One of Steve Jobs management philosophies for Apple was that it is crucial, every now and then, to roll the dice and “bet the company” on some new idea or technology. That is exactly the risk he took on a new product called the iPod.

Steve Jobs Quote:

“I had this crazy idea that we could sell just as many Macs by advertising the iPod. In addition, the iPod would position Apple as evoking innovation and youth. So I moved $75 million of advertising money to the iPod, even though the category didn’t justify one hundredth of that. That meant that we completely dominated the market for music players. We outspent everybody by a factor of about a hundred.” — Steve Jobs.

The rest is Apple history.

There are moments in history that we look back upon and understand how significant they are for us today, but at the time we may not have realized how profound they would be.

One of those moments occurred on Tuesday, October 23, 2001. That is the day that Steve Jobs changed the world with the introduction of the Apple iPod.

Throughout his career, Jobs took risks and chances in business, first with the launch of Apple, then by walking away from it and returning again in 1997.

In an era when most companies were trying to figure out ways to diversify, under Steve Job’s leadership, Apple shed businesses and products, to focus on relatively few areas. Job’s was even willing to bet the entire company on a single product or technology that he thought would generate future success for Apple.

Over a decade ago in a small theater at Apple Computers headquarters at One Infinite Loop, Jobs took to the stage to do just that. He introduced what was to become one of the most revolutionary and defining products ever for Apple – the iPod.

About the size of a deck of cards, it had enough space for about 1,000 songs and at the time, no one knew how this little portable music player was about to change the world.

Looking back now, we can comprehend how Steve Jobs extraordinary vision was able to see the future and recognize that day’s significance for us all. October 23, 2001 was the day that transformed and revolutionized the music industry forever.

Official press release from Apple Computer on October 23, 2001:

Apple Presents iPod

Ultra-Portable MP3 Music Player Puts 1,000 Songs in Your Pocket

CUPERTINO, California—October 23, 2001—Apple® today introduced iPod™, a breakthrough MP3 music player that packs up to 1,000 CD-quality songs into an ultra-portable, 6.5 ounce design that fits in your pocket. iPod combines a major advance in portable music device design with Apple’s legendary ease of use and Auto-Sync, which automatically downloads all your iTunes™ songs and playlists into your iPod, and keeps them up to date whenever you plug your iPod into your Mac®.

“With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again.”

Next Generation Player


iPod represents the next generation of portable music players that store music on an internal hard drive, yet are only 20 percent of the volume of today’s hard drive-based players. iPod stores up to 1,000 CD-quality songs on its super-thin 5 GB hard drive, and features up to 20 minutes of shock protection for nonstop playback when running, biking or other activities.

iPod’s built-in FireWire® port lets you download an entire CD into iPod in under 10 seconds and 1,000 songs in less than 10 minutes—30 times faster than USB-based players.

iPod plays up to 10 hours of continuous music, powered by its rechargeable lithium polymer battery, and recharges automatically whenever iPod is connected to a Mac, using power supplied over the FireWire cable. Every iPod comes with a compact, FireWire-based power adapter for traveling. iPod’s high-capacity 5GB hard drive doubles as a portable FireWire hard drive for storing presentations, large documents, graphic images and digital movies.

iPod plays music in the popular MP3, MP3 VBR (variable bit rate), AIFF and WAV formats and can support MP3 bit rates up to 320-Kbps. Its upgradable firmware enables support of future audio formats. For CD-quality sound, iPod is equipped with a high-output 60-mW amplifier that delivers 20 to 20,000 Hz frequency response for deep bass and crystal-clear highs. iPod’s earbud-style headphones are built with neodymium magnets for enhanced frequency response and high-fidelity sound.

iPod also features a 160-by-128-pixel high-resolution display, with a white LED backlight to give clear visibility in daylight as well as low-light conditions.

Legendary Ease of Use


Apple has applied its legendary expertise in human interface engineering to make iPod the easiest to use digital device ever. Simply rotate iPod’s unique scroll-wheel with your thumb or finger to quickly access your entire music collection by playlists, artists or songs. The scroll-wheel makes it possible to hold and operate iPod with just one hand and features automatic acceleration when scrolling through long lists so you can find your music in seconds. iPod also features customizable settings such as shuffle, repeat, startup volume, sleep timer and menus in multiple languages including English, French, German and Japanese. iPod can display song data in any of these languages, enabling users to mix and match songs from all over the world.

Auto-Sync


iPod’s revolutionary Auto-Sync feature makes it easy to get your entire music collection into iPod and update it whenever you connect iPod to your Mac. Simply plug your new iPod into your Mac with the supplied FireWire cable, and all of your iTunes songs and playlists are automatically downloaded into iPod at blazing FireWire speed. Then just unplug and go. Whenever you plug iPod back into your Mac it will be automatically updated with your latest iTunes songs and playlists, usually in seconds. There has never been a faster and easier way to always have your up-to-the-minute music and playlists with you wherever you go.

Pricing & Availability


iPod will be available beginning on Saturday, November 10, for a suggested retail price of $399 (US) from The Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. An iTunes 2 CD, earbud-style headphones, FireWire cable, and FireWire-based power adapter are all included. iPod requires iTunes 2.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

WWE Extreme Rules (2009) was the 1st annual Extreme Rules event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment live on pay-per-view. It was the first event promoted under the Extreme Rules name and was noted by WWE to be a transition from the One Night Stand events that originally began under the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brand in 2005 to 2006, before continuing on under the WWE banner in 2007 and finally 2008.

Six championship matches took place at Extreme Rules (2009), which included all three top tier championships defended on the show, including the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship twice, and the ECW Championship. Secondary championships were also defended, including the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the WWE United States Championships.

Five championship title changes took place at Extreme Rules (2009), as Chris Jericho won the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Rey Mysterio, Tommy Dreamer won the ECW Championship from Christian in a match that also included Jack Swagger, Batista won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton, and Jeff Hardy won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge. Following the main event, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and successfully defeated Jeff Hardy to win his newly won World Heavyweight Championship.

Extreme Rules (2009) generated approximately 213,000 PPV buys.

Results:

Pay-Per-View Chronology:

Extreme Rules Chronology:

Extreme Rules is an annual professional wrestling event, produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), that broadcasts live on pay-per-view.

The name of the event stems from term “Extreme Rules,” which WWE uses to refer to its bouts that are contested under hardcore wrestling regulations. Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) originally used the term to describe the regulations for all of its bouts.

Extreme Rules Events:

In the month of March 2012, every desktop browser among the top five witnessed market share decline rates, except Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The following chart shows usage share statistics for March 2012 of the top desktop web browsers that recorded stats over 1% across the Internet:

After a disappointing 2011 for Microsoft, where 10 out of 12 months of Internet Explorer usage share rates declined, the desktop browser has surprisingly experienced a relatively strong 2012 with two months of usage share increases.

Google Chrome; however, has even more surprisingly fallen flat with three consecutive months of declines in 2012 after taking 7.96% of the market share in 2011 by gaining grounds at an incredible rate every month.

The other three browsers all experienced slight dips in market share as well, which included Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

Below are statistics in usage share for the top desktop web browsers, illustrated in a chart from January 2011 up to March 2012, where only the top 1% across the Internet is shown:

Below are tables showing percent increases and decreases of the top five web browsers that recorded monthly market share usage over 1% from January 2011 up to March 2012.

Internet Explorer 2011-2012 Monthly Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Firefox 2011-2012 Monthly Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Chrome 2011-2012 Monthly Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Safari 2011-2012 Monthly Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Opera 2011-2012 Monthly Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

The following is a summary measuring the top desktop web browser market share above 1% on the Internet in March 2012, comparing from the previous month in January 2012. This report illustrates the change in user trends from month-to-month.

• Apple Safari: March 2012 desktop web browser market share down -0.17% % at 5.07% from 5.24% in February 2012.
• Google Chrome: March 2012 desktop web browser market share down -0.33% at 18.57% from 18.90% in February 2012.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer: March 2012 desktop web browser market share up +0.99% at 53.83% from 52.84% in February 2012.
• Mozilla Firefox: March 2012 desktop web browser market share down -0.37% at 20.55% from 20.92% in February 2012.
• Opera: March 2012 desktop web browser market share down -0.09% at 1.62% from 1.71% in January 2012.

Desktop web browsers that recorded market shares in March 2012 below the 1% top browsers margin included Flock at 0.02% and Mozilla at 0.02%. Undetectable browsers accounted for 0.23% of the total market share in March 2012.

The following chart illustrates the usage share statistics of the top desktop web browsers that recorded stats over 1% across the Internet on a monthly basis from January 2011 up to March 2012:

Below are tables of every desktop web browser that recorded a market share between January 2011 and March 2012, in order of top usage shares overall:

Internet Explorer 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Firefox 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Chrome 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Safari 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Opera 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Undetectable 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Flock 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Mozilla 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Konqueror 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

ACCESS NetFront 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Obigo 2011-2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Source: Net Applications

The following chart illustrates usage share statistics of the top desktop web browsers that recorded stats over 1% across the Internet in March 2012:

Below is a table of every desktop web browser that recorded a market share in March 2012, in order of top usage shares overall:

March 2012 Desktop Web Browser Market Share:

Source: Net Applications

WWE WrestleMania XXIX was the 29th annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment and the third to be held in the state of New Jersey.

Pay-Per-View Chronology:

WrestleMania Chronology:

WWE WrestleMania XXVIII was the 28th annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment and the second to be held in the state of Florida, after WrestleMania XXIV in 2008.

Results:

Pay-Per-View Chronology:

WrestleMania Chronology:

WWE WrestleMania XXVII was the 27th annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment and the first to be held in the state of Georgia.

WrestleMania XXVII generated approximately 1,059,000 PPV buys. The event grossed $6.6 million revenue from 71,617 in attendance.

Results:

Pay-Per-View Chronology:

WrestleMania Chronology: