On the next start of Microsoft’s AutoUpdate, Office 2008 for Mac has a Critical update waiting to be downloaded. The 180 MB upgrade, which takes users to version 12.1.0, is supposed to have/make:

…several improvements to enhance security, stability, and performance, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer’s memory with malicious code.

Apple consistently likes to take discreet shots at its competitor, Microsoft. Whether it’s about viruses or system crashes, Apple tries to incorporate the stereotypical Windows machine into their products and websites. Here’s the latest.

The Blue Screen of Death is one of the most awful screens to reach when operating Windows computer. It means, you’ve just crashed and there’s no way of getting back. When I was recently bored and passing the time, I looked at a connected computer, or “Shared” computer. The computer was hooked on to my network and was a Windows PC. Clicking on the shared computer brought up a folder entitled “C.” Curious, I clicked “Get Info” for the drive. Under “Preview” was a bulky CRT Monitor showing the “Blue Screen of Death.”

Pictures Below. Click to Enlarge.

Apple (AAPL) has literally sold tens of millions of iPods since they first debuted. Some people have purchased more than two and some have purchased different versions (nano, shuffle, etc.). With all the excitement surrounding the iPhone, there seems to be a euphoria that’s blocking the future outlook. Will previous customers eventually buy new iPhones, like they did iPods?

iPods have been a craze, year after year, it’s been on the top of lists and consistently selling far more than other MP3 Players (i.e. Zune). Currently, the iPod product lineup varies in price from $79 to the all-new iPod Touch’s top-of-the-line price of $399. There isn’t any plan attached to these Apple products, and no necessary additional costs.

Most iPhone purchases cost $599 (for 8GB model), alongside about a $60 a month voice and data plan from AT&T (T). Put the costs together and it is a phone/iPod that will cost over $2000 in total charges in the first two years. This price isn’t necessarily an unusual number for phones that need intensive data packages.

The question comes into play when you factor this exceptional amount of money alongside the possibility of Apple updating the product with 3G and more flash memory in the future. What will users do when the possibility of getting a new iPhone becomes a reality? Will they simply buy the new model and sell the old one, or will they hold out, and keep the phone for two to three years?

If this happens, the market could see a saturation of iPhones and the supply will outweigh the demand. Then, new model iPhone sales could quickly dry up. We’re hoping for the iPhone to continue to sell like the iPod did, but there could be trouble in the next couple of years.

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

It’s unclear how long Apple’s (AAPL) rally will continue, but for now, let’s look back on one of the most incredible stocks in recent history.

Let’s not forget how Apple was merely a $20 stock back in 2004 and 2005. A pebble in the electronic market, little more than a tick on Microsoft’s (MSFT) back. Those times have quickly changed, and Apple is capturing one of the largest profit margins in the industry.

Investors were quite curious about the “iPod” in 2001, as a set back Steve Jobs introduced the revolutionary device to a crowd of no more than seemingly 100-150 people. The stock hit the ground running from there. As the evolution of newer devices and more cross-platform technology was introduced by Apple, investors saw the opportunity to jump aboard (me being one of them).

Shortly after a nice run, Apple had a 2-for-1 split on February 28, 2005. Many took their profits and let the stock take its course, but nobody could’ve expected Apple’s near future. By that time, Apple has introduced the iPod mini, soon afterwards, the first iPod shuffle was created. The stock didn’t stop.

Each time a new product was announced, the company quickly popped in stock, and investors were questioning every move. Consumers were eating up Apple products, not Creative or SanDisk products. How could this be? It was a simple result of pure brand power. The company had captured the attention of the World through the consistently sleek designs that were now an expectation of the company’s end results.

The most influential move had yet to come. The stock had actually been suffering for quite some time. Slipping from an all-time high of close to $90 per share in January 2006. Then, in January 2007 Apple came back into the spotlight. The MacWorld event at Moscone West was due to start, and months of rumors had been floating around. In the end, many of the rumors were hardly far from the truth.

The iPhone was introduced and the stock immediately jumped over $100 per share. Took the Americas by storm, and propelled Apple into the mobile phone market. While rumors speculated over various concerns, Apple prepared for the launch date and delivered, with thousands of phones selling the first day.

Now, Apple consumers and investors have plenty to look forward to this upcoming holiday season. From the iPhone to the all-new iPod touch, those stockings will be full of products dawning the little Apple logo. With rave reviews already being placed into young kids’ brains, parents will be looking for any way to get their hands on these one-of-a-kind products. Looks like it’s going to be another nice holiday for AAPL.

Below is the original event in which Steve Jobs announced the iPod:

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Oh so often in Microsoft’s (MSFT) not so intellectual business moves, they go ahead and enter a market and business that isn’t natural for a software company. Microsoft’s Live Search is a perfect example of a company’s desperate attempt to enter a new market. Spending tremendous amounts of capital for a third-rate search experience. In another attempt at grabbing extra revenue from other markets, Microsoft’s failure of a music player, the Zune, is losing traction, fast.

Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) has been making record profits, as their products continue to skyrocket towards greater sales and margins. The introduction of the iPod in 2001 is without a doubt when Apple began its tremendous turnaround. Now, with 5 products that all have a variety of “iPod” functionality and market share that encompasses about 75 to 80 percent of music player sales, it’s clear that Apple is creating THE music player.

Despite these terrible statistics for an entering company, Microsoft decided to go forth with their own music player. With a choice of three colors, Brown, Black, and White, the Zune player certainly hasn’t failed because of choices (not that the color variable was even in question). Originally, the Zune introduced at a competitive price of $249 to Apple’s iPod, which was priced at $299. Both were 30 GB large and both were capable of playing video, but any real similarities or postives for the Zune end there.

The Apple iPod product line-up has continuously been evolving. Various additions to the original iPod product have also been introduced. What has Microsoft been doing in the mean time? Price-cutting, price-cutting, and a little bit more price-cutting. Oh, I almost forgot, they added a whole two new colors! The player has quickly dropped 20 percent of its original price tag. Originally selling for $249, the player now sells for $199 (little known to much of the current media, as the price drop was made on September 5th, or the day of Apple’s special event), and can even be found on interestingly sketchy sites for about $149.

The Zune was doomed from the start. The music player isn’t cross-compatible with Macintosh computer platforms, and only works with Microsoft’s own attempt at a music store/player. That means that any music you’ve downloaded from the iTunes store can’t get transferred to the Zune.

Scariest of all, are the deep cuts into the price point, without any real noticeable upgrades and improvements. The Zune was to compete directly with the regular iPod, which is now known as the iPod Classic. The funny thing is that the Zune is now $199, and still 30 GB. Meanwhile, the iPod Classic has a base price point of $249, and comes with an 80 GB hard drive. Sorry Microsoft, but your price cuts aren’t upgrades, find some other product/business to steal market share from.

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)

In today’s (Sunday) Ads, a noticeable price in the MP3 section can be found. The price for the reasonably new Microsoft Zune has dropped to incredibly low levels, relative to its competitor’s product, the Apple iPod. Originally released at an MSRP of $249.99, the new price is at $199.99, a clear savings of $50. The new price drop could spell out one of two things.

The Zune could currently be suffering from the competition between the iPod market share. The iPod still has a great hold on the market, and an incredible ease of use associated with connecting to Macs or Windows through iTunes. The Zune on the other hand doesn’t offer dual-platform universality and tends to be lumped with the Microsoft stereotype of flawed products, which have been heavily associated with the introduction of Apple’s Ads featuring Mac and PC. The duet consistently features the two talking about the differences and the business only attitude of the Windows platform. Ultimately, the current negative sentiment behind the Windows system may be hindering profits and sales revenue from the Zune.

The other consideration may be a new Zune product in the near future. For some time, Microsoft has been rumored to be working on an upgraded Zune or a Zune phone. However, the plans for an upgrade or phone are still unconfirmed by Microsoft. If product inventories begin to decline, it may be a sign that a new product is on its way, and a new era for Microsoft products.

Despite the possibility of declining sales and revenue for the Microsoft Zune, it’s hard to deny the interesting and futuristic technology currently being used. A competitive 30 GB hard drive, wireless sharing capabilities (despite being limited by record labels), 3-inch screen, and a built in FM-Radio. All of which, except for the hard drive capacity, are unmistakably absent from the Apple iPod. The future of the Zune is somewhat up in the air, but with the success of the Xbox, and the understanding that it takes quite a bit of advertising and time for the success of a new product, we could see a continued push for the Zune by Microsoft. Until then, wait on any purchases of MSFT. It’s too big of a gamble, and in a previous article I wrote, I mentioned how much of a strain Steve Ballmer is putting on Microsoft stock.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft (MSFT), may be digging himself a grave. If he isn’t replaced within the next year, I think it will seriously be time to reconsider Microsoft’s business strategy and reasonable reasons to invest in the stock.

When sizing up any stock, there are a number of factors to take into account. With a large, well-known company like Microsoft many of the fundamentals and reasons to invest in the stock are found quite easily. On the positive side, Microsoft is and has been releasing a wealth of new products, along with recognized increases in revenue. Office, Vista, and the Xbox 360 have all taken part in the recent increases in MSFT (Recent price: 27.33). The interesting part is taking into account the negatives. For starters, Microsoft stock is definitely overpriced at a 23 P/E ratio. The stock is flat over six months, with a high in the stock price in January 07. Unfortunately, at the root of some trouble in the stock may be Microsoft’s very own CEO.

Ballmer became the CEO for Microsoft in January 2000. Since then, Microsoft has been on a bumpy road, and consistently falling under the pressure of Wall Street and fellow competitors. For instance, in Apple Inc’s (AAPL) latest quarter, revenue showed a steady and commanding increase in product sales and market share. A confidence boosting number for Apple, but a warning sign for Microsoft. The reaction to this and many other issues is what’s so alarming. Instead of saying nothing at all, or admitting that a competitor has a great product, he passes it off like it’s nothing.

In some recent news and video with Ballmer, interviewers are seeing some of the most humorous and childish ways of answering questions. A recent interview caught Ballmer laughing hysterically at the idea of the iPhone. The idea that the phone starts a $400 and goes up to $500 was just to humorous for him to reasonably answer the question. The fact is that all new products have a high starting point, Ballmer should know this with Vista Ultimate, which sells for about $400. As the phone captures greater market share, prices should begin to go down, and flexibility with phone plans should soon follow. Look below for the Ballmer Video.

A recent news article, by Ina Fried, entitled “Ballmer calls Google’s growth plan ‘insane’,” captures Ballmer’s incredibly unintelligent business sense and public speaking abilities. Ballmer’s vocabulary never ceases to amaze, as his phrases like, “Google is a one-trick pony,” “They do a lot of cute things,” “They are trying to double in a year, that’s insane in my opinion,” and in acknowledging Google’s current success, “That was the ’90s for us…or I would say the ’80s and ’90s.” At first the quotes may seem to be true insults to Google as a company and its business model, but dig deeper, and a much scarier notion evolves. Microsoft is stuck in the past, continuing to create the same products that they always have, and refusing to make the necessary changes to broaden their technological innovations. Video of Ballmer from the Stanford Graduate School of Business can be found on CNET at: http://news.com.com/1606-2-6167775.html.

If Microsoft continues to harbor such a negative and inarticulate CEO, their stock and business will continue to suffer. Ballmer is bad news for Microsoft, and he needs to be taken down from his position as CEO. Understanding that upper management and executives play such a large role in the price of a stock is something that is overlooked far too often. The winners in the investing game know, before investing, always try to investigate and study up on the influential people in the company, and understand their possible effects on the stock price.

Disclosure: Long Apple Inc. (AAPL)