On June 30, 2008, the last PCs with Windows XP were sold (theoretically) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) went hard on Vista, its less than celebrated operating system. I was one of the hold outs, opting to buy my laptop with Windows XP last year even though Vista was being touted as the latest and greatest system. Today, I am sure the remaining XP devices are going for a premium.

What does this mean for the future of PC sales? I think there will be some measure of reduced PC sales in the short run just because the economy is already suffering and consumers and businesses are looking to stretch their devalued dollars.

It also means that some people that do not want the burdensome Vista system and all the baggage that goes along with it will be opting for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Macs. There are many people like me who have been weighing the switch to a Mac for a while. The rest of my household has made the switch (4 Macs, 1 PC) and I did consider this prior to my last purchase. I may swing the other way next time.

For other PC users who remain satisfied with XP, they may not only think to stretch their dollars, but try and hang onto their PCs longer until the value proposition for Vista becomes more convincing. I can always add more memory or speed to my existing computer.

I do not know what the trade-off is for Microsoft. It would make money selling the XP system as well as the Vista system. Any slowdown of PC sales or continued movement toward Apple products has to hurt revenue a little?

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has had tremendous success in the digital music player and now cellphone markets. Starting with the iPod and (not) ending with the iPhone, the company has been a force -- if not the force -- in consumer electronics this year. But, was it all to get more customers buying Apple's computer products? That argument -- known as a the halo effect -- has been drawn up in countless articles and blog posts. Surprise, surprise -- it is most likely working.

The market share Apple's Macintosh computer products have been seeing has taken the Cupertino, Calif., company from a single-digit slice of the PC market to a force to be reckoned with in 2007. In a November report from research firm ChangeWave Research, the data indicates that more potential buyers than ever plan to buy a Mac in the near future. Is Steve Jobs dancing in his office? Probably not -- this has been part of his plan for more than just a few years. After all, capture them with marketing and surround them with your other products behind the competitor's back, huh Steve?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) set at an all-time high during today's session of $122.69 and closed at $122.67, up $1.34 or 1.1%.

A Credit Suisse analyst, Robert Semple, said that the iPhone's superior technology stemming from the Mac operating system will make it a hit. The different uses as well as it probably becoming a must-have fashion item, will hike up iPhone's sales. Semple estimates 5 million iPhones will be sold this year and 15 million in 2008 for $2.2 billion in revenue. He therefore raised his earnings estimates and upped his target price on AAPL to $140 from $120, implying a 15% return.

Today Apple also updated its MacBook Pro notebook PCs in advance of the company's worldwide developers conference next week, upgrading the standard features.

It is interesting to note that today also marks the 30th anniversary of the Apple II computer, which first made its appearance on June 5, 1977 along with the famous Apple logo. I remember a few years later when my parents bought me that Commodore, my friend got an Apple. Oh, was I jealous. Now, I can only hope that by the time the iPhone comes to Canada it might come down in price a bit.

Barring anything going awfully wrong, Apple is probably on its way up. 15% higher? That doesn't sound far-fetched when it comes to Apple.

Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) ended that day down 41 cents or 0.50% to finish up at $81.05. This is a settling down since the amazing gains of last week as things fall back into business as usual. Today Apple updated its professional line of laptops, the MacBook Pro, just a small bump, nothing major.

However MacNN points out that the MacBook Pro will be Apple's next big PR hurdle, as they've been afflicted with random shutdown errors, enough that some users are getting very vocal with their frustration.

[Thanks to Rein Harden on the MacBook correction]

The MacBook Pros have been solid selling upscale laptops for Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). The switch to Intel chips increased speed and added the ability to dual-boot windows. Now Apple has added the Intel Core 2 Duo processor to the professional laptop lineup at 2.16 or 2.33 gigahertz to give the laptops a stated 37% speed boost.

The new laptops also feature more storage and memory, Apple handing out 1 gigabyte of RAM with the base model, and a 2 gigabytes on up.

The new update also features a firewire 800 port. This is a good sign that Apple is listening to a lot of its consumers who are still invested in Firewire, as well as realizing that the professionally-oriented userbase of these laptops demand more RAM.

Apple is issuing a worldwide recall of all 15" MacBook Pro batteries. This is a small PR and profit struggle for Apple. Notebooks are the flagship product for Apple right now, both in terms of brand appeal and sales. The cost of giving everyone who finds out about the recall a new battery eats into Apple's profit margins, and the black eye of admitting that they got past Apple quality control is a tough blow, as Apple prides itself on very good quality control.

Apple notes that the batteries do not pose a safety risk, and can still be used until replacements arrive.

[Picture credit: sheldonken]