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Comment by k-mcgrady | Hacker News Reader

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k-mcgrady

The navigation bar is the most interesting part I think:

- Store

- iPod + iTunes

- .Mac

- Quicktime

.Mac and Quicktime were actually two of the most prominently featured products on Apple.com. Wow. iPod and iTunes have stuck around but are now treated separately probably due to the variety of content available on iTunes (apps, books, movies, games).

I find it strange that Mac's aren't featured on the 2004 navigation bar. Instead it's OS X.

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Navbars are a great way to get a sense of the company's priorities, generally influenced by the biggest money makers.

Amazon's navbar in 2004: https://web.archive.org/web/20041102060756/http://www.amazon.... Books, clothing, electronics, toys/games, music, phones. Today, it's streaming video, streaming music, ["streamed"] ebooks, Kindles, apps ... and then (separated by a horizontal bar) Books / Audible (still plugging digital goods!), music/movies/games, electronics, home, etc.

Or what they want to be money makers.

Indeed: Quicktime wasn’t making much money at the time (or ever was) but when streaming films became a Moor’s law prospect possibility, the fight with Real became insane.

Or what they don't want to be money losers. When the support link is in the top nav, it's an indicator of a customer-focused company. Bonus points for a toll-free number at the top. If it's buried in a tiny font at the bottom, you might want to walk away.

Quicktime was mainly to have access to some of the rare actual videos on-line at the time: film trailers, hosted by Apple (and streamed by Akamai at great expense). It seemed incredible at the time. I would religiously connect there every Saturday for new releases and wow at how fast a 240 would download.

You had that, dancing-baby/wombat gifs, or that guy jumping into a tree (that because YouTube first big video) if you weren’t tired of it, and… that’s it.

The Show with Ze Franck was insane idea: the technical feat was more mind-bogging that his antics.

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