Today marks an important anniversary: the iPod is eight years old. It was a cool October day, the 23rd, and the year was 2001. The world was still in shock after 9/11, the U.S had embarked on a war in Afghanistan, Microsoft was about to release XP, and people were scared about opening their mail and finding Anthrax.
Apple announced their new product: an "ultra-portable" music player that could hold "10 hours of continuous music... in your pocket."
While it seems like the world should have come screeching to a halt, it wasn't huge news at the time. Steve Jobs debuted the revolutionary product and gave away plenty of iPods for the press to play with; many griped about the high price ($399), lack of an included protective case, and an extreme susceptibility to finger prints.
The original iPod also required a FireWire connection to update songs and recharge the battery, along with a relatively new version of one of Mac's machines.
But the iPod held fast and was triumphant, and seventeen versions and six years later the very first iPhone came into fruition. Clearly we have the iPod and Apple to thank for the world's best phone, and for that reason aloone: today is a special day.
