Steve Jobs told a room of Apple shareholders that the upcoming product lineup is, "The best I've ever seen in my life." Pointing to products like the new 17-inch Macbook Pro and the transition of the company to Intel-based systems, he said the future looks pretty damn good for the company.

But particularly interesting was Jobs' teasing the shareholders. When asked what future products they could expect to see -- the same products Jobs told them was the best he'd ever seen -- Steve Jobs reportedly answered, "I can't tell you."

According to Macworld: Jobs was particularly effusive about the MacBook Pro, a laptop powered by an Intel Core Duo chip that just this week added a 17-inch configuration. Â?Everyone wants a MacBook Pro because they are so bitchinÂ?,Â? he said.

Is it just me or is Steve Jobs persuasive style just getting lazy?

As far as Apple the company, it's been a whirlwind year for them. Even as the iPod line sold like crazy all over the world, the company has had to contend with the departure of two of the top three management heads in Cupertino. While nothing has been publicly said about who might end up replacing any of the positions, some people believe that Steve Jobs is currently on the job.

Earlier this year, Avie Tevanian, who headed the development of Mac OS X, and later Jon Rubenstein, who supervised much of the company's hardware in recent years, announced their resignations from Apple.

According to PC Mag: At some companies, such a loss of leadership could leave the company with a power vacuum or a lack of direction. However, Apple seems to be conscious that no single personÂ?except, perhaps, CEO Steve Jobs himselfÂ?is irreplaceable, and that new talent can always be groomed for the future.

Oh, and, about the picture. That's an Apple-head. Get it? Oh, forget you.

First came the news that Apple would no longer be needing the service of PortalPlayer in the design and production of chips used in future versions of the iPod, which brought a long-term partnership to a screeching halt. Now, Apple has revealed that it will no longer be needing Quanta, either.

According to Digitimes, the order for new iPods "has been shifted," according to Macworld, from Quanta to an as-yet unspecified manufacturer. It had been reported earlier this year that Quanta was to produce new Video iPods for Apple.

This news has to get one thinking about where exactly Apple is now deciding to shift its future production of new iPods. If most of the big players are getting out of the picture, who does it leave to continue production of the hugely popular music device?

According to MacNN, the Apple Paris Expo is accepting pre-registrations from interested parties who will be attending the event later this year. The Expo, which is sometimes used to launch new products, will take place Sept. 12 - 16 in Paris at the Porte de Versailles.

The expo lasts five days and is scheduled to involve some of Apple's more famous partners, including Adobe, Filemaker, Intego, and others according to MacNN. According to the site: The conference will also feature free workshops, other special events, and special sessions on making music on a Mac.

It is not known whether or not Apple's notorious chief, Steve Jobs, will be making an appearance this year.

According to published reports, the iTunes service may be gearing up to feature advertisements. Yes, users will now have to put up with advertisements while accessing free content.

Apparently, though, the advertisements will only be featured on the lower right-hand corner of the application.

The advertisements will make more of a difference in podcasts. There, you will be unable to avoid listening to a few announcements before playing your podcast.

There is also talk of making advertisements a more prominent feature in even paid downloaded programs and videos. Here's hoping that won't be the case.

I'm guessing Apple has something really swanky in mind for their new campus in Cupertino, Calif. The campus, purchased to accommodate the ever-expanding needs of the company, clocked in at a reported $160 million. Before it is all said and done, some experts believe the company will have sunk $500 million into their latest investment on the 50-acre parcel of land.

"That would make the company's second campus one of the costliest Silicon Valley commercial ventures in recent memory," Michele Chandler, with the San Jose Mercury News, wrote.

The next step for Apple is to draw up the plans and submit them to the city council for approval. As their largest taxpaying entity, I'm sure the council won't mind anything Mr. Jobs comes up with. A re-zoning will also be required, as some of the property had initially been designated for residential use.

Johnathan Rubenstein, the Apple Vice President of the iPod Division, after leaving the company last year will now serve as a consultant for the company.

Rubenstein, who oversaw the advent of the iPod from its inception to its spectacular performance in recent times, will make himself available to the company for one day out of the week.

According to CNN Money, Rubenstein's former position at the company is being filled by Tony Fadell, who joined Apple in 2001. Fadell two years ago was promoted to the position of head of engineering for the iPod division and will now report directly to Steve Jobs.

Even as the rest of the world seemingly praises Apple's strategy and their explosive growth over the past year, some analysts are are beginning to worry that the good times may not last going forward. Steve Fortuna, analyst for the Prudential Equity Group, is concerned with the company's recent second quarter earnings.

When it made public its earnings over the last quarter, Apple revealed a few 'hiccups' that may be indicators of what's still to come, Mr. Fortuna argues. iPod sales were expected to top off at 9 or 10 million, but in actuality was closer to 8.5 million -- even below Prudential's own 8.8 million forecast.

Mr. Fortuna is predicting that Apple's momentum will drop off, and that revenues will follow as consumers spend less on disposable income items, and other electronic devices fight for dollars that would otherwise be spent on iPods. He also expects that Apple doesn't have any more products to release that will be as successful as the iPod, and that Sony is likely to challenge Apple's dominance in the music market.

PortalPlayer, a longtime chip supplier in partnership with Apple Computers, has been told by the Cupertino company that it will no longer be a part of the Apple family. PortalPlayer, who earlier this year was celebrating its financial success following what was one of the busiest seasons on record for iPod sales, has lost the vast majority of its profit engine now that Apple will no longer use them.

According to Cnet, PortalPlayer never saw it coming. It had been working on developing a new chip to debut later this year it thought would be used in future iterations of the iPod when it received the news. According to Cnet: One analyst estimated that 95 percent of PortalPlayer's fourth-quarter revenue came from iPod sales, and Wedbush Morgan Securities had based 70 percent of its 2007 revenue forecast for the company on shipments of new iPod Nanos. PortalPlayer stock took a deep plunge, 43% to be specific, after the announcement.

Speculation among analysts is that Samsung edged out PortalPlayer for Apple's business.

Apple's just announced a 41% increase in profits, beating most estimates from Wall St, but as expected most of the sales were from iPods and not Intel Macs. Actual profit made was $410 million which works out to 47 cents per share, but when compared to the three months ending April 1st last year, you would probably think it was a different company.

Currently Apple has a 3-4% computer market share, but in the following months this is expected to improve thanks to the Intel Mac hype and productivity. Currently halfway through its shift to Intel processors, there are still many routes and room for expansion which should be seen by the end of the year. However many believe true growth wont come from Intel based sales, but rather Boot Camp inspired sales. If Apple hadn't released software allowing Windows XP use, then many wouldn't have brought Macs on the simple take up of Intel. However as expected the majority of Macs sold in the last quarter (1.1 million) were Intel driven.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, explained that demand for Intel Macs could decrease in the following quarter as many people either wait for the new lines to appear (iBook/MacBook) or wait for updated software such as Adobe Photoshop to appear for Intel Mac's. The main product line, the humble iPod, is selling strong at more than 8.5 Million units in the last quarter (up 61% from last year) and totalled $1.7 Billion in revenue, $0.13 Billion more than Mac sales, bringing Apple 39% of company revenue from the small white/black mp3 player.

"We're thrilled about the quarter," Oppenheimer said in a phone interview. "It's the second best revenue quarter we've ever had, topped only by last quarter."

Apple forecast that revenue should hit $4.2 Billion - $4.4 Billion in the next quarter. So everything's coming up roses for Apple, but how much of their good fortune they'll pass to us, and in whatever form (cheaper prices, history breaking technology?), who knows? We'll just have to wait and see...