1985 - Ebay.com is founded.
1995 - Jeff Bezos founds Amazon.com, initially launching as Cadabra.com. Amazon.com starts as an online bookstore, but soon diversifies.
1997 - The first Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) players and discs are available for offered for sale in the U.S. The players had been first introduced in Japan the year before. Seeking to avoid a repeat of the VHS vs. Betamax technology competition, leading technology and entertainment content companies agree to Toshiba's SD format for DVD's; Philips and Sony abandon their MMCD format.
1999 - Napster.com launches an online "file sharing" service for digital music files, created by Shawn Fanning while he attends Northeastern University in Boston. The service operates between June 1999 and July 2001. Its technology allows people to easily share their MP3 files on-line with other Napster.com participants instead of being required to purchase such music from established sources. The massive violations of music and film copyrights results in Napster.com being shut down by court order. Best Buy later purchases a reconstituted Napster.com in 2008 for $121 million.
2003 - The on-line iTunes Store launches a virtual store where digital music can be purchased and downloaded on-demand. Today, the iTunes Store is the second largest seller of digital music in the U.S. and has sold more than four billion songs. At launch had already signed deals with major record labels including Universal Music Group (UMG), EMI, Warner, Sony, and BMG. The iTune Store is based on software purchased by Apple in 2000, created by Jeff Robbin and Bill Kincaid.
2006 - Facebook.com opens its social networking site to anyone 13-years-old or older having a valid e-mail address, following a limited launch in 2004. As of July 2010, Facebook.com operates with more than 500 million active users. .
