The Final End of the Lisa
August 1, 1986
Apple discontinues production of the Macintosh XL, effectively ending the life of the Apple Lisa computer platform. In January of 1985, the Macintosh line of computers was gaining momentum but the Lisa line of computers was not selling well. In order to salvage what they could from the Lisa and offer a more powerful Macintosh computer, Apple created the Macintosh XL model by modifying a Lisa 2/10 computer to run the Macintosh operating system. Apple discontinued the Lisa in April of 1985, but continued production of the hybrid Lisa/Mac Macintosh XL until this date.
Video Killed the Radio Star; MTV Debuts
August 1, 1981
MTV, presumably standing for “Music Television”, launches on cable TV. As most people know, after the introduction sequence, the first video played was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. However, a bit of trivia is that the second song played was “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar. MTV had an immediate impact on the music industry and was an iconic symbol of the technology-driven 1980’s.
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.