This poster was made available after the Apple event in 2003 when Steve Jobs announced that iTunes would be be available for Windows, making the iPod and iTunes Music Store available to 97% more computer users. As Steve Jobs stood on the stage and made the announcement, the Keynote slide read, “Hell froze over.”
The behind-the-scenes decision was, apparently, a controversial one. Author Max Chafkin wrote that Apple’s Jon Rubinstein said:
“We argued with Steve a bunch [about putting iTunes on Windows], and he said no. Finally, Phil Schiller and I said ‘we’re going to do it.’ And Steve said… ‘do whatever you want. You’re responsible.’ And he stormed out of the room” [expletive removed].
This seemingly innocuous decision may have been the specific catalyst for Windows and other users to get their hands on Apple products—both hardware and software—for the first time. This also may have led to what was later called “ the halo effect” where new Apple users saw how well one product worked, such as the iPod, and it led them to purchase a second product, such as a Mac. Four years after this decision, the iPhone followed, and then the iPad, and Apple eventually became the world’s first trillion-dollar-valued company.
The poster measures 24 x 36 inches and is printed on heavy stock. Just below center in bold Apple Myriad font, the poster reads “Hell froze over.” Below, in smaller gray type, it reads, “Introducing iTunes for Windows. The best Windows app ever written.” At bottom center in the same gray color, there is an Apple logo and the date “October 16, 2003,” the release date of iTunes for Windows. In small type in the lower-right corner running vertically, a text line reads, “©2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries.”
Source: LinkedIn
