Apple Passes $500 Billion Valuation
February 29, 2012
The stock value of Apple, Inc. surpasses $500 billion, setting a new record for the company which was already the world’s most valuable company at the time. This day marks a milestone on the historic run for the company from near-bankruptcy in the 1990’s to one of the most, if not the most, dominant technology company in recent history. Apple would later become the first company in history to surpass $700 billion in value in February 2015.
Tokyo Skytree Completed
February 29, 2012
Construction of the Tokyo Skytree broadcast tower, delayed two months due to the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, is completed on leap day – February 29th, 2012. The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan and the world’s tallest tower.
Disney CEO Claims Apple Encourages Theft
February 28, 2002
Disney CEO Michael Eisner testifies at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on the protection of digital content from piracy. Eisner lobbies for sterner enforcement of copyright laws, claiming that Apple Computer advertisements for the iPod encourage copyright violations. “Rip. Mix. Burn. … they can create a theft if they buy this computer.”
A little over 3 years later, Eisner was later replaced as CEO by Robert Iger, who quickly arranged the buyout of Pixar Animation Studios, of which Steve Jobs was CEO. This move made Steve Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder and a member of Disney’s board. I guess it’s a small world after all!
First Color TVs Go on Sale
February 28, 1954
The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public. NTSC is the standard used in most of North and South America, Japan, and a few other places in the world.
AT&T Incorporated
February 28, 1885
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. Eventually the companies would “merge” and thus AT&T was born.
CompUSA Restructures
February 27, 2007
A major player during the early ages of the the computer retail sales market in the late 80’s and 90’s with nearly 230 stores at its height, CompUSA announces that it will close 126 retail stores by June and restructure its remaining 103 stores. Eventually those 103 stores also close. A victim of competition from online sales and more agile big box stores, CompUSA was eventually purchased by Systemax which merged CompUSA into its Tiger Direct online brand. Today the CompUSA brand still exists as an e-commerce site.
V.92 Introduced
February 27, 2001
US Robotics introduces the V.92 modem standard. Given that broadband Internet had begun to take significant hold and that supporting V.92 required ISPs to upgrade their infrastructure, V.92 never really made much of an impact in the marketplace.
Apple Discontinues the Newton
February 27, 1998
Apple Computer announces that it will discontinue development of the five year-old Newton Operating System and all of its Newton OS-based products, including the MessagePad series and EMate 300. Apple will focus on developing the Macintosh, which is once again left as Apple’s only computing platform … at least until the iPod, iPhone, and iPad come along.
The First Web Browser Introduced
February 26, 1991
Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, introduces WorldWideWeb, the first web browser and WYSIWYG HTML editor. This software was later renamed Nexus to remove confusion from the World Wide Web itself.
First Saturn 1B Rocket Launch
February 26, 1966
The first Saturn 1B rocket is launched from Cape Canaveral. The Saturn 1B was primarily used for testing the Apollo spacecraft while the larger Saturn V rocket that was necessary for travel to the Moon was being developed. Later, after completion of the Moon landing program, The Saturn 1B was used for manned Skylab flights and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In total, the Saturn 1B was launched 9 times with no failures.