Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of iTunes on Windows PC, October, 16, 2003. The Day Hell Froze Over!
However, in hindsight, this is actually the day Apple to its first step in becoming the being Post PC juggernaut it is today according to Chris Fralic, Partner at First Round Capital.
“10 years ago today, Apple did something extraordinary, but it didn’t seem like it at the time, Chris Fralic writes. “Like the story of a butterfly flapping its wings and eventually causing a tsunami halfway around the world, this had a profound impact on the trajectory and fortunes of Apple over the next decade. It’s something you don’t often hear about, even from fervent Apple watchers, but it was the day – Hell Froze Over.”
Interestingly, Steve Jobs was against one of the biggest decision Apple ever took as a company. In the same way he was against the idea of an App Store for the first iPhone and the iPad mini. This just goes to show Apple has a bunch of smart people who were prepared to stand up to their boss.
The recent iBook by Fast Company’s Max Chafkin, based on an oral history of Apple called Design Crazy, gives us anecdotes of how this decision came to past. The book credit Apple’s SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller and Jon Rubenstein, Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering. Steve Jobs just wanted to keep Apple software and devices only on Macintosh computers.
Design Crazy:
We argued with Steve a bunch [about putting iTunes on Windows], and he said no. Finally, Phil Schiller and I said ‘we’re going to do it.’ And Steve said, ‘F**k you guys, do whatever you want. You’re responsible.’ And he stormed out of the room.” – John Rubenstein
And like they say, the rest is history!
As Chris Fralic puts it:
This move opened up the iPod to the 97% of people who had PCs.
They could see how well the software worked with the hardware.
They learned how easy it was to upgrade, their first iPods turned into their first iPhones.
Then they realized that their lives would be a lot easier if they switched to a Macintosh all together.
And along the way Apple’s market cap climbed to the most valuable company in the world.
