Microsoft loses its antitrust case in Europe

Two decades ago, the EU handed down a fine of over $600 million for not offering versions of Windows that did not come with Windows Media Player preinstalled. Microsoft still has antitrust problems in Europe at the moment, and last year, the EU attempted to block the company’s acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard. But Microsoft has paid no fines this year… so far.

Motorola releases a new Razr phone

The very first Razr, called the Motorola Razr V3, was released in November of 2004. At the time, it cost $500 with a two-year contract. That was expensive then, and it’s expensive today. The current model of Motorola’s revival model, the Razr Plus, comes unlocked at nearly the same price.

Apple announces a new display

Steve Jobs introduced the company’s Cinema Display in 2004 at WWDC. The price of the 30-inch model was $3,299 — adjusted for inflation, that’s over $5,400 today.

Barbie breaks up with Ken

At the end of last year’s film adaptation of the Mattel product, Barbie discovers her independence. But in 2004, Mattel announced that the couple had split. Drama in doll lore existed long before Greta Gerwig scripted it.

Google launches a new email service

Google famously launched Gmail on April Fools’ Day 2004 — at a time when promising one gigabyte of free storage surely must have been a joke. Google did introduce Inbox a decade ago in 2014 but shuttered that in 2019.

A Mean Girls movie hits theaters

The 2024 film is actually an adaptation of the 2017 stage musical, which was adapted from the 2004 film, which was originally adapted from a 2002 book titled Queen Bees and Wannabes.

A Garfield movie hits theaters

He hates Mondays but loves reboots. In 2004, it was called Garfield: The Movie; in 2024, The Garfield Movie. How times have changed.

A Spider-Man sequel movie hits theaters

Spider-Man 2 opened on June 30th, 2004, breaking the previous opening-day box office record held by its predecessor. Though there were Spider-Man sequels released in 2019 and 2021, none are slated for this calendar year. (We’re not counting Madame Web since it is not a direct sequel and also barely counts as a movie.)

Microsoft releases a smartwatch

Microsoft released the SPOT watch — short for “smart personal object technology.” Given that you don’t hear that acronym much anymore, you can probably guess that the watch never took off, despite the fanfare over the device’s ability to read headlines, send instant messages, and give weather forecasts. The SPOT watch also wasn’t even the company’s first attempt at a smartwatch: as early as 1994, it partnered with Timex to release the Datalink, arguably the world’s first smartwatch. But here in 2024, it’s been a while since Microsoft tried to make wristwear happen.

Beyoncé wins five Grammy awards

In 2004, Beyoncé won five Grammy Awards — her first as a solo artist. Though this year’s Cowboy Carter is a likely favorite come awards season, she did not release an album in 2023, which means nothing that qualifies for this year’s Grammy Awards.

The bestselling vehicle in America is the Ford F-Series

US consumers loved trucks in 2004 and have continued to love them for the past two decades. Ford’s F-series remains the bestseller even today, and it has little to do with the addition of the electric version — in 2024 so far, the Lightning makes up less than 5 percent of total F-series sales.

The fastest spreading computer virus in history causes $38 billion in damages

First identified in January 2004, Mydoom became the fastest-spreading email worm ever. As of 2024, its speed record has not been surpassed, and its origin is still unknown.

Supreme Court blocks law intended to protect minors from pornography

In June of 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that the Child Online Protection Act was unconstitutional, a violation of the First Amendment. Though it was designed to prevent minors from seeing pornography on the internet, the Court ruled 5–4 that the law itself was too broad. Similar echoes are happening this year, though. Age-verification laws at the state level are blocking porn sites for minors or, in some states, blocking them entirely; and this July, the similarly named Kids Online Safety Act passed with bipartisan support.

Nintendo releases a game called “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door”

The original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was released for the GameCube in 2004, and its remake was released for the Switch almost exactly 20 years later.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck split up

One of Hollywood’s biggest tabloid magnets, the couple called off their engagement and broke up for the first time in January 2004. Lopez and Affleck got back together many years later, finally marrying in 2022. That union officially ended again in 2024.