According to a new article by CBC, a 2% gain by Apple stock shares today (Monday August 20) has made the company "the most expensive public company of all time."

This news shows Apple has made some amazing progress and growth in the last few years - especially considering it didn't even enter the list of the Top 10 publicly traded companies until the fourth quarter of 2009.

Valued at more than $662 billion, Apple has a big lead on the rest of the top public companies in the Top 5, which are Exxon ($405 billion), Microsoft ($257 billion), PetroChina ($233 billion), and IBM ($229 billion).

But another company did come close to Apple's current valuation all the way back at the beginning of the millennium - Microsoft.

The CBC article had this to say about Apple's new top spot:

"It makes Apple worth more than the previous title holder, Microsoft, which peaked at $618.9 billion the day before New Year's Eve 1999, near the height of the technology bubble.

It is important to note the title does not factor in inflation. If America's inflation rate is taken into account, in today's dollars Microsoft was worth about $850 billion on the eve of the new millennium."

So my question to you forum world... what does this mean for Apple and the IT landscape in general? Is this just the beginning of an Apple Empire - or is it just a temporary spike in the long term growth of the company?

Who should actually own the title for 'most valuable public company' ever... Microsoft with its value adjusted for inflation at $850 billion in 1999, or the current title-holder Apple?

I do think it's important to keep inflation in mind. Technically, Microsoft still takes the cake in my eyes. If you don't consider inflation, it's almost like giving Apple a handicap- not sure Steve Jobs would even want the 'most valuable' title if that's how it was earned.

Still, that's not to discredit Apple in any way. Obviously it has dominated in the industry and deserves to be recognized accordingly (and it has been- whether named 'most valuable' or not).

As for your question about whether this is just a temporary spike, I don't think so. Apple will remain near the top- but I personally think Microsoft is on a run to earn back the title.

Just a little more news since Apple became the 'most valuable' public company about a month ago.

Yesterday, Tuesday September 18, 2012, Apple stocked tipped over the $700 mark for the first time - an impressive gain considering that in September 2011, a year earlier, Apple stock hovered around the $400 mark.

On September 18, 2012 opened at $699.88, hit a low of $696.42, bounced to a high of $702.33 and then closed out the day with a value of $701.91.

It seems the recent launch of the iPhone 5, slated for release on September 21, has done much to bolster the technology giant's position at the top of the stock market. Don't expect this giant to fall anytime soon.