Apple & Cash: Growing on Trees: Prudential just lifted its quarterly profit estimates on Apple despite post-holiday slowing in iPod sales. The firm is looking for earnings of 68 cents a share in the March quarter, which is 4 cents over the past prediction and 7 cents ahead of analyst's consensus targets, largely as a result of stronger than expected Mac sales and higher margins. Which means? Shares of Apple were trading around $86.10 at press time and investors? Yes...they were lighting cigars.

Apple TV kills the Video Star: Suffering from format fatigue? Still smarting from the whole Beta debacle? Well, get ready: The DVD is dead according to an article in Red Herring. At least if Chris Whitmore, analyst at Deutsche Bank, is even half right. Apple's set-top box is expected to hit stores next week and "it's conceivable" that Apple's volley across the Xbox's bow could secure 20 to 30 percent of a $26 billion marketplace in the next few years, Whitmore claims in a recent report. While early gains are expected as a result of over 40 million iTunes users, Whitmore believes in the next few years growth will expand and extend itself to wiping out DVDs and CDs. No word yet on the seemingly moribund 8-track tape market. Deutsche Bank forecasts two million Apple TV units will be sold in 2007. Believe it.

Quantum Research Lining Up for Suit #2: The iPhone looks like it could be getting another call, this time from the UK-based Quantum Research, a Southampton-based touch sensor specialist that's already suing Apple for the capacitive touch-sensing technology used in the iPod clickwheels. The lawsuit this time, a patent lawsuit, may directly address Apple's use of various touch screen apps based on Quantum's patented charge-transfer (QT) capacitive sensing technology. When reached for comment Apple spokespeople said, "What? I'm sorry. What was the question again?"

One More Apple Store: "They," the ubiquitous chorus of doubters who said they'd never do it, need to choke back another piece of crow as Apple opens up yet another store, this one in Florida. With a grand opening this coming Saturday y'all anywhere near Estero, Florida should try to stop on in.