Illustration of confetti and streamers surrounding the words: Happy Happy 500 Million!

Isn’t it funny how you can just accidentally stumble across a piece of history in the making? I visited Apple’s home page and noticed a counter listing how many songs had been downloaded, and it was counting up to 500 million. The counter was at 499,996,000 give or take but was climbing very rapidly.

Just a few minutes later, it reached 500 million at 2:48pm PDT. I expected something more, but the counter just stopped at “500,000,000+”. I clicked through to the information page and read about all the prizes that were being given away. “Cool!” I thought. Too bad I missed out on the prizes. But at least I saw the historic moment live. Yeah, I enjoy watching the odometer on my car turn historic numbers, too (though I usually seem to look away at the wrong moment).

I went back to the home page, and a giant graphic announced the news. I guess some poor web designer at Apple was working away on this lovely Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to Dunstan Orchard‘s link to Apple for sending me there. 🙂

The “Happy Happy 500 Million!” header image was generated by Midjourney using prompts crafted by K.W. “Will” Murray (Willscrlt) and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license. It is available for public remixing per Midjourney’s terms and conditions. All other rights are reserved.

By Will Murray (Willscrlt)

K.W. "Will" Murray is what happens when an out-of-the-box teacher coexists with a tech guru and gets bitten by a radioactive artist while camping in the Great Outdoors. Assisted by 80s pop and an undying love of space exploration and electronics kits, Will spends his days translating complex tech-speak into simple human while living the Scout Law. When he's not mentoring others or sharing his knowledge, you'll find him exploring Disney parks with the enthusiasm of a first-timer but the strategic planning of a veteran campaigner. Although based in California's capital city, Will prefers to think of himself as a digital nomad who accidentally grew roots, spreading knowledge wherever he lands. He's been an IT consultant, coach, community leader, and occasional stagehand (though he claims that last one doesn't count since he was just helping out). Over the past two decades, he's helped everyone from religious institutions to government agencies navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape, while maintaining his reputation as the guy who can explain anything to anyone—sometimes with sound effects and hand gestures at no extra charge.

Leave a Comment