The iPod hasn't fallen far from the tree...

Apple announced that they have hit the 100 million mark on the sales of their iPod music players since they began selling these devices. They've really turned the corner from being a company that was once on the edge of the "technological abyss", no longer of much interest to anyone. Apple had reached a point where they were looked at as kind of a joke in the developing computer market. PC's were so dominant and Apple was not doing anything to slow them down.

Apple turned things around with their iMac in the late 90's and started the ball rolling once more. This all-in-one computer was sleek and sexy and became a big hit, throwing Apple's name back into the foreground of computing. Then, a few years later came the first iPod. The iPod delivered the ability to play music loaded onto it and while it wasn't the first device to allow for this, it was one of the simpler-to-use devices and also had that slick design and great aesthetics that Apple was becoming more known for. The iPod became a big seller and not just with "computer geeks". It quickly became the must-have device and everybody wanted one. They became cooler to tote around than a Starbucks Coffee cup and the trademark white earbuds could be seen everywhere. From businessmen to middle school children, the device was getting more and more popular by the day. Apple's iTunes software is also simple to use and is designed to mate up with the iPod and really helped in popularizing the device. iTunes also really helped in the efforts to sell music online, in a burgeoning music pirating market. Among all manner of different peer-to-peer software and music "sharing", Apple's iTunes Stores have sold millions (if not billions) of songs.

Apple has gone from being a great leader in the computer industry to yesterday's news and back again in a matter of years. Apple is now recognized as a strong force in the computer industry, is probably dominant in the digital video editing department (Final Cut software which really is some of the top editing software), and is definitely the leader in the portable music device department. There are cheaper devices than the iPod that offer more storage space and more options yet the iPod continues its strong sales and popularity. It's no longer a niche offering and digital music has definitely started to rule the scene. Amongst frequent closures of record stores and music shops, Apple continues to bring the music forward and people continue to throw money at Apple. Apple has definitely found the formula to turn itself around and to become a dominant force in whatever ring(s) it's thrown its hat into. Now, with the iPhone having created such a buzz just from the talk of the device's capabilities, we'll have to see if Apple is making another excellent choice. They surely seem to know what they're doing...