Over the past few years, hosannas have been deservedly heaped on Apple Computer CEO Steven P. Jobs for crafting a new Golden Age at the Cupertino (Calif.) company. A string of fresh products, particularly the iconic iPod, have put Apple (AAPL ) back on the map and generated stellar returns. Since the first iPod was introduced, in late 2001, Apple has grown 148%, from $5.7 billion in revenues to a projected $13.4 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. All that has sent Apple's shares up 305% over the same period.

Now life is about to get a whole lot more complicated for Jobs & Co. For starters, Apple has decided to move from the PowerPC chips made by IBM and Freescale Semiconductor that have powered its computers for a decade to the Intel microprocessors found in most other PCs. That transition alone, announced in San Francisco on June 6, presents a massive challenge -- and it's not the only one. The shift comes just as sales growth for both Macs and iPods is poised to slow, raising pressure for Apple to come up with its next consumer hit.