For Steve Jobs, the news was
timely. The Apple CEO came under serious fire yesterday as the company's former DFO Fred Anderson accused Jobs of knowingly granting options contrary to what was reported to the public. Anderson is
paying $3.5 million to the SEC to walk away from the issue without admitting guilt. As American Technology Research Senior Analyst Shaw Wu says, "I think even the SEC was surprised by this
outburst." Apple posted stunning growth in spite of the controversy -- and a two-week delay in the release of its Apple TV product and a further delay for its new Leopard operating
system. During the conference call, the company said it plans to record sales of its new iPhone, slated for a June release, over a 24-month subscription period, rather than at the time of purchase,
partly due to ongoing software upgrades. It will do the same with the newly-released Apple TV set-top box.