October 23rd, 2001 the iPod began shipping and its associated iTunes Music Store went live, today we mark the iPod's 5th birthday. When announced Steve Jobs said, "With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again." What most failed to realize at the time was, we'd never look at Apple the same way again, either.

Things were looking relatively bleak for Apple in 2001. The iMac was the first major success Apple had seen in ages. It was pretty, it sold well for a mac but, as computers go it didn't break any sales records. The iPod revitalized the company, first in morale and image, later in sales figures.

Apple is up over 800% from it's 10/23/2001 closing price, a split adjusted $9.07 (just 11% of it's current close). Five years on it's not the same old Apple, and one wonders how the picture will look five years hence. With Apple poised to invade the living room in early 2007, with its iTV set top box for iTunes video offerings, it's much harder to find someone who will bet against Apple than it was at the launch of the iPod.