34 tech brands that spectacularly went bust or disappeared from existence

(Pocket-lint) - Over the years, tech start-ups and giants person travel and gone. In the ever-changing satellite of technology, a institution needs to bash much than conscionable support up with the times successful bid to survive. 

We've seen adjacent immense companies spell bust implicit the fewer decades and adjacent the astir promising products tin extremity up obsolete successful the blink of an eye. 

We've been done the past books to excavation retired immoderate of the astir absorbing companies that person gone nether contempt being astatine the forefront of the manufacture during their heyday. 

• Best merchandise flops and missteps from history: How galore of these blunders bash you remember?

Blockbuster Video

• Years of Operation: 1985 - 2010
• Fate: Competition from Netflix and different video-on-demand services yet pb to Blockbuster's demise. The institution was forced to record for bankruptcy successful 2010.
• Best known for: Home Movie and Game rental

Blockbuster was an American-based institution that offered home movie and video crippled rental services done brick-and-mortar stores.

It became known worldwide successful the 1990s but aboriginal suffered astatine the hands of contention from Netflix and different video-on-demand services.

Blockbuster turned down a merchantability connection from Netflix for $50 cardinal successful the year 2000, but was forced to record for bankruptcy successful 2010 aft declining income successful the years that followed. 

Syquest

• Years of Operation: 1982 - 2009
• Fate: SyQuest struggled successful the 1990s owed to the popularity of Zip drives and writeable CDs. Sales declined and successful 1998 SyQuest filed for bankruptcy successful precocious 1998.
• Best Known for: Removable cartridge information storage

SyQuest was an aboriginal shaper of hard disk drives for idiosyncratic computers. The institution besides produced cartridge disk drives which made it the astir fashionable means for transferring ample integer documents to nonrecreational printers. 

In the precocious 1990s, SyQuest began to conflict successful a marketplace where Zip drives and writeable CDs were gaining popularity and expanding successful capacity. Online record transportation via FTP besides proved a amended strategy for firm users and income of SyQuest products declined. Due to expanding fiscal losses, SyQuest was forced to record for bankruptcy successful 1998.

Iomega

• Years of operation: 1980 - 2013
• Fate: bought by EMC successful 2008
• Best known for: the ZIP thrust (pictured)

Back successful the days erstwhile carnal media was an important portion of the machine world, Iomega was a large sanction successful the industry.

This company manufactured a scope of antithetic retention solutions aimed astatine replacing the humble 3.5-inch floppy disk. 

The astir well-known of Iomega's products was the Zip drive - a high-capacity disk retention strategy that started retired with a 100 MB capableness but would aboriginal scope dizzying heights of 750 MBs. Like galore different retention mediums, the humble Zip thrust aboriginal suffered astatine the hands of some CD and DVD resulting successful it falling retired of favours successful the aboriginal 2000s. 

Iomega attempted to support afloat by releasing assorted caller products specified arsenic MP3 players, outer hard drives and NAS devices, but nary of them was palmy enough. 

Despite the troubles, Iomega was bought retired by EMC successful 2008 for $213 cardinal and past had its products rebranded arsenic LenovoEMC successful 2013. 

Napster

• Years of Operation: 1999 - 2001
• Fate: Forced to unopen successful 2001 to comply with a US copyright infringement ruling

Napster was primitively founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing work that allowed users to stock integer files, usually songs, implicit the internet.

It was a ground-breaking work astatine the time, but the institution soon ran into ineligible difficulties implicit copyright infringement. 

Napster was forced to cease operations and state bankruptcy. Napster's marque and logo were eventually acquired by Roxio which rebooted the marque as Napster 2.0. 

Later the caller Napster was purchased by Best Buy for $121 cardinal and past merged with Rhapsody successful 2011. In 2016 the Napster marque was fixed caller beingness and continues to run contiguous arsenic a Spotify competitor. 

Compaq

• Years of Operation: 1982 - 2013
• Fate: Compaq was acquired for US$25 cardinal by HP successful 2002
• Best Known For: Personal computers

Compaq was originally founded successful 1982 and had a superior absorption of developing and selling computers and related products. 

Compaq was notably the archetypal institution to legally reverse technologist the IBM Personal Computer and roseate to manufacture fame successful the 1990s becoming the largest supplier of computers during that time. 

Compaq struggled to vie with computing giants HP and Dell, suffering particularly successful the terms wars of the time. The institution was acquired by HP in 2002 for $25 cardinal and the marque was utilized by HP for lower-end systems until being discontinued successful 2013. 

Boo.com

• Years of Operation: 1999-2000
• Fate: The institution spent $135 cardinal of task superior successful conscionable 18 months and it was placed into receivership connected 18 May 2000 and liquidated
• Best Known for: Online Fashion and being 1 of the archetypal spectacular failures of the dot-com boom

Boo.com was a British institution that launched successful 1999 and sold branded manner products implicit the internet. This was 1 of the archetypal companies to spectacularly neglect during the dot-com bust astir that time.

Boo.com went retired of concern portion awash with stories of lavish firm lifestyles and deficiency of due management. It has since been cited galore times arsenic "a classical illustration of failed e-commerce strategy" and a informing to different akin businesses that followed. 

3DFX interactive

• Years of Operation: 1994 - 2002
• Fate: 3dfx rapidly declined successful the precocious 1990s and was acquired by Nvidia, mostly for intelligence spot rights aft going bankrupt successful 2002.”
• Best known for: Graphics chips

3dfx Interactive was a large sanction successful the gaming satellite successful the 1990s. The institution chiefly manufactured 3D graphics processing units and past graphics cards the astir fashionable of which were the Voodoo and Voodoo2. 

3dfx Interactive suffered successful aboriginal years and yet went bankrupt successful 2002 erstwhile it was acquired by Nvidia for the intelligence spot rights.

DeLorean Motor Co.

• Years of Operation: 1975-1982
• Fate: Ended successful receivership and bankruptcy successful 1982. 
• Best cognize for: DMC-12 car (as utilized successful Back To The Future)

The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an automobile institution possibly astir well-known for the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car that was featured heavy successful the Back To The Future movie trilogy. 

The institution was primitively founded by John DeLorean successful 1975. John DeLorean was known successful the manufacture as a susceptible technologist and concern innovator.

He besides famously heavy relied connected the British authorities for backing the start-up to the sum of around $120 cardinal with the committedness of gathering his manufacturing plants successful Northern Ireland. The British authorities was hopeless to assistance make jobs successful Northern Ireland and quell the unit of the time. 

Despite the backing and backing, a deficiency of demand, cost overruns and unfavourable speech rates yet began to harm the business. In a hopeless effort to support the institution alive, John DeLorean was adjacent filmed appearing to judge wealth to instrumentality portion in drug trafficking and discussing the cause woody with undercover FBI agents. He was aboriginal acquitted of each charges, but his concern was successful tatters and DMC went bankrupt successful 1982. 

Wang Laboratories

• Years of Operation: 1951 - 2008
• Fate: Wang Labs apt failed due to the fact that it specialised successful computers for connection processing and did not accommodate to the epoch of general-purpose idiosyncratic computers successful the 1980s.
• Best known for: Word processors and idiosyncratic computers

Wang Laboratories was primitively founded successful 1951 but peaked successful the 1980s erstwhile it had yearly revenues successful excess of $3 cardinal and employed implicit 33,000 people.

Wang Labs main absorption was on computers for connection processing and it was thoroughly palmy erstwhile this was what the manufacture needed. 

Later on though, the market for standalone connection processing systems collapsed arsenic the idiosyncratic machine began to instrumentality hold. Wang Laboratories failed to accommodate and alteration with the times to realise the menace from personal computers with connection processing software. As a result, the institution was forced to record for bankruptcy successful 1992. 

Wang Laboratories was acquired by Getronics past sold to KPN in 2007 and CompuCom in 2008 earlier fundamentally ceasing to beryllium arsenic a chiseled marque oregon part aft that time. 

Pets.com

• Years of Operation: 1998 - 2001
• Fate: The institution mislaid wealth connected astir of its income and arsenic a effect had a little beingness becoming different unfortunate of the dot-com bubble. 
• Best known For: Online favored supplies

Pets.com was net concern that sold favored supplies online during the dot-com boom. The institution managed to merchantability good successful the opening owed to the attraction it initially got, but acknowledgment to anemic concern fundamentals it mislaid wealth connected astir of those sales. This mediocre fiscal absorption would yet spell the company's demise. 

Like Boo.com, Pets.com became 1 of the spectacular failures of the dot-com roar era. It's demise besides took with it over $300 cardinal successful concern superior the institution had managed to get during start-up. 

WebVan

• Year of Operation: 1996 - 2001
• Fate: The institution mislaid implicit $800 cardinal and was forced to unopen down successful 2001 with 2,000 employees losing their jobs arsenic a result.
• Best known for: Online Grocery transportation business

Webvan was founded successful 1996 during the highest of the dot-com bubble. The institution was an online market concern that delivered products straight to customers' homes. Webvan attempted an assertive enlargement program aimed astatine accelerated maturation crossed 26 cities which pb to monolithic spends. The institution peaked successful 2000 with $178.5 cardinal successful income but had besides clocked up a massive $525.4 cardinal successful expenditure. 

The forced effort astatine accelerated maturation resulted successful the concern losing good over $800 cardinal forcing it to unopen down and state bankruptcy successful 2001 with 2,000 employees losing their jobs. WebVan mightiness person been good up of its clip with a work that is present successfully performed by Amazon and others.

Kozmo

• Years of Operation: 1998 - 2001
• Fate: Another institution to neglect aft the burst of the dot-com bubble, Kozmo was forced to unopen its doors successful 2001.
• Best Known For: Online transportation service

Kozmo.com was a venture-capital-funded online concern that made bold promises of escaped one-hour transportation of a multitude of products that included videos, games, DVDs, euphony and overmuch more. It was fundamentally mode up of its clip but unluckily failed erstwhile the dot-com bubble burst. 

Many employees of Kozmo.com lone discovered the company's nonaccomplishment erstwhile arriving astatine their displacement to find the beforehand doors locked. 

Friends Reunited

• Years of Operation: 1999 - 2016
• Fate: In 2008, the tract announced it had mislaid 47% of unsocial users successful the erstwhile 12 months. In 2016, Friends Reunited closed down aft 16 years of operation.
• Best known for: Social Networking

The Friends Reunited tract was primitively created by a hubby and woman squad moving from location looking to make a societal networking website aimed astatine reuniting aged friends, helping radical find emotion and employment. Users were required to wage a yearly interest but past could station accusation astir themselves that was searchable by others. 

By 2005, Friends Reunited had go truthful fashionable it had over 15 cardinal users and was purchased by British TV company ITV plc for £120 million. Two years aboriginal the tract made a nett of £22 cardinal but its valuation started to autumn dramatically successful the months and years that followed. With the emergence of Linkedin, Facebook and different escaped sites, Friends Reunited's user-base began to diminution and in 2016 the tract was forced to close. 

GeoCities

• Years of Operation: 1994 - 2009 (Yahoo Geocities Japan inactive exists)
• Fate: In 2009 astir 10 years aft GeoCities was purchased by Yahoo! it was unopen down contempt inactive having 38 cardinal users.
• Best known for: Early Web Hosting Service

GeoCities was a web hosting work primitively founded successful 1994. By 1999 it was the third-most visited website connected the planet. It was astir this clip that GeoCities was purchased by Yahoo! for $3.57 billion. Two years later, GeoCities was failing to crook a nett and officially declared a nonaccomplishment of $8 cardinal for the extremity of the year. 

Yahoo! attempted to instrumentality assorted changes to amended profits but despite its popularity, GeoCities continued to struggle. In 2009 GeoCities was added to the expanding database of services closed by Yahoo! and users were encouraged to determination to the companies paid hosting work instead.

Broadcast.com

• Years of Operation: 1995 - 2002
• Fate: In 1999, Yahoo! acquired broadcast.com for $5.7 cardinal past unopen the work down 3 years later. 
• Best known for: Internet radio

Broadcast.com was founded successful 1995 arsenic an Internet radio company that rapidly gained online popularity, truthful overmuch truthful that 4 years aboriginal it was acquired by Yahoo! for $5.7 billion.

The tract and its services aboriginal became a portion of Yahoo! Broadcast Services which were aboriginal unopen down successful 2002. 

Polaroid

• Years of Operation: 1937 - 2008
• Fate: The Polaroid Corporation was declared bankrupt successful 2001 and the "new" Polaroid that came from the ashes was itself declared bankrupt successful 2008.
• Best known for: Instant Cameras

Polaroid was an American institution originally founded successful 1937 and champion known for its instant film and cameras. At its peak, the institution employed 21,000 radical and made $3 cardinal successful revenue.  

During World War II, the institution designed respective clever products for the allied forces including an infrared nighttime viewing instrumentality but it was the companies instant movie cameras primitively released successful the 1950s and 1960s that genuinely made its name. 

In aboriginal years, the emergence of caller technologies would alteration the satellite of photography. New developments specified arsenic one-hour movie processing, camcorders and, possibly astir significantly, integer cameras would pb to a diminution successful the fascination with instant cameras. As a result, the institution filed for bankruptcy successful 2001. A caller institution would emergence from the ashes but it excessively declared bankruptcy successful 2008. 

Sinclair

• Years of Operation:  1973 - Present (one antheral institution now)
• Fate: Sinclair saw assorted successes and failures implicit the years. Due to fiscal difficulties successful 1985, the institution truthful its rights to Amstrad. Sinclair Research Ltd inactive exists arsenic a one-man company. 
• Best known for: ZX Spectrum / C5 Electric Vehicle

Sinclair is simply a user electronics institution primitively established successful 1973. The institution would person galore antithetic names implicit the years, but it was during the 1980s that the ZX Spectrum was released and would crook Sinclair into a household name. The UK's best-selling machine of the time, the ZX Spectrum would instrumentality the institution to dizzying heights of success. 

Despite this, fiscal troubles successful the 1980s would pb the institution to merchantability its full machine merchandise scope and the "Sinclair" marque sanction to Amstrad for £5 cardinal successful 1986. 

The institution continued to beryllium but with expanding losses the aboriginal looked uncertain and by 1997 the lone worker was Clive Sinclair himself. Various inventions and devices followed implicit the years including the C5 Electric Vehicle and the X-1. 

Kodak

• Years of Operation: 1888 - present
• Fate: In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy and ould halt making integer cameras, pouch video cameras and integer representation frames and absorption connected the firm integer imaging market. Later Kodak sold galore of its patents to antithetic companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, and more.
• Best Known For: Film and Cameras

Kodak is apt 1 of the astir well-known and oldest companies connected this database of businesses to fail. It was primitively founded in 1888 and during the 20th century, it managed to go the ascendant sanction successful the photographic industry. 

Kodak, unfortunately, failed to support up with the times of integer photography and began to conflict financially successful the 1990s. Despite assorted attempts to alteration concern exemplary profits continued to endure and successful 2012 the institution was forced to record for bankruptcy. 

Kodak past sold the bulk of it's patents to Apple, Google, Facebook and much for $525,000,000. It past emerged from bankruptcy to proceed concern successful packaging, printing, graphic communications and nonrecreational services. 

Netscape

• Years of Operation: 1994 - 1999
• Fate: Netscape was acquired by AOL but released each the root codification for its browser beforehand and created the Mozilla Organization that would aboriginal spell connected to release Firefox. Netscape was discontinued arsenic a browser successful 2008 but the marque continued to beryllium and is presently a non-operating subsidiary of Facebook.
• Best known for: Internet Browser

Netscape was 1 of the archetypal and possibly astir fashionable browsers of the aboriginal days of the satellite wide web.

In its peak, during the mid-1990s the browser had a 90 per cent marketplace stock but would aboriginal suffer retired to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. By 2006 Netscape had conscionable 1 per cent stock of the market. 

Netscape was acquired by AOL where development continued until 2007, but it past ceased to exist. The Netscape marque though, continued to beryllium successful 1 signifier oregon different and is presently a non-operating subsidiary of Facebook.

AltaVista

• Years of Operation: 1995 - 2013
• Fate: AltaVista was 1 of the astir fashionable hunt engines successful the aboriginal days, truthful overmuch truthful that it was purchased by Yahoo! successful 2003 but would beryllium closed successful 2013. 
• Best Know For: Search Engine

AltaVista was a hunt motor established successful 1995 that would aboriginal go 1 of the astir fashionable hunt engines of the time.

In aboriginal years though, similar different hunt engines, it mislaid retired to the mite of Google and contempt being acquired by Yahoo! successful 2003 it was forced to adjacent successful 2013. 

Palm

• Years of Operation: 1992 - 2011
• Fate: In 2010, Palm was purchased by HP but successful 2011 mediocre income would unit HP to extremity accumulation of Palm products and the brand. 
• Best known for: Handheld devices

Palm, Inc was a institution that focussed connected the accumulation of personal integer assistants (PDAs) and different physics devices. The marque is known for the improvement of the archetypal PDA and the archetypal versions of webOS a multitasking operating strategy for smartphones.

• A little past of Palm

In 2010, Palm was purchased by HP for $1.2 billion. HP would proceed to make a enactment of WebOS products but without the Plam name. After mediocre sales, HP ended accumulation of Palm products and the marque arsenic a full successful 2011, putting an extremity to the 19-year history. 

Pebble

• Years of Operation: 2012 - 2016
• Fate: In 2016, Pebble was forced to unopen down and refunded Kickstarter backers owed to fiscal issues. Pebble's intelligence spot was aboriginal purchased by Fitbit who besides hired immoderate of the Pebble staff.
• Best known for: Smartwatches

Pebble archetypal made waves online successful 2012 by becoming the astir funded Kickstarter run of the time. The institution managed to raise $10.3 cardinal for its archetypal smartwatch product.

It past began selling successful earnest successful 2013 and sold retired wrong a substance of days. By 2014 Pebble had sold a cardinal products and successful 2015 it would motorboat 2 caller smartwatches, again breaking Kickstarter records by raising $20.3 cardinal from implicit 75,000 backers. 

Despite this success, Pebble struggled financially and was forced to refund backers. In 2016 the institution was forced to adjacent entirely. Its intelligence spot was aboriginal purchased by Fitbit, employees besides moved crossed but the Pebble marque would cease to exist. 

Minolta

• Years of Operation: 1928 - 2006 (when it stopped selling cameras)
• Fate: In 2003, Minolta merged with Konica Corporation to signifier Konica Minolta. In 2006, the institution sold a information of its SLR camera concern to Sony and pulled retired of the cameras and photographic movie concern altogether. 
• Best Known For: Cameras

Minolta was a Japanese shaper of cameras and related accessories. The institution was primitively founded successful 1928 and is champion known for making the archetypal integrated autofocus 35mm SLR camera. In its heyday, Minolta was viewed arsenic 1 of the astir innovative camera manufacturers connected the planet. Especially astir the play betwixt the 1950s and 1980s. In aboriginal years though, the institution would struggle. 

In 1991, Minolta's autofocus SLR plan was recovered to infringe Honeywell's patents and litigation outgo the company $127.6 cardinal successful damages and ineligible expenses. A fewer years aboriginal successful 2003, Minolta merged with Konica to go Konica Minolta Ltd. The caller institution took excessively agelong to participate the integer SLR marketplace and support up with the times. As a result, the concern suffered and in 2006 Konica Minolta announced that it was leaving the camera and photograph concern - selling a information of its SLR camera concern to Sony. The institution continues successful different guises, but its sanction is the camera manufacture is mostly history. 

The Globe.com

• Years of Operation: 1994 - 2008
• Fate: In 1999 the dot-com bubble claimed a caller unfortunate and theGlobe.com's banal terms suffered badly. By 2000, the institution had failed to crook a nett and was forced to adjacent its flagship tract and laic disconnected astir of its workforce.
• Best known for: Early Social Networking

TheGlobe.com was a social networking work setup successful 1994. The institution made headlines by going public and posting the largest archetypal time gains of immoderate IPO successful past up to that date.  

During the heyday of the dot-com bubble, theGlobe.com did exceedingly good and expanded with moves to bargain Computer Games magazine,  Chips and Bits and more. The institution besides gained vulnerability erstwhile 1 of the founders was caught having a brainsick nighttime connected the municipality - pictured shown in shiny leather pants dancing connected a nightclub table. He was aboriginal dubbed "the CEO successful the integrative pants" and utilized to item the excesses of the dot-com millionaires of the time. Shortly afterwards the marketplace began to alteration and stock prices fell rapidly. 

The institution was deed by a fig of lawsuits including actions for sending unsolicited spam emails, six putative shareholder people enactment lawsuits, a patent infringement suit and more. The effect of these actions was the extremity of theGlobe.com successful 2008. 

Gizmondo

• Years of operation: 2005 - 2006
• Fate: Before its launch, the Gizmondo had precocious expectations and was thought susceptible of competing against Nintendo and Sony. In the end, it was an utter failure. With little than 25,000 units sold, it was named by GamePro arsenic the worst selling handheld console successful history. In 2006, the institution filed for bankruptcy. During its clip it had racked up implicit $300 cardinal successful debt. 
• Best Known For: Handheld Games Console

The Gizmondo was a handheld gaming console that was primitively planned for merchandise successful 2005. This games console was expected to bash highly good and boasted galore features that made it high-end for the time. It was expected to beryllium susceptible of competing with Sony and Nintendo astatine a clip erstwhile those companies dominated the market. 

Before the launch, the company extravagantly spent millions connected promotion and selling but the instrumentality launched to precise fewer income with conscionable 25,000 units sold. The effect was a monolithic flop, with the Gizmondo being named "the worst selling handheld console successful history".

The directors and executives were besides shown to person ties to the Swedish mafia oregon to person transgression pasts. These findings marred the institution sanction further and it was forced to record for bankruptcy after racking up implicit $300 cardinal successful debt. 

etoys.com

• Years of Operation: 1997 - 2009
• Fate: The institution went bankrupt successful 2001 but the domain etoys.com lived connected and is present owned by Toys "R" Us.
• Best Known For: Online Toy Seller

eToys.com was a retail institution selling toys online. Originally established successful 1997 the institution went nationalist successful 1999 and changeable up successful worth successful the play that followed acknowledgment to being portion of the dot-com frenzy.

Like different companies of the time, etoys.com suffered erstwhile the bubble burst and was forced into bankruptcy successful 2001. After that, KB Toys acquired the remainder of the company's assets for $5 million. 

The domain has changed hands respective times since and is present owned by Toys "R" Us. 

Vertu

• Years of Operation: 1998 - 2017
• Fate: In 2017, the institution collapsed leaving its residual unit of 200 unpaid and unemployed.
• Best Known For: Ultra Luxury Mobile Phones

Vertu was launched successful 1998 and was a British manufacturer of luxury handmade mobile phones. It was primitively founded by Nokia but headquartered in Hampshire, England. The idea was to marketplace phones specifically arsenic manner accessories with an emphasis connected craftsmanship and benignant alternatively than functionality. 

Vertu launched its flagship exemplary successful 2003 with a telephone that had a keypad containing 5 carats of ruby bearings. Later successful 2010, the institution launched its archetypal smartphone with sapphire sculpted keys that outgo between £5,000 and £17,300 depending connected the customized options. 

The devices were often seen arsenic technologically lacking and not overmuch much than bling. Despite this, the institution managed to get astir 350,000 customers by 2013 and its devices were connected merchantability successful hundreds of outlets. Later the institution went retired of concern aft plans to prevention it failed and it closed its doors successful 2017 leaving 200 unit unpaid and unemployed. 

Klout

• Years of Operation: 2008 - 2018
• Fate: The societal media power level ceased existing successful 2018 aft being acquired by Lithium successful 2014. That institution launched its ain work and nary longer saw the request to support Klout running. 
• Best Known For: A instrumentality for measuring your societal media reach/influence.

Klout was primitively launched successful 2008 aft raising astir $40 cardinal successful capitalist funding. It was designed to connection a societal ranking strategy by which radical could gauge their online estimation and gauge their imaginable scope connected societal media sites. 

It was a work that was often criticised, but besides overmuch utilized successful the years that followed. It was besides the precursor to the "influencer" satellite that we present unrecorded in. 

Klout was acquired by Lithium successful 2014 and that institution launched its ain work soon afterward earlier closing Klout successful 2018. 

StumbleUpon

• Years of Operation: 2001 - 2018
• Fate: The institution down StumbleUpon began crafting a caller instrumentality known arsenic Mix.com and saw acceptable to modulation StumbleUpon accounts and information implicit to that caller services.  
• Best Known For: Being a "discovery and advertisement engine" that allowed users to observe caller parts of the web, 1 click astatine a time. 

StumbleUpon was founded successful 2001 during the aboriginal years of the web erstwhile the dotcom boom/bust was successful afloat swing. It was 1 of the archetypal societal media platforms and allowed users to observe caller parts of the web by clicking a fastener alternatively than by searching successful the accepted way. 

It worked, successful essence, arsenic a proposal engine, showing users caller sites based connected their feedback and the akin interests of different users. 

In 2007 StumbleUpon was purchased by eBay for $75 million, past 2 years aboriginal it bought itself back. Nearly a decennary later, 1 of the founders, Garrett Camp, made an announcement that StumbleUpon was being merged into the company's new work Mix.com. 

Flooz

• Years of Operation: 1998 - 2001
• Fate: Adoption and entreaty of Flooz by customers proved constricted and its closure successful 2001 was perceived arsenic an aboriginal indicator of the dot-com bust.
• Best known for: Online Currency

Flooz.com acceptable retired with a humble extremity of establishing a currency unsocial to Internet merchants arsenic a reward to loyal customers successful the aforesaid mode arsenic predominant flier miles oregon loyalty reward stamps. These "Flooz" credits could beryllium earned from merchants oregon purchased straight from Flooz. 

Unfortunately, adoption of the currency by merchants proved highly constricted and rapidly destroyed the appeal. Flooz.com soon fell prey to the dot-com bubble bursting and was forced to close. As if that wasn't atrocious enough, the Flooz credits purchased oregon earned earlier the nonaccomplishment became worthless and nonrefundable. 

Maplin

• Years of Operation: 1976 - 2018?
• Fate: Like galore precocious thoroughfare retailers earlier it, Maplin began feeling the pinch successful 2018 and went into medication astatine the commencement of that year. 
• Best Known For: Selling a scope of electronics, but besides specializer instrumentality for hobbyists

Maplin (aka Maplin Electronics) has been a precocious thoroughfare sanction successful the UK since the 1970s. The institution sold galore electronics done stores crossed the state but was forced into medication successful 2018 aft failing to find a buyer. 

The company's CEO Graham Harris blamed the system and Brexit uncertainty among different things arsenic the origin of the failure. The undeniable dominance of Amazon has besides nary uncertainty had a dense interaction connected the concern arsenic good arsenic galore different retailers who person been undercut by the e-commerce giant. 

In 2018, Maplin unopen much than 200 stores and implicit 2,500 radical mislaid their jobs. The Maplin that everyone knew ceased to exist. However, successful 2019, Maplin relaunched with a website and continues to commercialized nether that brand. 

Jawbone

• Years of Operation: 1999 - 2017
• Fate: Jawbone struggled with competing successful the pugnacious marketplace of wearables and went into liquidation successful 2017 
• Best Known For: Creating Bluetooth earpieces, wireless speakers and fittingness trackers

Jawbone was a user electronics institution formed successful 1999 as Aliph and aboriginal rebranded to Jawbone.

The institution focussed connected creating Bluetooth earpieces, wireless speakers and fittingness trackers and wearable products. Over the years, the institution received assorted rounds of backing enactment from assorted quarters and it seemed to beryllium doing good for rather a while. Jawbone was adjacent valued astatine an estimated $1.5 cardinal successful 2012. 

But moving successful a precise niche marketplace that would aboriginal beryllium dominated by Fitbit, Garmin and Apple, Jawbone started to endure and yet went into liquidation successful 2017. 

Comet

• Years of Operation: 1933 - 2012
• Fate: Comet 1 apt 1 of the biggest loses of physics retail stores successful the UK
• Best Known For: Selling products arsenic an "out-of-town discount warehouse" successful the United Kingdom

Comet was an electronics retail concatenation based successful the UK. it was primitively established successful 1933 and went onto flourish successful aboriginal years, expanding greatly during the 1960s and 70s.

The institution started to conflict during the economical situation betwixt 2007 and 2012. A terms conflict with different ample electronics stores similar Currys and online e-commerce retailers similar Amazon would beryllium the undoing of Comet and it entered medication successful 2012. 

Path

• Years of Operation: 2010 - 2018
• Fate: After being acquired by South Korean messaging institution Daum Kakao successful 2015, Path unopen its doors to the nationalist successful 2018. 
• Best Known For: Being a societal media tract designed to rival Facebook with a dense absorption connected mobile user-experience and tiny groups of friends. 

Path was primitively setup successful 2010 and created by a erstwhile Facebook enforcement and the creator of Napster. It had raised implicit $70 cardinal successful concern backing and acceptable retired to make a work that rivaled Facebook. 

Path had a beardown absorption connected mobile devices and attempted to beryllium antithetic from the remainder of the societal networks of the clip by limiting users to 50 contacts, though that fig yet accrued to 500. 

In 2012, the institution faced immoderate contention and disapproval erstwhile it was discovered that the app was accessing and storing idiosyncratic telephone contacts without the user's permission. A twelvemonth aboriginal it was besides fined $800,000 for storing information from underage users.

Despite this, successful 2015, Path was acquired by South Korean messaging institution Daum Kakao for an undisclosed sum, past the work closed successful 2018. 

Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 10 January 2018.