In an industry known for job-hopping, Mr. Battat was regarded as an Apple loyalist - a colleague once said, "he bleeds in six colors," a reference to the company's colorful bitten-apple logo.

Apple loyalists might consider selling Windows software at a Macintosh trade show akin to a Hatfield's showing up at a McCoy family reunion.

The audience could not have been more receptive - some 4,000 Apple loyalists packed into the cavernous ballroom of the San Francisco Marriott on Jan. 7 for the annual Macworld computer conference.

Still, even longtime Apple loyalists are skittish these days.

But new product introductions can be treacherous, and shifting Apple loyalists from its current line of Motorola microprocessors to a new class of chips has many potential pitfalls.

To an Apple loyalist, I imagine this is a silly question.

Outsiders who are Apple loyalists say the most serious damage may be that Apple may have unintentionally rubbed some of the magic off the Macintosh.

This quarter, however, Mr. Jobs once again demonstrated that he had retained a deft touch in offering Apple loyalists products that are still differentiated from the general PC marketplace.

The design of the new iMac clearly left some Apple loyalists scratching their heads.

Overall, reaction to the departure of the chief executive from Apple loyalists at the New York store was tinged with sadness as well as concern for the future of the iconic company.