Yes Apple just posted another record quarter, at least in contrast to the last quarter, but it's good news that may hide some bad news. For one thing Apple's first real showdown is coming.

Microsoft's Zune hasn't managed to do much except be a perennial second place to the iPod, but the iPod is a dinosaur anyway. Its sales are slipping and the future lies in mobile computing and smartphone devices. And that's where Apple has had some success with the iPhone, but now faces a showdown with Google.

Unlike Microsoft, Google doesn't have to try hard to be cool or deliver functional value. As a matter of fact Google might even be better at that than Apple, and it has assets like YouTube in its back pocket. Sure with Chrome, Chrome OS, Google Wave and a bunch of other projects, Google is spread thinner than Apple, but that just gives Google more coolness momentum.

And the first Verizon Droid ads are already hitting Apple's weak points, and while a year ago Apple might have talked about innovation, its last updates have been weak. Now Apple and Jobs will have to go up against Google, which has the masters of interfaces on its side, and is a lot less restrictive than Apple is.