for $8.5 billion
Microsoft ruffled quite a few feathers when it made the largest acquisition in its history. In May 2011, Microsoft purchased Skype which had more than 650 million users worldwide, for $8.5 million.
Google launches Chrome OS / Chromebooks
Google had been the be all and end all in the lives of netizens since a while before they amped up their presence by launching their very own Google Chrome OS (shipped with Chromebooks) in June 2011. One of the founders of Google said during the Chome OS launch event, that operating systems like Windows were “torturing users”
Sony PlayStation network gets hacked
The Sony PlayStation network faced an unprecedented situation in April 2011. It got hacked and Sony termed it as an “external intrusion”. History repeated itself very soon. The Sony PlayStation network faced a second hacking attack and had to temporarily shut down more than 90,000 user accounts on its network.
Apple launches iPad2
Apple saw raving success with the launch of the iPad, with nearly 15 million iPads sold in 2010 alone. In March 2011, Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple launched iPad 2 which boasted a faster processor, with many other interface issues being ironed out.
Apple launches iPhone 4S
Laying rumours of an iPhone 5 to rest, Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 4S in October 2011. Although users were disappointed that not much change was visible, Tim Cook reassured Apple fans that the iPhone 4S was the “best iPhone yet”. It boasted a faster processor, faster graphics and a better camera than the previous iPhone.
Microsoft offers office on cloud
Responding to a market which demanded mobility and applications on the go, Microsoft launched Office 365 which basically allowed users to access their favourite applications and tasks like using the word processor, using spreadsheets, emails and some such online.
Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs passes away
Just a few days after the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple posted a message on its website that started with “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius….” and rightly so. Founder and ex CEO Steve Jobs passed away at the age of 56 on 5th October 2011, losing the battle to pancreatic cancer. Jobs was the man responsible for giving mankind the revolutionary iMac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad.
Netflix loses more than 8,00,000 subscribers
It is one thing for an online video rental company to lose a few subscribers. But when you lose more than 8,00,000 subscribers in a span of less than 3 months, you make news. That’s exactly what happened with Netflix by the end of September 2011. A badly priced marketing strategy that raised the cost of renting DVD and streaming video services was the cause of this major setback.
BBM shuts down leaving millions BBM addicts out of touch
Only a BBM addict will know how much pain is caused when Blackberry Messenger services shut down. And that is exactly what happened in October 2011 that caused a worldwide outrage among users of Blackberry devices when BlackBerry Messenger services were down, not once but twice. Twitter and Facebook were flush with messages and updates on the lines of “….BlackBerry = waste of money!”
Android market faces the wrath of malware
The Android market suffered a setback in March 2011 when more than 50 applications were found to be malware that stole data from Android devices. Google immediately went on damage control but it was a tad too late as the reputation of the ‘free Android platform’ already took a major hit that left many users paranoid.
Yes, we do know that there were many other news as well, which were quite significant in Tech space, but this is our take. If you think, we have missed out an important one – Do let us know!
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