For the Apple-bashers hoping regulators would throw the book at Apple chief Steve Jobs over options backdating, better take a cold shower!!!

Months into the federal probe of options backdating at Apple and the chances of a criminal case against Jobs are fading fast, reports the Mercury News.

Howard Mintz and troy Wolverton report that while Jobs approved the backdating, the investigation has found no evidence that he directed the backdating of his own grant or covered it up. That means there's no official evidence of misconduct.

As the writers point out, a decision not to prosecute would have enormous significance for Apple and its shareholders:

"His loss would be a body blow to the company. Jobs is not only Apple's chief spokesman and evangelist, he is Apple, playing a key role in decisions big and small."

Still, questions remain. As Mark Molumphy, lead lawyer on the shareholders' lawsuit related to Apple's backdating told the reporters, you still have to wonder how much Jobs knew what was going on.

Molumphy said: "Could you justifiably believe this was an appropriate thing to do? The question is ... who knew about the falsified minutes? That's the $64,000 question."