Apple Jumps Ahead of HP iPod, iMac Launch &lt;p&gt;\&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Apple Computer Inc.\&lt;AAPL.O&gt; rose to an almost four-year high on Thursday ahead of\the launch of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s &lt;HPQ.N&gt; version of the iPod\digital music player and Apple's revamped iMac computer.&lt;/p&gt;