anniversary

THE SPRING OF 2003. Apple was still in the early stages of what became one of the biggest comebacks in the history of business. Steve Jobs, who had returned to the company six years earlier, had already taken bold steps: He had killed off product lines, won Apple great attention with its colorful iMacs, and begun to open retail stores that -- given the lousy, post-tech bubble economy -- seemed like a crazy idea.

Yet sales of personal computers -- and the Mac was Apple's mainstay product -- weren't budging. It was a Windows world, and it sure … Read more

Apple on Wednesday started celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its iTunes store.

When users head to the iTunes Store, they'll find a new feature called "A Decade of iTunes." The reason? Simple: on April 28, Apple will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iTunes store.

The feature allows users to browse a timeline of stories and the events that got iTunes to its place today. Things kick off with 2003 and the events that marked that year for iTunes. Users can then move their way through subsequent years and get glimpses of the way the store looked … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Goldman CEO Blankfein: Equality is good business.

- Subscribe to Jill's podcast on iTunes and send your questions to askjill@jillonmoney.com.

- Follow Jill Schlesinger on Twitter.… Read more

The intersection of sports and video games has rendered countless popular titles and is easily one of the medium's most popular genres. While each sport has yearly contributions to game consoles and the PC, there may not be a more cherished sports title in video game history than NHL '94, EA's venerable ice hockey experience.

At the time NHL '94 was cutting edge; with its 2D sprite animations and the introduction of penalty shots, board checking, and more, the game was widely acclaimed by critics and players alike. If you owned a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo, odds … Read more

What's the only thing better than a cheap deal? A freebie, of course.

As you may recall from last Friday, I'm celebrating five years as The Cheapskate. (Confession: I think it's the single longest job I've ever held. It's definitely the best.) Where, oh, where did the time go?

I don't know (I've looked everywhere, even under the couch), but I'm thrilled to have the chance to offer some great prizes during this monthlong contest-fest.… Read more

Comic-Con is filled with memorable moments, but nothing could prepare The 404 guys going face to face with The Hoff himself, legendary pop culture icon David Hasselhoff.

Hasselhoff was at Mattel's Comic-Con booth to help promote the Hot Wheels 30th Anniversary Limited Edition K.I.T.T. car, which was being sold exclusively at the show. After getting to sit in Michael Knight's magic ride ourselves, we asked The Hoff a few questions about the timeless "Knight Rider" franchise. Just as expected, we got some eye-opening answers.

But before we got to speak with David, we … Read more

It was around 6 a.m. when we dragged the first box labeled "iPhones: Do Not Open Until Directed" to the office in the back room of the Apple Store at Bridgeport Village in Portland.

That label, taunting us -- daring us to infringe on Apple's (let's face it, Steve Jobs') strict code of secrecy. A few of us had gathered around the box as the other worker bees continued to prep the floor for what would end up being one of the most important days in Apple's incredible history.

"Hand me that box-cutter.&… Read more

The very best feature the iPhone ever had didn't exist until a year after the iPhone first debuted. It wasn't the Web browser. It wasn't the touch screen.

It was the apps.

While I remember the magical parts of owning the first iPhone, those aren't really what I think it will be remembered for. After all, touch screens, cameras, and all its other iconic elements have been appropriated by competitors.

The lingering bombshell that the iPhone has birthed is, needless to say, the idea of apps.… Read more

His sales pitches are now legendary but this one stood out from the rest. On the approach of the five-year anniversary of Apple's iPhone, we dug out this video of Steve Jobs at his mesmerizing best.

It was vintage Jobs, striding across the stage as he teased the crowd into bursts of applause and whoops of delight while the features appeared on the big screen behind him.

"An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator...are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone. Today Apple is … Read more