The Daily Caveat loves Apple Computers and has pretty much used them all, since that first boxy-but-good model came home from the local college bookstore. My wife, however, hates Macs. Says they're nothing but problems. We argue about Macs the way some spouses fight over politics. It can get heated, but since my wife will never, herself, bother with buying a computer, I know where our personal computing dollar is going to be spent.

Like all other good Mac cultists, I've been watching closely as Mac's World Wide Developer Conference approaches. Starting today, Mac will no doubt unveil a plethora of new products, as well as chart the course of their strategies for the coming year. All manner of dust will be kicked up across the web as we hope for new life-changing gadgetry, such as the prospect of a highly lusted-after Mac cell phone.

But there is a dark cloud hanging over this jovial, expectant, party atmosphere. For several weeks Apple has had the ignominious distinction of being one of the most prominent of 80 some odd companies whose handling of executive stock options has drawn attention from federal regulators, and in some cases, angry groups of shareholders carrying torches and pitchforks.

Apple hasn't felt a customer backlash yet, but concerns over the outcome of the options investigation continue to dog the technology company. If nothing else their stock price has taken a hit and recently Apple suggested that it may be forced to restate its earnings back to September 2002.

It also appears that a round of options in 2001, granted to Apple's top four offices (not including CEO Steve Jobs) directly preceded an eleven point stock jump, a situation sure to raise eyebrows. Jobs himself had received other stock options that might have drawn scrutiny, but he voluntarily cancelled them in 2003 without cashing them in.

The ultimate outcome remains to be seen for Apple, but good news does not appear to be on the horizon - at least when it comes to the options probe. A Mac cell phone, on the other hand, well, that would be good news indeed.

-- MDT