Tickers in this Article: AAPL, HPQ, DELL, RIMM Spare a moment of
pity for the Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) bears and shorts, as they have
another difficult day ahead of trying to get over their
cognitive dissonance. Simply put, this company remains a
remarkable force in consumer technology, and seems to have an
uncanny ability to create its own markets. The Gordian knot for
Apple investors, then, is trying to make their peace with a
valuation that suggests Apple may just be worth a truly
breathtaking amount of money.   A Great Start to the Year Apple
certainly had a good Christmas. Revenue in the fiscal first
quarter jumped 73% from last year and 64% from the prior
quarter, and did some very bad things to the prior analyst
guesses. Revenue was largely strong across the board - PC sales
were up 22%, iPhone sales were up 133% and iPad sales were up
99%, while iPod sales declined 26% year-on-year.  This company
also did a great job of continuing to deliver top-notch profit
leverage. Gross margin grew more than six points