- 6 months ago
Remember when the internet made that screeching sound? Join us as we look back at the tech, gadgets, and platforms from the 2000s that have disappeared! From dial-up internet to Blockbuster video stores, we're counting down nostalgic favorites that either vanished suddenly or slowly faded into obscurity. Which defunct 2000s relic do you miss most?
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00:00Who is that guy?
00:01Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most nostalgic gadgets,
00:07platforms, and more from the 2000s that either vanished abruptly or slowly faded into obscurity.
00:18Number 50. Ask Jeeves.
00:21Jeeves, how do I increase my life expectancy?
00:24First recommendation, sir. Maintain a nutritious diet, low in fat.
00:30Introducing Jeeves, the world's first internet butler.
00:33Got a question? Google it, right?
00:35Well, back in the late 90s and first half or so of the 2000s, there was another option.
00:41Ask Jeeves.
00:42The name Jeeves, referring to a gentleman's personal gentleman, or a valet,
00:47was inspired by the fictional works of English writer P.G. Woodhouse.
00:51This search engine was designed to be able to answer questions on all sorts of subjects
00:56written by users in casual, natural language.
01:00But it couldn't keep up with Google.
01:02In 2006, Jeeves was dropped from the name, and it became Ask.com.
01:07In 2010, the company's in-house web search engine service was shut down.
01:12Though Ask.com still exists, the original Jeeves model has long faded into internet history.
01:18How do I get rid of a hickey?
01:21Hickey?
01:22Ask.com. Where more than 100 million people find answers they can trust.
01:26Number 49. Dude, you're getting a Dell.
01:29Dude, you're getting a Dell.
01:31This was really one of the defining catchphrases of the 2000s.
01:35It did a whole lot of good for both the computer company and the actor, Ben Curtis.
01:39From 2000 to 2003, Curtis portrayed the character Steven in 26 Dell commercials.
01:45Basically, after informing someone of the benefits of owning a Dell computer,
01:50Steven would say the catchphrase,
01:52Dude, you're getting a Dell.
01:53The ad campaign was a huge success,
01:56and perhaps it would have lasted even longer if not for the actor's marijuana-related arrest in 2003.
02:02While it's been a minute, some people may never detach this catchphrase from the company.
02:06Hey, it's me, Steve.
02:07You're gonna say it, aren't you?
02:08Dude, you're getting a Dell.
02:10Number 48. Delia's catalogs.
02:12This fashion brand targeting pre-teens to college-aged women became popular in the 90s,
02:22carrying into the 2000s.
02:24Delia's presence was so much bigger than just its mall stores.
02:27Its mail-order catalogs were a hit,
02:30selling the company to girls and young women as not just a fashion brand, but a lifestyle.
02:35It got to a point where Delia's,
02:37which produced 10 to 12 catalog issues a year,
02:40would send out over 50 million copies across the United States annually.
02:44The catalogs also offered giveaways, surprise gifts,
02:48and encouraged customers to communicate with the brand in unique ways for the time.
02:52But after being acquired by Alloy Inc. in 2003,
02:56and with e-commerce totally changing the game,
02:59Delia's failed to make it past the mid-2010s.
03:01Remember Delia's for all your faves.
03:04Number 47. iDogs.
03:06iDogs. The little dog with the big sound.
03:09No, the iDog was not an Apple product.
03:12These robot dog speakers were designed and manufactured by Sega Toys.
03:16Although, if connected to Apple's iPod,
03:18they would light up and dance to the music.
03:21Their ears would wiggle, and heads would move with the rhythm.
03:24Whatever your groove, just plug them in.
03:26And iDog plays your tunes.
03:27A 2007 team-up with fast food giants McDonald's and Burger King
03:32meant you could even get iDog-based toys with your fast food meal.
03:36While they stamped themselves in toy history, like many other toys,
03:39iDogs didn't stay in the limelight for too long.
03:42Their run lasted from 2005 to 2009.
03:45Rock, hip-hop, dance, or punk,
03:48iDog moves and grooves to your beat.
03:50Number 46. ADV Films.
03:57This multimedia entertainment distributor was founded in the 90s.
04:01ADV Films became a favorite for anime fans in North America,
04:05the UK, Italy, and Germany.
04:084Kids was also a successful American anime licensing company.
04:11But we're giving a slight nod to ADV here.
04:15Do it now.
04:16The company ran the anime network cable channel
04:22and was instrumental in licensing and distributing
04:25English-dubbed versions of countless manga and anime titles.
04:30But with declining sales in the mid-2000s,
04:32ADV ceased operations and liquidated its assets in 2009.
04:37Since then, anime has only grown more popular globally,
04:41and the torch has been passed in a way,
04:43as many of the titles previously licensed and distributed by ADV
04:47have been re-released by other companies.
04:56Number 45. PlayStation Home.
04:59The PS3 came out in 2006.
05:09Two years later, PlayStation Home arrived,
05:12offering a totally new dynamic for the iconic gaming system.
05:15Home was a 3D social gaming world
05:17where you could customize your avatar and virtual apartment,
05:21explore various areas, play minigames,
05:23and interact with other users.
05:25There was a theater, a bowling alley, a mall, parks, and more.
05:29But Home didn't gain enough mainstream traction,
05:32struggling to hold the interest of many users
05:34after a visit or two to the virtual world.
05:45It gained a reputation as a troll-ridden,
05:48messy online environment in some respects.
05:51And with people shifting to the PS4 after its launch in 2013,
05:55PlayStation Home did not carry over.
05:57Its servers officially shut down in 2015.
06:00Great show this week, people!
06:02Give yourself a round of applause.
06:04Until next time, Magnus out!
06:06Number 44. Paid-for ringtones.
06:09You've got the hottest cell phone.
06:11Now you need the hottest games in ringtone.
06:13Remember buying a ringtone on one of your favorite 2000s tunes
06:17on your slider or flip phone?
06:18It sure seemed a more common occurrence in the 2000s
06:22to hear the voice of one of the biggest pop stars of the day
06:24signaling an incoming call.
06:27In fact, in 2005,
06:29ringtones generated over $2 billion in global sales,
06:32according to Fortune magazine.
06:34As 2010 approached, though,
06:36ringtone sales in the U.S., for example,
06:38were declining by hundreds of millions of dollars.
06:41Choose from any of these great games and ringtones
06:42to use as your very own.
06:44People were using third-party software.
06:46Combine that with factors of increases
06:48in phones' internet connectivity,
06:51iTunes, smartphones,
06:52and the shifting consumer focus to games and social media,
06:55and it meant the ringtone decline would only steepen.
06:58You could get your ringtones from this oscillating fan.
07:01Or you can get them from somewhere even cooler,
07:03like the N.
07:04Now, those 2000s ringtone ads feel so retro.
07:08Number 43. Nextel.
07:13Replaced.
07:14How'd you do that?
07:16Coast-to-coast, walkie-talkies get it done.
07:19Nextel.
07:19The push-to-talk walkie-talkie feature of Nextel's cell phones
07:22was key to the company's success in the 2000s.
07:26In fact, Nextel was the first company
07:28to implement such a system nationwide.
07:30It was also the first company
07:32to successfully offer unlimited calling plans
07:34to a large customer base.
07:36In 2005, at a time when it had
07:39more than 20 million subscribers in the U.S.,
07:41Nextel merged with Sprint.
07:43Incompatible technologies would be a huge issue.
07:46Don't worry, I'll use my Nextel.
07:49Customs cleared?
07:50Yep.
07:51Containers can go.
07:52All right.
07:53All drivers dock three.
07:54Okay.
07:55Already there.
07:56And five years later,
07:57we got word that the Nextel iDen network,
08:00which featured that push-to-talk
08:02two-way radio function,
08:03would be decommissioned.
08:05Sprint officially shut down Nextel in 2013.
08:08The power to get things done.
08:09Nextel.
08:10Number 42.
08:12iSketch.
08:16Think online Pictionary.
08:19That was the idea of iSketch,
08:21a drawing browser game that came out in 1999.
08:24It sure found its fair share of users,
08:27and it was even a way to practice another language.
08:29The iSketch word lists were available in over 20 languages,
08:33with multiple difficulty levels,
08:35themes, and game variations.
08:36The chat room only made the social aspect of the platform that much more appealing.
08:42The game was written in Adobe Shockwave,
08:44which was discontinued in 2019.
08:46That marked the end of iSketch 2,
08:49as it was not updated with another software plugin.
08:51There are games,
08:53and then there's Pictionary.
08:54Number 41.
08:56Game Boy Advance.
08:57Look,
08:58maybe you still have a Game Boy Advance,
09:00but for all intents and purposes,
09:01these devices are gone with the wind of gaming's past.
09:04Tony Hawk,
09:05American Skateland,
09:06Need for Speed,
09:07Most Wanted,
09:07Final Fantasy 4.
09:09The Game Boy Advance was arguably the defining handheld gaming device of the early 2000s,
09:14before its successor,
09:16the Nintendo DS,
09:17came out.
09:18From its release in 2001 to its 2010 discontinuation,
09:21over 80 million Game Boy Advance units were sold around the globe.
09:25Yeah,
09:26that's a lot.
09:27These things were prized possessions.
09:29But with gaming advancements,
09:30they became outdated,
09:32and taken over by newer,
09:34more technologically capable devices.
09:36Still,
09:37the nostalgia is unrelenting.
09:39You can use the power of the Minish Cap to get small,
09:41unlock clues,
09:42and save Hyrule.
09:43The Legend of Zelda,
09:45the Minish Cap,
09:46only for Game Boy Advance.
09:47Number 40.
09:48Farmville on Facebook.
09:50After its release on Facebook in 2009,
09:53Farmville became a smash hit freemium game.
09:56It was the most popular game on the social media site,
09:59peaking at just under 84 million monthly active users.
10:03Plowing land,
10:04harvesting crops,
10:05raising livestock,
10:06and sending gifts to friends
10:08were all a part of the fun.
10:10But the game's popularity declined significantly from 2012 onwards.
10:14In 2020,
10:15with Facebook no longer supporting games running on Flash Player,
10:19the original Farmville was discontinued.
10:21While sequels came out on mobile devices in 2012 and 2021 respectively,
10:26all that remains of the original Facebook Farmville is nostalgia.
10:30Escape to Farmville 3
10:31and bring your farm to life like never before.
10:35Number 39.
10:37Tamagotchi Town.
10:38Only V3 gives you passwords for the online world of Tamagotchi Town.
10:42Many people called it Tamatown.
10:44If you had a Tamagotchi,
10:46this was the place to go if you wanted a computerized extension of the game.
10:50Tamagotchi Town was a browser game that allowed Tamagotchi users to explore an online world,
10:55where they could collect points and items that could be utilized for their handheld digital pets.
11:00The online platform started in 2006 and was specifically designed for owners of the version 3 Tamagotchi.
11:07It would later become compatible with newer versions as well.
11:10But in 2013, Tamatown was no more.
11:13Tamagotchi Connection.
11:14Me too.
11:15It's new.
11:16With looks and styles, new characters, gifts, games, and smiles, new secret codes.
11:20Number 38.
11:22Plasma TVs.
11:23Remember when these things felt so revolutionary?
11:26The first large commercially available flat screen plasma TV was introduced by Philips in the late 90s.
11:32In the 2000s, plasma displays surged,
11:35overtaking the box TVs that people had been so used to.
11:39Introducing the world's highest resolution, 42-inch plasma HDTV.
11:45But a different kind of flat panel TV, known as the liquid crystal display, LCD,
11:51which is most common today, became the public's preferred choice in the mid to late 2000s.
11:56Since 18.2 million plasma TV shipments globally in 2010, interest has rapidly declined.
12:02In 2014, Panasonic, LG, and Samsung stopped making plasma TVs.
12:09And countless people have stopped watching them since.
12:12As the majestic but deadly fumer searches for its prey.
12:17Number 37.
12:18The Wiimote.
12:19A motion sensor control like this was a game changer in the world of video games.
12:33The Wiimote, a.k.a. the Wiimote, came out in 2006.
12:37Perhaps you remember playing Wii Tennis, Wii Bowling, or another game with one of these things.
12:42You had to make sure that wrist strap was secured.
12:45Physically moving your own body, not just your fingers, to play a video game,
12:49was a concept that was different from other cherished consoles at the time.
12:53But after the Wii was discontinued in 2013, the primary controllers of its successors,
12:58the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch, were not the Wiimote.
13:07Thus, the Wiimote waned into gaming obscurity.
13:10Still, its legacy is not forgotten.
13:14Number 36.
13:15PBS Kids Sprout.
13:16PBS Kids Sprout.
13:18Presented in partnership with your PBS station.
13:20Let's grow.
13:21This children's TV channel was something many 2000s babies grew up on.
13:26PBS Kids Sprout launched in 2005 as an offshoot of PBS Kids.
13:31PBS Kids Sprout had fewer ads than regular TV and was known for its variety.
13:35In 2009, it rebranded to the more succinct, snappier name Sprout.
13:41After Comcast gained full ownership of Sprout in 2013,
13:45the focus was competing with Nick Jr. and Disney Jr.
13:48Yeah, no easy task.
13:50Those two iconic kids channels live on.
13:53Conversely, by the mid-2010s,
13:55almost all shows from Sprout's original PBS library were gone.
13:59A rebrand titled Universal Kids came out in 2017, but that network was axed in 2025.
14:06Hello Sproutlets.
14:07I'm so happy to see you.
14:09Are you ready for another good night?
14:11I am.
14:11I am.
14:12Number 35.
14:14Teen Choice Awards.
14:15Movies, TV, music, sports.
14:18The Teen Choice Awards had it all.
14:20They gave us so many moments throughout the 2000s and 2010s with our favorite celebrities.
14:24Shira Lazar for Hollywood.com bringing you exclusive coverage of the 2005 Teen Choice Awards.
14:31It technically started in 1999 and stopped in 2019 after plummeting ratings.
14:36But the 2000s aura that this awards show radiates is undeniable.
14:40We'd love to name more examples,
14:42but we can only paint a small picture of a couple of the defining moments of this era.
14:46In 2001, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar won the Extraordinary Achievement Award.
14:53In 2009, pop star Britney Spears won the Ultimate Choice Award.
14:58What a decade in pop culture.
15:01What can I say?
15:04Wow.
15:05Number 34.
15:06Oovu.
15:09Hello Mark.
15:11Dear heart.
15:12How I pain for you.
15:14This video chat and messaging app launched in 2007
15:17and didn't take long to find its way to computers all over the place.
15:21Oovu became a virtual hangout spot for groups of people
15:24as it allowed video and audio calls with up to 12 users.
15:29That may not sound like anything special nowadays with Zoom, Teams and all that,
15:33but Oovu was the designated video call site for many people in the late 2000s into the 2010s.
15:39But it turned out the company wasn't making enough money.
15:42In 2017, Oovu made an announcement on Twitter that it would be shutting down.
15:46Oh, why are you so dramatic?
15:51Oovu.
15:52Number 33.
15:54Nokia Phones.
15:55The telecom infrastructure company Nokia still exists,
15:59but that mobile phone giant?
16:00Nope.
16:01The Nokia 3600 slash 3650 became the first camera phone sold in North America in 2003.
16:08But the highlight of that year was the Nokia 1100,
16:19the best-selling mobile device of all time.
16:22Yeah, it was that big.
16:24A few years later, the Nokia N-series phones became customer favorites.
16:28And in 2008, Nokia hit its best-ever global mobile phone market share at 38.6%,
16:35nothing to sneeze at.
16:37But unable to effectively ride the wave of the smartphone revolution,
16:41Nokia fell behind.
16:43In 2010, the iconic Nokia 1100 model was discontinued.
16:48In 2011, the N-series was nixed.
16:51And in 2013, the company sold its mobile and devices division to Microsoft.
16:55Nokia. Connecting people.
16:59Number 32.
17:00Yahoo GeoCities.
17:02This web hosting service allowed you to make websites for free.
17:06It was initially just called GeoCities,
17:08which would become one of the most visited sites on the internet.
17:11In 1999, it was acquired by Yahoo.
17:14Changes made by Yahoo, including new terms of service,
17:17were largely viewed negatively by users.
17:20Still, it remained a widely used web hosting platform.
17:23But in the late 2000s, Yahoo shut down many of its services.
17:27And GeoCities was one of them.
17:30It was home to more than 38 million web pages at the time of its 2009 termination.
17:35Users were left having to find a new home for their sites.
17:38Number 31.
17:39MTV TRL.
17:41Our first award of TRL's first ever TRL award show for First Lady.
17:46Oh, she's good.
17:47Britney Spears, everybody.
17:49Total Request Live premiered in 1998.
17:52By the turn of the century, it was firmly ingrained in pop culture.
17:56The MTV show aired the top music videos of the day,
17:59as well as live celebrity performances and interviews.
18:02It was really helpful in growing the popularity of a multitude of famous singers.
18:05And from the viewer's perspective,
18:08perhaps one of the most effective aspects of TRL was the fan engagement.
18:12You could vote for what music video you'd like to see in the show's countdown.
18:15TRL aired at 3.30 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays.
18:19And thus was appointment after-school TV for many kids.
18:23Do it for the kids.
18:24Do it for the kids.
18:29There it is. There it is.
18:31But in 2008, it came to an end.
18:33A revival attempt came,
18:36but nothing would recapture the magic of the original run.
18:39Number 30. Jetix.
18:41This Disney-owned kids' TV brand brings back memories for a lot of people who grew up in the 2000s.
18:49It's hard to forget that epic logo.
18:51Jetix.
18:52Jetix offered a mix of live-action and animated series,
18:56plus the world's first trading card game played concurrently on TV and online.
19:01The channel was available in various parts of the world,
19:05including the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and parts of Asia.
19:09In some places, Jetix expanded its reach,
19:12with magazines, award shows, and even an international youth soccer tournament.
19:17Here's how it all plays out.
19:19Boys and girls from 16 countries travel to Paris to compete in the Jetix Kids' Cup.
19:24Even though it was a hit after launching in 2004,
19:27it didn't stick around for long.
19:28By the end of the decade, it was discontinued worldwide.
19:32In the U.S., it got replaced by Disney XD.
19:35On TV, online, everywhere.
19:38Check your local listings.
19:39Number 29. Bebo.
19:41While American-owned, Bebo mainly made its name in the U.K.
19:45The social networking platform launched in 2005
19:48gave users a profile and a chance to do all the typical social media stuff we take for granted today.
19:54Blog posts, comments, questionnaires, pictures, videos, and so on.
19:59I took in hard fighting.
20:01The boo came up.
20:01The name Bebo stood for blog early, blog often.
20:05And a lot of people must have taken that advice,
20:07because at one point, the platform overtook MySpace
20:10as the most used social networking site in the U.K.
20:14But after it was sold to AOL in 2008,
20:17things started to go downhill.
20:18It changed hands again in 2010,
20:20and by 2013, it was pretty much cooked.
20:24Multiple relaunch attempts, including one in 2021, came up short.
20:28Will you seek to make Bebo profitable?
20:31Um, it's the last thing on my mind right now.
20:36Number 28. VCRs.
20:38After decades as a staple in countless households,
20:41the VCR really started fading into obscurity in the 2000s.
20:45DVDs played a big role in that,
20:47overtaking VHS rentals in the U.S. by 2003.
20:51Remember how cool it was to record and playback TV shows?
20:55Or to pop in a videotape of an old favorite movie?
20:58These days, we barely think twice about that kind of access.
21:01The rise of higher quality, more advanced DVRs
21:04only sped up the shift in home video.
21:06And by 2016,
21:08the last remaining VCR manufacturer had stopped production.
21:12We wanted to continue producing them.
21:14But it's become hard for the vendors to continue producing the parts.
21:18So we decided to stop our production of the VCR.
21:21Number 27. G4.
21:23Perhaps the only drawback for many fans of the G4 television network
21:27was that it required a paid subscription.
21:29But plenty would tell you it was worth it.
21:32It's Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb.
21:35Hello and welcome to X-Play.
21:37After launching in 2002,
21:382002, G4 quickly established itself as a favorite
21:41for gamers and tech enthusiasts alike.
21:44With shows like Cheat, X-Play, and Attack of the Show,
21:47it was the go-to channel for video game tutorials and reviews,
21:51as well as general pop culture, tech, and gaming news.
21:54Okay, you know what?
21:55Just make sure to tune in.
21:57January 2nd, 2008.
21:59That's when we're coming back.
22:00In 2013, G4 was available in over half of all American households with TV.
22:06But by the end of 2014, it was shut down.
22:09And that's all for now.
22:11A relaunch came seven years later,
22:13but it only took a year before the network disappeared from TV guides once again.
22:18Number 26. Radio Disney.
22:20A lot of 2000s kids couldn't get enough of Disney Channel growing up.
22:24But we can't forget Radio Disney either,
22:26which, unlike the former, is no longer with us.
22:29Radio Disney. Hear your music, your way.
22:31Disney Channel lovers could get a musical fix
22:34even when they weren't in front of the TV.
22:36Radio Disney played songs from Disney Channel shows and teen idols,
22:40along with some mainstream pop and R&B you'd hear on other stations.
22:44Radio Disney. Your music, your way.
22:46Find your station at RadioDisney.com.
22:49A version of the station still airs in Latin America, broadcast in Spanish.
22:53But the U.S. version, unaffiliated with that one,
22:56went off the air in 2021.
22:58About 24 years after its debut.
23:0136 employees will be laid off as part of the move.
23:04Number 25. Netflix DVDs.
23:07Before the days of streaming,
23:08Netflix was crushing it as a DVD-by-mail rental service.
23:12For many, checking the mailbox for a Netflix DVD
23:14was just another part of the day.
23:16Netflix. All the DVDs you want, starting at only $9.99 a month.
23:19No late fees.
23:20The business began in the late 90s
23:22and continued to bloom through the 2000s.
23:25In 2004, Netflix made a profit of $49 million,
23:29sending out around a million DVDs a day.
23:32At its peak several years later,
23:35it had about 20 million subscribers.
23:37You'll get three DVDs.
23:39Get them as long as you want, without late fees.
23:41These days, those red and white envelopes are pure nostalgia.
23:45As video streaming took over in the 2010s,
23:48DVD-by-mail lost major steam.
23:50In 2023, Netflix sent out its final DVDs,
23:54letting remaining customers keep them as a parting gift.
23:57That marked the end of a legendary run
23:59of over 5 billion shipments.
24:02It's just weird thinking about how it's something
24:03you'll tell your kids and your grandkids about,
24:05and they'll think you're just a dinosaur.
24:07Number 24, AOL Instant Messenger, AIM.
24:11Before texting and social media DMs took over,
24:14AOL Instant Messenger was the way to go,
24:17or at least one of the ways to go.
24:19I get instant messages from John.
24:22Yahoo Messenger was another game changer
24:24tons of people used during the 2000s.
24:27But for this list, we're giving the slight edge to AIM,
24:30which came out first.
24:32At the peak of its powers,
24:33AIM had more than 60 million users,
24:36and was the most widely used instant messaging method
24:39in North America.
24:40It's having a verbal chat electronically.
24:43By the time the 2000s were in the rear view, though,
24:46competition became overwhelmingly stiff,
24:48as the number of ways to message people expanded
24:51and advanced to new heights.
24:53Now, AIM's not just a way.
24:55It's gone.
24:56People started to shift away from AIM,
24:59as it was called,
24:59when text messages, Twitter, Facebook,
25:01started to become more popular.
25:03Number 23, Windows XP.
25:06This operating system developed by Microsoft
25:08used to be everywhere.
25:10Schools, libraries, offices, homes, you name it.
25:14In those days, a lot of people were content
25:16with how smoothly their computers ran with Windows XP.
25:19Welcome to Windows XP from Microsoft,
25:22the new version of Windows that brings your PC to life.
25:25But what once felt fast, user-friendly,
25:29and visually appealing quickly became outdated.
25:32By 2009, about eight years after Windows XP
25:35was initially released,
25:37Microsoft nixed its mainstream support.
25:40Five years after that,
25:41extended support ended too,
25:43as the decline only steepened.
25:45But even now that Windows XP
25:53has become virtually obsolete,
25:55we can never forget that trademark startup sound.
26:03Number 22, MySpace.
26:05Sure, technically, MySpace still exists,
26:08but it's not the MySpace it was during the 2000s,
26:11the one that was on top of the social media world.
26:13Yes, that's what it was,
26:15the largest social networking site in the world
26:18from 2005 to 2009.
26:21And during that stretch,
26:22MySpace surpassed Google and Yahoo
26:24as the most visited website in the United States.
26:28At one point,
26:29it was attracting well over 100 million monthly visitors.
26:32But over time,
26:33it lost buzz and customers to Facebook and Twitter,
26:36and has become an afterthought.
26:38Now, it's more of a music and entertainment site,
26:41and a much, much less popular one at that.
26:44So what went wrong?
26:45Well, a combination of things.
26:47Facebook certainly didn't help,
26:49nor did MySpace's own technical issues,
26:51management missteps,
26:52and failure to evolve the user experience.
26:55The last time I used MySpace
26:56was probably in my middle school years.
26:59Number 21, Skype.
27:01Remember this?
27:01These days,
27:06we can make video calls with FaceTime,
27:08WhatsApp,
27:09Zoom,
27:10Google Meet,
27:10Microsoft Teams,
27:11and more.
27:12But before all of those came along,
27:14there was Skype.
27:15The go-to for video calls.
27:17Still remember that ringtone?
27:19Yeah,
27:19us too.
27:20Initially released in 2003,
27:23Skype eventually amassed hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
27:26Hello.
27:27Hi, Emma.
27:28I'm just...
27:28Its popularity soared in the late 2000s and into the 2010s,
27:32as its free video chatting services became available for more and more devices.
27:37But in May 2025,
27:39Microsoft,
27:40the owner of Skype,
27:41shut it down,
27:42choosing to put its focus on its Teams platform.
27:45If just hearing the word Skype,
27:47or seeing that white and blue logo brings up fond memories,
27:50you're definitely not alone.
27:52It's deemed Skype to sort of be no longer needed among its portfolio of offerings.
28:01Number 20, BlackBerry Phones.
28:03New BlackBerry, huh?
28:04Yeah.
28:05Me too.
28:06During the mid to late 2000s,
28:09BlackBerry was climbing the charts in the mobile phone game,
28:12particularly in North America,
28:14with its iconic keyboards being a major pull.
28:16In 2009,
28:18the BlackBerry curve became the best-selling smartphone in the U.S.
28:22So, what went wrong?
28:24You guessed it,
28:24iPhones and Androids.
28:26Although BlackBerry continued to expand its global user base
28:30and seemed to be thriving within the first few years of iPhones and Androids,
28:35its dramatic decline became glaringly apparent by the mid-2010s.
28:39BlackBerry's death rattle came in June 2010 with the release of the iPhone 4.
28:44By the end of that decade,
28:45whoever you knew that had previously owned a BlackBerry most likely no longer did.
28:50It was finally time for the company to bow out of the phone game in 2022.
28:55And despite their downfall,
28:57these iconic phones will always be bricks in the foundation of smartphone history.
29:02Number 19, Zanga.
29:04Before the social media sites that dominate the digital world today,
29:08there was Zanga.
29:09In the 2000s, it became a popular place, especially among teens, to blog and connect online.
29:15This web blogging service took off at the start of the decade,
29:18and shortly after, it added features like comments and photo uploads.
29:22In 2006, Zanga let users upload audio blogs and add online friends.
29:28That year, it hit a user base of around 30 million.
29:32But even the launch of video blogs in 2007 wasn't enough to keep this once-significant social media presence around.
29:39Zanga shut its doors in 2013.
29:41Thanks Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
29:43There's Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Earth, so on and so forth.
29:51But what about Google Reader?
29:52It tends to get lost in the shuffle, probably because it hasn't existed since 2013.
29:57Google Reader was launched in 2005 and became a popular way for people to collect their favorite web content in one organized place.
30:06Efficiency and organization were its main draws.
30:09However, a decline in use and Google's desire to focus on other products led them to give Reader the boot.
30:15In March of 2013, a petition to save it reached over 100,000 signatures, but Google stood its ground.
30:22But Google says usage of the service has declined.
30:25Number 17. Motorola Razr V3.
30:29The original Motorola Razr came out in November 2004.
30:32And from 2005 to 2008, it was at the top of the mountain in terms of cell phone popularity in the U.S.
30:41Hi.
30:42In retrospect, it might not seem all that special, but at the time, it was.
30:47The thin design of the V3 set it apart.
30:50When we reminisce about flip phones in general, the Razr should be thought of as the epitome of that era.
30:55But perhaps the only time you'll see them nowadays is if you put on a TV series from the 2000s like Prison Break or a 2000s movie like The Devil Wears Prada.
31:05Let me see what I can do.
31:06Good.
31:07Number 16. Personal Digital Assistance.
31:10He's got a PDA?
31:10Everybody's got a PDA.
31:11A touchscreen device with data storage, Bluetooth, a calendar, an address book, and a calculator.
31:18Sounds familiar, right?
31:19These are the functions many personal digital assistants, or PDAs, were built to provide.
31:24PDAs entered a lot of people's lives in the 1990s and 2000s.
31:29One example is Microsoft's Pocket PC, which was introduced in 2000, but was phased out by the end of the decade.
31:36So let's type in car, and you'll see that it's suggesting words for me as I type.
31:41The concept of a pocket-sized computer has obviously evolved, becoming more advanced and well-rounded than PDAs ever were.
31:49As a result, PDAs lost their appeal.
31:51Still, they shouldn't be ignored as predecessors to modern smartphones.
31:56But for really smart, check out this Palm handheld from CompUSA.
32:00Number 15. Friendster.
32:02115 million users were registered on Friendster in 2008, five years after its launch.
32:09This is one of the ancestors of social media that people probably forget about because it's no longer around.
32:16So here's a place that suits your style.
32:18A place where you can express yourself.
32:21The platform was designed to allow users to connect with others online, share content, comment, message, discover new events, and more.
32:29The problem was that it just couldn't keep up with other major players in the industry, namely Facebook.
32:34Friendster transitioned into a social gaming platform in 2011.
32:38Just a few years later, it shut down its site before officially ceasing to exist in 2018.
32:44Well, it was called Friendster, and at its peak, it was a vibrant social network with more than 50 million members.
32:5050 million!
32:51That's right.
32:52But then, out of the blue, the civilization just ended.
32:55Number 14. Club Penguin.
32:57Rated E for everyone.
32:58As far as online games and virtual worlds go, Club Penguin was a standout.
33:05Just hearing the name probably brings back some nostalgia for anyone who was a kid during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
33:12After launching in 2005, Club Penguin reached 30 million users by 2007, and by 2013, had registered over 200 million accounts.
33:22While users could purchase memberships if they wanted to upgrade their Penguin's style, home, or pet, the basic version of the game was free.
33:30There's something new and exciting every week!
33:33The interactive nature of Club Penguin was also instrumental to its popularity.
33:37That, and of course, the chance to play with virtual penguins.
33:41By the mid-2010s, though, Club Penguin's popularity began to decline, and it was discontinued in 2017.
33:47Number 13. Blockbuster.
33:54Remember the days when watching a movie at home meant first heading to a rental store?
33:58Or waiting for a DVD to arrive in the mail?
34:00For many, Blockbuster was the go-to place for that.
34:03There's one near you.
34:05At its peak, the chain boasted over 9,000 store locations.
34:09However, a combination of factors, including the Great Recession, rising competition, and a failure to adapt to the changing home video landscape, led to its demise.
34:19By 2014, all corporate-owned Blockbuster stores had closed, and the company had shut down its DVD-by-mail program after filing for bankruptcy a few years earlier.
34:30This really is the end of an era. Blockbuster will close all of its remaining stores.
34:34Technically, one Blockbuster store still survives in Bend, Oregon, serving as a nostalgic tourist attraction, and a reminder of the brand's once-iconic status.
34:44This is it. This is our final stand.
34:47Number 12. Redbox.
34:49Perhaps you remember that eye-catching red movie machine inside or outside your local supermarket, convenience store, or pharmacy.
34:56And with over 41,000 kiosks in more locations than Starbucks and McDonald's combined.
35:02That vending kiosk was known as Redbox, easy to remember and instantly recognizable.
35:08Redbox was founded in 2002 and quickly expanded its kiosk locations across the U.S.
35:13The idea was transformative, and the technology seemed pretty awesome at the time.
35:18I guess we could get a scary one.
35:19That one that scares you.
35:20You'd use the screen to browse through numerous movie options, pick what you wanted to rent, pay, and voila.
35:28The DVD would pop right out.
35:29You'd then bring it home, watch it, and return it when you were done.
35:33Simple as that.
35:33However, with the rise of streaming, the company couldn't keep up.
35:37Its run officially came to an end in 2024.
35:39The 24,000 DVD kiosks are closing as streaming continues its dominance.
35:46Number 11.
35:47iPods.
35:48These discontinued portable media players were a key part of Apple's history and revolutionized the way we listen to music.
35:55iPods were a tier above formats like mini-discs.
35:58The first ever iPod was released in 2001.
36:01iPod.
36:01A thousand songs in your pocket.
36:03Over the years, Apple produced a variety of models.
36:07The classic, mini, nano, shuffle, and touch, offering plenty of ways to enjoy your favorite tunes.
36:13Some versions even came with games.
36:15Many former iPod users probably remember the iTunes store to buy songs and build playlists.
36:21Apple officially discontinued the iPod product line in 2022, but its decline started long before.
36:27As the iPhone took over in the 2010s, blending music playback with so much more.
36:31As a business decision, this makes a lot of sense.
36:35People are not buying iPods.
36:37Number 10.
36:38Nintendo PictoChat.
36:40Before the iPhone, there was the Nintendo PictoChat.
36:44This 2004 messaging app was included on various Nintendo DS consoles.
36:49Essentially, one user could type or draw on their console and share their message to other DS users.
36:56Hey, look what I got.
36:57We can chat on this.
36:58Wow.
36:59Those who played Super Smash Bros. Brawl may recognize the PictoChat, as it actually appears as a stage in the game.
37:08Hey-ya!
37:09Get back up!
37:11Hey-ya!
37:12Hey-ya!
37:13Hey-ya!
37:13Hey-ya!
37:14The app is technically still alive, but let's be honest.
37:17Does anyone actually use it anymore?
37:20I'm still cool.
37:21Nah.
37:22You've changed, man.
37:23The DS was discontinued in 2013, and the 3DS has since replaced PictoChat with another app titled SwapNote.
37:31Number 9.
37:32Live Journal.
37:33This social networking service technically started back in 1999, when a programmer named Brad Fitzpatrick created it to stay in touch with his friends.
37:42Nothing is more important than having the freedom to express your thoughts and feelings openly with others.
37:49On today's social networks, however, you probably feel pressure to censor many of your true feelings and opinions.
37:54The basics.
37:55People write a personal journal, and other users can read it.
37:59It was eventually adopted by various fandoms and used for things like fan fiction and original stories.
38:04But even this was eventually taken elsewhere.
38:07I was so calm and boring, I didn't even want a live journal.
38:10And then Dawson's Creek got bad because there was no one to speak truth to power.
38:13Dawson's Creek did not get bad.
38:15Nowadays, the service is mainly used in Russia.
38:18Isn't that good?
38:19Go!
38:20Russia!
38:21Yep, the product was eventually sold to Russian company SUP Media, where it became a popular site for political pundits and public figures.
38:29Claimed $30 million was paid for the global brand, but soup suggested to business today,
38:34the figure was much higher.
38:35So, like the Twitter of Russia?
38:38Number 8.
38:39Pagers.
38:40Shockingly enough, some people have never seen a pager outside of a movie.
38:44Can I ask you a question?
38:45Do you know if the hotel's pager-friendly?
38:47What do you mean?
38:48I'm not getting a sig on my beeper.
38:50Pagers were essentially used to transmit voice and text messages before the invention of cell phones.
38:56Gosh, I hope you got a picture of that with a camera on your beeper.
38:59Actually, my beeper doesn't have a camera, but it does have a pedometer.
39:02Actually, not this one.
39:04These things have been used since the 50s, although they lasted well into the 2000s.
39:09First of all, Jake, there's no records that you and I teamed up together because you insisted that we only communicate through a beeper.
39:14Those stupid beepers were right to be addicted to our phones.
39:17In 2003 alone, the pager industry generated over $6 billion in revenue.
39:23Unfortunately, this all came crashing down upon the widespread adoption of cell phones and, you know, texting?
39:29Oh, my moolah! It's escaping my clutches!
39:32Nowadays, pagers are mainly used in public health and emergency industries.
39:36Uh, what's with the second beeper?
39:38Carla gave it to me.
39:39This is due to their systems being more reliable than cell networks.
39:43Number 7. Microsoft Zune
39:45The Zune was essentially Microsoft's answer to the iPod.
39:49It was a line of portable media devices that could play music and videos through the Zune Music Pass service.
39:55Just show me how to work this thing.
39:58Well, the turning thing there makes the songs go up and down.
40:01Made by primitive people.
40:02That is primitive.
40:03The first model, the Zune 30, came equipped with a whopping 30 gigs of storage and a 3-inch screen.
40:13It was introduced in 2006, but sales were immediately stagnant.
40:22It took just 3% of the MP3 market and was considered dead by 2008.
40:27I stood in front of a case of iPods and I bought a Zune.
40:31What's a Zune?
40:36Yep, exactly.
40:37Sales had crashed, and even major stores like GameStop refused to sell them, citing a lack of demand.
40:43The hardware hung on until 2011, until it was mercifully discontinued.
40:49Number 6. CD Binders
40:51CD players were introduced in 1982 and quickly eclipsed records as the primary method of listening to music.
40:58Well, lads, what do you think of the new album cover?
41:01Great, but it won't look good when it's shrunk down for a CD.
41:05CD?
41:05What's a CD?
41:06A digital compact disc.
41:08Their popularity lasted well into the 2000s.
41:11That is, before things like the iPod and smartphones essentially made them obsolete.
41:16I get iPod.
41:17He only get iPod mini.
41:19But before then, we needed something to hold our hundreds of CDs.
41:23The answer?
41:24CD Binders.
41:25These were large books filled with plastic pages, and in these pages were slots in which to slide a CD.
41:32Unfortunately, the fun of flipping through these booklets went out with CD players themselves.
41:37CD Binders.
41:38Now we can scroll through our phones instead.
41:54Admittedly, it does not bring the same joy.
41:57Number 5. Sony Ericsson
42:00Remember the Sony Ericsson?
42:02Not many do.
42:03Pepperidge Farm remembers.
42:05The mobile market is a fickle thing, and many companies, including BlackBerry, have come and gone.
42:11Smartphones were actually in play long before the iPhone appeared in 2007.
42:22In fact, five years earlier, Sony released a touch-based smartphone called the Sony Ericsson P800.
42:29This ran under the Symbian OS, which was developed in the late 90s for PDAs.
42:34The final Ericsson phone was the Vivaz, which was introduced in March 2010.
42:39After that, the Ericsson brand was discontinued.
42:47Sony dropped their previous OS and began running Android,
42:51and they abandoned the Ericsson line to focus exclusively on the Xperia.
42:56Number 4.
42:57Halo 2 Servers
42:58Few video games are as historic as Halo 2.
43:09Gentlemen, we're lucky to have you back.
43:11Its multiplayer component helped popularize Xbox Live
43:15and originated many now-common aspects of online gaming,
43:19including matchmaking and lobbies.
43:21Multiplayer is a little different because it's more like a sport in that you're, you know,
43:24yes, the game is there, but it's basically helping you compete against your friends.
43:28Yep, one could certainly make the argument that online multiplayer gaming began with Halo 2,
43:35at least within the mainstream.
43:37Oh, I haven't had a chance to shower for a few days.
43:39I've been gaming like a loon.
43:40Unfortunately, a major part of its history is now dead.
43:43The Xbox Live server was officially discontinued in April of 2010,
43:48and the PC servers were terminated three years later.
43:51I thought we were going to play Halo tonight.
43:53By the summer of 2013, all the OG Halo 2 servers were offline.
43:58Luckily, the game survives through the Master Chief collection,
44:01and its multiplayer can still be enjoyed to this day.
44:04Now make a girl the problem.
44:06If you know you can't keep it.
44:08Number 3.
44:09MSN
44:09There was simply nothing like getting home from school, grabbing a snack, and logging into MSN for the night.
44:16This was a basic service that allowed two or more people to talk to each other through text-based messaging.
44:21What about your girlfriend?
44:24Well, things are getting pretty serious right now.
44:27I mean, we chat online for like two hours every day, so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious.
44:33Voice recordings were introduced in later iterations.
44:36The service really took off in the early 2000s, with version 7.5 being released in the summer of 2005.
44:48Following that, MSN was rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, and this was officially released in June of 2006.
45:01Unfortunately, it was also around this time that social media truly blew up,
45:05leaving Messenger in the dust.
45:07I don't want things to change.
45:09But you can't stop the change.
45:12Any more than you can stop the suns from setting.
45:14Number 2.
45:16LimeWire and Napster
45:17Following the advent of the internet, it didn't take long for file-sharing clients to pop up.
45:23The most popular by far were LimeWire and Napster.
45:26Well, I founded an internet company that let folks download and share music for free.
45:31Kind of like Napster?
45:32Exactly.
45:33Like Napster.
45:34What do you mean?
45:35I founded Napster.
45:37Sean Parker founded Napster.
45:39Nice to meet you.
45:40These took advantage of something called peer-to-peer file-sharing.
45:43It essentially allowed people to download music from someone else's files without paying for it.
45:48Isn't that stealing?
45:49You downloaded a lot of songs.
45:52Says here you even downloaded Judas Priest?
45:55That's hard time you boys are looking at.
45:57You got anything to say for yourselves?
46:00We didn't think it was that big a deal.
46:02We'll let you be the judge.
46:04These systems exploded in the early 2000s and were easy enough to use.
46:08So much so that even the most technologically-averse individuals could operate them.
46:13Of course, along with their popularity came the copyright lawsuits.
46:17As a result, Napster was forced to shut down in 2001.
46:20Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
46:36You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
46:41If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
46:45Number 1. Dial-up Internet
46:48Anyone who used the internet in the early 2000s knows the sound of dial-up.
46:56As a result, the dial-up noise is something 14-year-old Hebe Richardson has come to dread.
47:02Dial-up allowed us to access the early internet, which was more of a Wild West experience than the corporatized internet of today.
47:09The speeds were cumbersome and the video and audio quality was not for the faint of heart.
47:13But there was an undeniable sense of fun to it all.
47:25Hurry up, I'm a busy man.
47:27We were experiencing something truly groundbreaking.
47:31Historic even.
47:32Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day.
47:36Of course, broadband killed dial-up in the mid-2000s, and a certain part of the internet ended with it.
47:42Like, broadband is the marriage of those technologies.
47:45The best description I heard came from a pioneer in broadband, Excite at Home.
47:49They call it the internet on steroids.
47:51One thing we don't miss, however, is having to log off so someone could use the phone.
47:56Yeesh.
47:57Which of these things from the 2000s do you hold the fondest memories of?
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