multiple sources, certain key components (including microprocessors and application specific integrated circuits ("ASICs")) are currently obtained by the Company from single or limited sources. Some key components (including without limitation DRAM, TFT-LCD flat-panel displays, and optical and magnetic disk drives), while currently available to the Company from multiple sources, are at times subject to industry wide availability and pricing pressures. In addition, new products introduced by the Company often initially utilize custom components obtained from only one source until the Company has evaluated whether there is a need for and subsequently qualifies additional suppliers. In situations where a component or product utilizes new technologies, initial capacity constraints may exist until such time as the suppliers' yields have matured. The Company and other producers in the personal computer industry also compete for various components with other industries (such as the cellular phone and automotive industries) that have experienced increased demand for their products. The Company uses some components that are not common to the rest of the personal computer industry (including certain microprocessors and ASICs). Continued availability of these components may be affected if producers were to decide to concentrate on the production of components other than those customized to meet the Company's requirements. If the supply of a key component were to be delayed or constrained on a new or existing product, the Company's results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected, depending on the time required to obtain sufficient quantities from the original source, or, if possible, to identify and obtain sufficient quantities from an alternate source.

The Company's ability to produce and market competitive products is also dependent on the ability and desire of IBM and Motorola, the sole suppliers of the PowerPC RISC-based microprocessor for the Company's Macintosh computers, to provide the Company with a sufficient supply of microprocessors with price/performance features that compare favorably to those supplied to the Company's competitors by Intel Corporation, and other developers and producers of microprocessors used by personal computers using the Windows operating systems. Further, despite its efforts to educate the marketplace to the contrary, the Company believes that many of its current and potential customers believe that the relatively slower MHz rating or clock speed of the microprocessors it utilizes in its Macintosh systems compares unfavorably to those utilized by Windows-based systems and translates to slower overall system performance. There have been instances in recent years where the inability of the Company's suppliers to provide advanced G4 and G3 microprocessors with higher clock speeds in sufficient quantity has had significant adverse effects on the Company's results of operations. The inability in the future of the Company to obtain microprocessors in sufficient quantities with competitive price/performance features could have an adverse impact on the Company's results of operations and financial