February 25, 1981: Apple’s original CEO Michael Scott oversees mass layoffs and then throws a massive party. Apple’s layoffs follow a hiring boom that led to what Scott called a “bozo explosion” at the company. They are also the first sign that the fun startup culture of Apple’s early days is gone forever. “I said … Read more
February 24, 1955: Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco. He co-founded Apple and became one of the most important figures in the history of consumer technology. He’s also probably a big part of why you’re reading this site right now. Happy Birthday Steve! Let’s take a moment to reflect on your innovation, artistry and … Read more
February 23, 2010: The iTunes Store has officially surpassed 10 billion music downloads, a major milestone. Ten billion purchase? “Guess That’s the Way Things Happen” by Johnny Cash. The buyer of the song is Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. As part of Apple’s “Countdown to 10 Billion Songs” promotion, Sulcer is winning a massive $10,000 … Read more
February 22, 2001: Sporting a wild design that would make a hippie happy, the special edition iMac puts a crazy face on the colorful computer that saved Apple’s bacon at the turn of the century. iMac Flower Power and iMac Blue Dalmatian evoke tie-dyed shirts and other unconventional imagery from the 1960s. A far cry … Read more
February 21, 2007: Apple has settled with Cisco over the iPhone trademark, which Cisco legally owns but Apple wants to use. Under the agreement, the two companies can use the iPhone trademark on products worldwide. The two companies also dismiss pending lawsuits against each other and agree to “explore opportunities for interoperability in security and … Read more
February 20, 2004: Music is small as the launch of the iPod mini brings the redesigned digital audio player to Apple stores. Released with 4GB of storage and five colors, the tiny device features a new “click wheel” that integrates control buttons into a touch-sensitive solid-state scroll wheel. It also shows Cupertino’s growing fascination with … Read more
February 19, 1990: Adobe Systems ships the first commercial version of its soon-to-be-iconic Photoshop photo editing software. The launch of Photoshop, exclusive to the Macintosh, gives users powerful new tools for tweaking digital images. Groundbreaking software debuts for Mac System 6.0.3. Priced at $895, Photoshop is quickly becoming the standard editing tool for graphics professionals. … Read more
February 18, 2004: Apple CEO Steve Jobs sends an internal message to employees revealing that the company is completely debt-free for the first time in years. “Today is a historic, fateful day for our society,” he writes. It’s a big turnaround from the bad old days of the 1990s, when Apple was carrying more than … Read more
February 17, 1997: Apple launches the PowerBook 3400, a notebook that the company calls the world’s fastest laptop. After rough years for the PowerBook, this model throws down the gauntlet to rivals. It contains a PowerPC 603e processor capable of running at up to 240 MHz. While Apple’s faster notebooks quickly overtake the PowerBook 3400, … Read more
February 16, 2000: Apple introduces the PowerBook ‘Pismo’, the best of its G3 notebooks. In the eyes of many, it is one of the best Apple laptops ever. The Pismo PowerBook is the first model without a SCSI or Apple Desktop Bus connector. Instead, it uses Apple’s Emmy Award-winning USB and FireWire ports. Optional AirPort … Read more