple Inc. until further Order of this Court." Okay then, the question is why. What could Karas care about here? Apparently, IBM's lawyers want to fine-tooth-comb Papermaster's non-compete employment contract with his former employer to make sure there are no conflicts of interest. Perhaps IBM is afraid Apple will start offering business services to large companies using huge mainframe servers or something. You know, since it's so weak in the consumer market.

IBM stated that Papermaster "is in possession of significant and highly-confidential IBM trade secrets and know how, as well as highly sensitive information regarding business strategy and long-term opportunities." But the question remains -- does IBM really compete with Apple at all? These non-compete clauses are to protect the interests of companies that invest in senior employees from joining the competition and possibly divulging trade secrets at the same time. It's hard to see how IBM could have a problem with Apple's hire here, but I'm sure those Harvard law grads will get out the rulers and dictionaries for this one to try and find a reason. As we all know, there is no black and white -- only gray.

Michael wrote yesterday about Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) announcement of newer iPods plus a major update for the iTunes music/TV/movie store -- and how the market seemed to not care about anything other than the health of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. I say, enough already -- can the analysts and pundits get off Jobs' case and let the man lead his company without distraction?

This seems more like checkout line magazine idiocy and entertainment smut more than anything. Instead of talking about Apple's growing dominance in the cellphone, PC and music marketplaces (where it is incredibly strong already), the entertainment media street analysts continue yakking about Jobs' health. Do they not know that Jobs has lined up such an incredible design and execution team that Apple would, umm, continue to be a market powerhouse even when Jobs eventually retires or leaves the company? Ever hear of Phil Schiller? How about Jonathan Ives?

It's true that not one executive on this planet embodies a company like Jobs does to Apple. That's the trick -- but that doesn't mean Apple would implode five years after Jobs leaves (when he does, by any method). Although Jobs looked gaunt yesterday when introducing all these new products, he was energetic (very much so) and continued to decline comment on his health. Get over it, folks. Let's talk about Apple's business prospects and results, not about the health of its evangelical founder and CEO.

As Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) continues marching into consumers' lives with iPods, iPhone and iMacs (and iEverything), is the company ready to take over the iLivingRoom too? Although the company's Apple TV product has been received not-so-hotly, it's a great product in the second generation form. But will it, with other products, provide the centerpiece of the digital living room within five years? According to some analysts, yes.

Apple is not perfect and has made several product mistakes, but those are the kinds of things that the media gushes on when iThis and iThat are released to the market and sell well. Still, a claim that Apple can come out of nowhere to "take over" the living room seems a bit dubious. A home server (without being called a server) and a universal remote, using iTunes as a central control and collection point for media -- these will transform Apple into the Microsoft of the living room?

I am a huge Apple fan, from a marketing, design and usability perspective, but don't own a single product. This is mostly because the freedom I like isn't supported in the ways I like. Are you that way? Maybe, maybe not. But analysts, always the ones to grab headlines with large predictions, have this one dead wrong. Apple may be the centerpiece for some future digital living rooms, but it'll be the vast minority in five years only.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace asset wants to leverage its mindshare to sell music. Not a huge leap of logic there -- MySpace is a touchstone for the online-savvy youth, a group that enjoys consuming songs and going to shows. Only problem is, the MySpace generation also intersects with another club -- the iPod generation -- and going against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) won't be a simple task for Rupert Murdoch and his social-networking empire.

Bloomberg points out an another interesting issue for MySpace -- its buzz appears to be weakening somewhat. I found it very interesting that Facebook is challenging MySpace's dominance in terms of user growth, and that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) may not be doing as well with its MySpace deal as perhaps it theoretically should be.

This music initiative, called MySpace Music, is intended to aid top-line sales expansion. Remember the days when MySpace was the undisputed god of the web? Hey, it's still a major online brand, no question, but I find it funny how, in certain respects, MySpace just isn't the untouchable social network that it once was. It definitely calls to mind the axiom dictating that the hot domain one year might not be quite the zeitgeist the next; I've certainly been hearing more and more about Facebook than I have about MySpace these days.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will begin selling newer versions of its Zune digital media player as of today at national retailers like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). The world's largest software company will, again, try to compete head-to-head with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPods, current the planet's most popular line of digital media players.

In addition to replacing the original Zune player with a newer, sleeker unit, Microsoft's releasing the slimmer Zune player in 4GB and 8GB capacities to compete more directly with Apple's most popular iPod product, the iPod nano. After five years, is the world tiring of the iPod and seeking another, equally capable device with more features and an online media store to boot? Many would answer "yes" to that question, and that's the market Microsoft wants to recruit to this new line of Zune devices.

As I was following Apple. Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) "The beat goes on" event yesterday, I caught myself wondering this: can Apple roll out incremental features to its iPod line and get the market excited once again? I'm not sure that happened, as Apple shares remained stagnant during the event and then closed down almost nine points. This on a day when the company refreshed its entire iPod lineup with new "models." Ehh.

Did Apple just suffer along with many other tech stocks in yesterday's downtick, or was it something more? Apple CEO Steve Jobs has a wonderful way of making the world think each 'new' Apple product is somehow a first or one-of-a-kind, but most aren't any longer when it comes to the iPod line (save the iPhone, which is easily a revolutionary product).

Basically, Jobs trotted out the same products -- from the iPod Classic to the iPod Nano to the iPod Touch -- with incremental feature upgrades and more marketing glitz than a glazed donut. The market seemed unimpressed, all things considered. But, there's more.

Do you consider the environmental impact of the products you purchase? There are many customers who do, and there are even indexes that measure the impact of certain products made by many companies so that customers can get a clear picture of just how that new PC, iPod or laser printer can end up impacting the environment (generally, when disposed of).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a hot name in the field of consumer electronics right now based on how the company continues to sell iPod digital music players like crazy while being hot in the retail field and in the PC field as well. Financially, Apple shares have done tremendous things in the past five years as well -- making many shareholders happy people these days. Is Apple's opus here? Many doubt it is -- even as Apple seems like it can't score any more home runs. Yet, this is what is continues to do every year it seems.

But from an ecological standpoint, the company is not doing that hot. Apple has been ranked the worst among 14 leading electronics manufacturers according to a new Greenpeace survey. What was the measurement criteria? Mainly, the use of toxic chemicals and Apple's commitment to recycling obsolete products were looked at. But it fared the worst from a group of 14 manufacturers? That's an eyebrow raiser in an age where being "green" is all the rage -- and a company as iconic as Apple is not close to hitting the mark here. Companies that are? Well, they include Lenovo, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Dell, Samsung, Motorola, Fujitsu-Siemens, HP and ACER above-average scores while Toshiba, Sony, LG and Panasonic all were rated below average. At the bottom? Apple.

When Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) released the Zune digital music player last November, there were inklings that the company who could challenge Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPod dominance had finally arrived. The splintered digital music universe of a zillion companies making MP3 music players was a dizzying array of incompatibilities and cheaply-made junk that gave Apple no challenge in creating an complete "music ecosystem" that has made it the undisputed champion in the digital music player arena.

So, when Microsoft's Zune was launched, the company was attempting to compete with Apple head-on with nicely-designed products and a complete set of online music download tools that would attempt to re-create and complete Apple iPod experience -- but from Microsoft. Its Zune music and media player had a few features the iPod lacked -- like WiFi wireless networking -- but limited the usability of some of those advanced features as to make them useless to experienced digital music player fans.

Well, in the six months since the Zune was released, Microsoft has reportedly sold one million of the players, which is a pretty decent start on competing with the formidable iPod -- but it has a long, long way to go. Just as with the gaming division (xbox 360), Microsoft (most likely) is in this game for the long haul and probably intends on competing with Apple for several years in the digital music player space before even making a small dent in the iPod's marketshare. Redmond has plenty of patience and money to do this, so the Zune -- contrary to beliefs that it will die a quick death -- will be here for a while. One million units is decently impressive at this point, but there are more millions to go most likely.

[Disclosure: I own MSFT shares as of 5-28-07]

One of the reasons I don't get that excited about numbers from market research groups is due to the fact that so much of the data collection methodology and the slivers of detail that can make or refute a single number are never publicly mentioned anywhere. This includes NPD, Forrester, IDC and other well-respected research groups.

But, as an investor, I want to know extreme detail about everything -- as to make the best and most informed decision. This article over at Roughly Drafted gives a pretty concise but detailed example between two market scenarios that are sometimes compared but should not be: the PC vs. Mac fight from the late 80s and into the 90s and the iPod vs. Zune fight going on right now between the same two companies -- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

The vivid picture painted here is that numbers and very true (but not all-inclusive) statistics can allow either company (or any company in any industry) to cherry-pick market share and installed base numbers to the benefit of product marketing, but which may only explain a sliver of the overall strategy and success or possible failure of a product (or an entire industry section of products).

Is the age coming when traditional cable television syndication and companies will be threatened by the emergence of web technologies that can deliver some of -- or the same -- content to customers? Who knew Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would be competing with established TV networks back in 2001 when the iPod was introduced?

In reading this account by a blogger (an admittedly early adopter) who canceled his Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) subscription in order to get the same content from iTunes and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) -- I have to wonder if the wonderful content empires that run popular culture with, umm, pretty trashy shows in any respect, will start crumbling as the democratization of content becomes more and more possible (and easier)?

The larger content distribution companies are in the game to bundle and make their shops a "one-stop shop" for consumers, playing up the angle that mucho dinero can be saved. Is this really true? Does this lock consumers into bundles where many of the offerings are substandard?

Maybe so -- I've always found better value and more personalized services going with different providers for everything. Although I don't "get everything on one bill" (I still don't get that marketing angle), I can pay them all in a few minutes using the web anyway.

What sold more during the recent holiday shopping season: Microsoft's Zune or Apple's iPod? All hands point to the iPod, which again appears poised to be a blowout success for sales during its fifth holiday selling season. Sure, it wasn't the hottest digital music player in 2001, but over five years sales have snowballed.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a pretty decent yardstick for sales of all kinds of electronic gadgets and products. The numbers the retailer releases are a good indicator of where sales are going to break down everywhere else -- online and off-line.

This year, the world's largest online retailer has already said that the iPod in all its variations has steadily outsold the Zune, although to be fair Zune hasn't had much time to build up a big head of foam like the iPod has over the last half-decade. The iPod's brand alone will be one of the hardest competitive battles ole' Softie has ever faced -- if it resolves to be a longtime competitor that can actually compete with a decent and formidable overall customer experience.

It's an interesting time when website visits are a main metric for trying to determine where the bulk of gifts were purchased for use as Christmas gifts. This year, Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes website/store saw a 413% increase in web visitor traffic compared to the same day last year. Perhaps a few iPods were given as gifts this year, eh?

What happened? New iPod owners flocked to Apple's website to download the iTunes program, which is not packaged with quite a few iPods these days (a download is required).

By comparison, visits to Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Zune.net -- the site that co-exists with Microsoft's MP3 player -- showed an increase of 1,030 percent on December 25, 2006 compared to the previous Monday (not the previous year) -- signaling that a few Zunes were given as gifts as well. However, the iPod's performance saw a marketshare increase of 1,222 percent in the same period.

The Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) pundits are on the rampage this month, claiming that iTunes sales are plummeting and the growth that Apple's music (and movies and videos and television shows) sales engine may finally be slowing down a bit. My thinking? So what?

There are so many bloggers and obsessed mathemeticians who have tried to calculate what Apple makes on each iTunes transaction, and the results come back pretty much the same -- Apple makes very little to nothing on the sales of each iTunes track that is downloaded. My question: Why does Apple need to make a cent on these sales? In fact, even if it operates at break-even, that's fine.

The mode Apple obviously works at is to get customers to buy iPods that integrate flawlessly with its content service. In an odd twist from normal hardware/software selling patterns, the money in this case is made on the hardware. And lots and lots of money is made. By giving such a good deal away at next to cost and by providing the best device-content user experience, Apple has not even been close to being dethroned from its perch.

It's very true that declining iTunes sales could be a possible harbinger to a slowdown of iPod sales -- and that should cause a concern, as that is roughly a third of Apple's sales at this time. Although a five-year run for the iPod shows no signs of slowing, it will some day. It has to. Until then, what's the big concern with iTunes sales?

As BloggingStocks' Doug McIntyre noted earlier, shares in iPod and Mac maker Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are sitting at a pretty decent level right now -- above $80. Is there room to move up even more? If so, it's going to take a lot to convince major institutional investors and watchdog houses who see the pinnacle of Apple's current success -- the iPod -- hit the five-year milestone. Perhaps they will consult with Miss Cleo about how long this iPod-frenzy can last, since the iPod is central to Apple's recent success.

Of course there is quite a bit of truth to that, but there is more to Apple than just the iPod. By accident or design, the iPod has taken sales of other Apple products like the MacBook for the ride as well, and Apple's market share in the PC market has only grown recently.

I doubt this is due to the virus/malware problem that the company touts as why Macs are better than Windows PCs. It's probably due more to the iPod culture and the attention to cool design that Apple has bestowed in the consumer electronics field. Many consumers are now paying attention to design and style instead of PC horsepower and feature lists that are as indecipherable to many of us as Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Does Apple CEO Steve Jobs have a transition plan for the inevitable decline of the iPod? Remembering product cycle patterns that happen in the business world, the iPod may indeed be on the downward slope -- and investors may get antsy as sales slow someday soon. What will pick up the pace for Apple so that its shares don't plummet when this happens?

Steve Jobs may be holding the answer in the neck flap of his daily turtleneck for nobody else to know...until it's too late for competitors to respond. He won't tell the investment community for fear of letting the competition know what is going on. Investors may be skittish, but the magician Jobs is probably laughing in his sleep. Hey, what you don't know won't hurt you, right?