ebay1998– In 3 years since it’s inception, eBay grew to be a powerful auction site. Therefore, eBay decided to go public. They offered 9 million shares on NASDAQ starting at $18 a share. When all is said and done, they closed the day at $47.375.
This Day in Tech History podcast show notes for September 24
eBay1999 – an ebay user (litterally) puts 500 pounds of Marijuana on the auction block. The auction itself hits up to 10 million dollars. eBay finds out and pulls down the auction, but it does say something for the power of illegal drugs over the internet.
This Day in Tech History podcast show notes for September 22
1995 – The online auction site eBay officially was founded on this day by Pierre Omidyar, but it was known back then as “AuctionWeb“. The first auction was for a broken laser pointer. It was sold for $14.83.Makes me wonder how much that laser pointer would be worth if it went back up on the auction block.
The hobby became a business real quick when his server fees increased dramatically. He decided to take AuctionWeb to the next level and hire an employee – Chris Agarpao. Soon, eBay got their first president in 1996 when Jeffrey Skoll took the reins.
Since then the company has grown to a juggernaut in the online Auction business. They even have an ebay slot machine. Just like the auction site, I personally didn’t do too well in profiting from it…
This Day in Tech History podcast show notes for September 3
SEGA Saturn Launches1995 – Sega launches the Saturn video game console in the US. The 32-bit Cartridge loading system contained the 2 x Hitachi SH-2 32-bit RISC (28.6 MHz). It was launched in Japan and Europe earlier in the year, but didn’t hit the US until this date.
This Day in Tech History podcast show notes for September 2
“Happy Independence Day. In return, we are going to give you a great new way to get email. It’s called “Hotmail“. Be free from your internet service provider!”
That was the call to action on 1996. Hotmail launched their email service as “HoTMaiL” (HTML is upper-case). It is the first web-based email that was later named MSN Hotmail, then Windows Live Hotmail.
Hotmail had many features since its start. Unlimited storage was one big feature. In 1997, Microsoft purchased Hotmail for $400 million, and changed the name to MSN Hotmail. They paired with the Microsoft Instant Messanger, then built items like the calendar, SkyDrive, and more.
After getting stiff competition from Google in 2004, Microsoft changed the service to Live Hotmail. The service continues on with many updates to compete with Google and Yahoo mail.
Full Day in Tech History podcast show notes for July 4
March 25, 2004: TechTV was acquired by Comcast, merges with G4
2004 – I remember watching TechTV from the ZDNet Days. Even watched a live show back in the days when Spring Comdex was in Chicago. When it changed to TechTV, we got some great social tech pioneers like Leo Laporte, Kevin Norton, Chris Pirillo and Kevin Rose, among others. When Comcast purchased the channel, they merged it with their own channel – G4. By May, G4 Tech TV was running in full force. Ultimately the name got changed to G4 and the pioneer shows like Call for Help and Screen Savers were ended.