In 2004, IBM announced it would sell its PC business to Lenovo.
There was no such thing as an iPad in 2004.
Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams in two sets at Wimbledon that year.
And, in 2004, Kayak issued Blackberrys to all of its engineers so they could "communicate instantly 24/7," according to a recent blog post.
Not that Kayak engineers getting Blackberrys as standard issue was as momentous an event as IBM exiting the PC business, but it was a sign of the times.
And, now the times have changed. Kayak announced that it is dropping support of its Blackberry app, meaning there will be no new features, updates or bug fixes.
"RIM [Research in Motion] was a smartphone pioneer and we thank them for what they've done, and wish them renewed success," Kayak states. "BlackBerry was (and is) an amazing messaging platform. But it's not working out to be a great channel for consumer mobile applications, which is what leads us to this sad post."
It sounds like Kayak isn't placing its bets on a RIM turnaround, although Robert Birge, Kayak's chief marketing officer, says the company would reconsider support for its Blackberry app if RIM's prospects change.
"We definitely want to support people who use BlackBerry but unfortunately RIM has been very unsuccessful in developing their platform for apps in anyway that makes it an attractive channel for a developer to invest," Birge says. "It really was a simple cost/benefit decision -- no/low growth, low usage per download, etc. Hopefully their updated mobile browser will make it easier for BlackBerry users to access services like Kayak via m.web."
Kayak recently announced that its various apps have been downloaded more than 12 million times.
"We'll invest resources against any successful platform," Birge says. "Right now, we believe that iPhone and Android will be successful and hold out hope for Windows Phone."
And, eight years from now ... who knows.