Sure, everybody in the computer industry bags on Apple, but it's pretty tough to deny that those lovable geeks in Cupertino are high-tech trendsetters. Heck, back in the early '80s, pundits laughed at the GUI and the mouse-- and now just about every system sold uses both. People laughed at the in-your-face styling of the iMac, and now translucent colors are everywhere you look; even corporate poster child Dell has banned beige from its product lines. And the way we remember it, Apple also kicked off the laser printer, PDA, and consumer-grade digital camera industries with the LaserWriter, the Newton, and the QuickTake, respectively. It's all about Follow The Leader.

So is it any wonder that Apple blazed a bold new trail into the wilderness of high-tech financial meltdowns, as well? Most of you may recall that this current nightmare on Wall Street really didn't kick into high gear until Apple tipped the first domino back in September. Remember that first earnings warning, in which Fred Anderson outlined a variety of reasons why Apple would be posting a smaller profit than analysts had been expecting? Yes, Education sales were down, and okay, Cube sales were embarrassingly low-- but it was that "business slowdown in all geographies" that we consider to be the focal point, here. At the time we thought, "what business slowdown?" Looking back upon the tech carnage over the past six months, however, it's only too obvious that Apple had started yet another trend.

It was only a week later that Dell followed suit (surprise, surprise) with its own earnings warning, citing "slower than expected revenue growth." And over the course of the next few months, suddenly earnings warnings were popping up like weeds. The entire industry cited slowing sales and a faltering economy, and slashed their profit forecasts accordingly. Brightly-colored computers, cratering stock prices-- it's really all just due to a big lack of originality. Darn copycats.

And the latest to climb on board? Why, it's those lovable freaks over at Compaq! Faithful viewer Oren Krinsky was only too happy to inform us that Compaq has warned investors that "first-quarter earnings will fall far short of analysts' estimates," according to a Reuters article. Why, you ask? All together, now, with feeling: "CONTINUED WEAKNESS IN THE U.S. ECONOMY, AND RESULTANT PRICING PRESSURES!" Same tune, slightly different words; it's like an annoyingly catchy jingle that the industry can't get out of its head. But in case you were wondering if Compaq added anything to the mix, the answer is yes: the company has opted to throw in 5,000 layoffs for good measure. Say what you like about how Apple dropped the ball; the company may have lost a quarter billion dollars last quarter, but at least we haven't heard of any Cupertino pink slips. But then again, Apple can't come up with everything, right?