=+Jobs’ new gamble is taking Apple into digital music. It is considered to be both hugely risky and highly profitable for someone who can get it right.

He faces competition from Dell, Wal-Mart and Microsoft. It also depends on Jobs, and anyone else in the business, understanding the fickle tastes of teenagers and college students. Jobs loves music and is a big fan of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. However, today Apple is a midget compared to Microsoft. For all Jobs undoubted creative talent, Apple has not amounted to much in fiscal terms. In 2003 it reported sales of $6.3 billion, most of it from the sales of computers. The company that started the PC revolution is a lowly ninth behind competitors such as Dell, HP and IBM.