The music marketplace is revolutionized once more as Apple launches the iTunes Music Store. Consumers can purchase music for 99¢ a song for use with the Apple iPod and iTunes software. Of course Apple was not the first to offer a digital music sales service, but iTunes became an instant success, selling over one million songs in its first week.  But like all other aspects of our lives, changes happen. Apple Music was introduced in 2015 as consumer preferences shifted. Originally, it was incorporated into iTunes. By 2019. iTunes was broken up into three dedicated apps: Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. 

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If the date is throwing you off a bit, it’s understandable. Was anything dot com on your mind in 1987? Not likely. This historic event occurred some four years before the World Wide Web was officially launched. Talk about being ahead of the curve!

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Google releases the first public version of Chrome. Chrome quickly became the most popular and in-demand browser in the world. Many Mac users even seem to prefer Chrome over Safari.

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On this date, Russia launched the Soyuz TM-31. The mission carried the first crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been manned on a continual basis since this mission. The first crew included Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, and U.S. Astronaut William Shepherd

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On this date in 1938, acclaimed writer, director, and actor Orson Wells’ Mercury Theatre on The Air broadcast a radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds, depicting a Martian invasion of New Jersey. The first half of the broadcast was in the form of news bulletin style broadcasts. Listeners who missed the segment introductions that stated the broadcast was a work of science fiction, believed it to be a genuine attack from outer space. It was later discovered that much of the “panic” was exaggerated by print media who may have sought to use the moment in an attempt to discredit radio, then the single biggest rival of newspapers in America.

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Texas Instruments and IDEA Corporation introduce the TR-1 Regency transistor radio. This marked the first consumer use of transistors, previously only used in industrial and military applications. The pocket-sized radio sold for $49.95 (that’s over $580 today, adjusted for inflation) and operated on a 22.5 volt battery that would set you back an additional $1.15. About 150,000 units were sold. Today, the TR-1’s that have survived can fetch up to $800 on eBay, as they have become a true collectors item.  

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September 30, 1980

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Computer coding, at least the more modern era of coding that we would recognize, really began in the 1950’s. So, it’s a bit surprising that it took the courts this long to determine that computer code deserved copyright protections. In September of 1986, the US District Court for the Northern District of California handed down a ruling that said computer code is protected under copyright law. What ultimately led to the ruling was the case of NEC Corp. v. Intel Corp.  The two tech giants were in a battle over who had the legal rights to produce the x86 processors. And the rest is history!

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After a head-to-head boardroom battle with John Sculley, the former PepsiCo executive that Steve Jobs himself recruited to Apple, Jobs resigned from the company on September 16, 1985. Twelve years to the day later,  Steve Jobs was back and was named Interim CEO of Apple. Just a few month prior, Apple had acquired NeXT, another Jobs-founded brand.  Much of the tech that was acquired with NeXT went into building the Mac OS X operating system, which is, of course, the core of the operating system that runs Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices.

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42 years ago, the world of music and music technology was “forever” changed with the release of the first commercially produced album on CD, “The Visitors” from the Swedish pop supergroup ABBA. The compact disc was co-developed by Phillips and Sony. Despite the incredible popularity and ease of digital music today, millions of music CD’s are still sold every year. It’s worth noting that, for the past two years, vinyl records have outsold CD’s!

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IBM introduced its first true personal computer, the IBM PC Model 5150. It was developed in less than a year and rapidly released to the consumer market, though it was really developed for business use. The price tag: under $1,600, far below the IBM 5100, which fetched up to $20,000 per system!

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Apple revolutionized personal computing with the introduction of the Newton MessagePad, a groundbreaking device that marked the beginning of the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) era. The Newton MessagePad was notable for its handwriting recognition technology, which allowed users to write notes and draw sketches directly on the screen with a stylus. This innovation aimed to provide a more natural and intuitive way for people to interact with their digital devices.

Despite its ambitious goals, the Newton MessagePad faced several challenges. Early models were criticized for their less-than-perfect handwriting recognition capabilities, which led to humorous depictions in popular media. However, the device also garnered praise for its forward-thinking design and features, such as its ability to manage contacts, calendars, and emails, as well as run third-party applications. It was eventually discontinued in 1998. 

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Telephone communications have changed dramatically over the past 100 years, but one of the greatest early accomplishments was the completion of the transcontinental telephone line.  In June of 1914, the final pole was installed on the Nevada-Utah state line. In July of the same year, Theodore Vail, the president of AT&T, made the first successful call across the continental United States. 

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Just 66 short years after Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered aircraft, America achieved what was definitely a “giant leap” in manned flight.  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first astronauts ever to land on the moon. A few hours after the landing craft, named “Eagle” touched down on the lunar surface, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. His famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” are forever etched in the minds and hearts of Americans. 

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I missed this one last week, so I’m dropping it this week. Why? Because THIS was huge part of my childhood.  On July 9, 1981, a Japanese playing card company entered the world of video gaming with Donkey Kong.  The story goes that the company wanted to license a game based on the Popeye and Bluto characters but couldn’t get the licensing to do so. Not wanting to walk away from an opportunity, they created Donkey Kong, a game meant to mirror the Popeye/Bluto rivalry with the introduction of the hero Mario and the ever-angry gorilla Donkey Kong. The game made Nintendo a dominant player in the gaming world and gave Gen X many, many hours of fun!

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