← Back
Dana Reyes
Dana covers the dot-com era: the companies, the deals and the websites that shaped the early internet, and what actually happened to them after the headlines moved on. Dana Reyes is a pen name; 404 Memory Found publishes no photos or personal details of its writers.
92 posts by Dana Reyes
- Who Owns Travelocity Now? The Roaming Gnome in 2026Travelocity is owned by Expedia Group, which paid Sabre $280 million in cash in January 2015. The site still books trips, and the gnome still works.
- Why Nortel Failed: The $4.5 Billion Patent AuctionNortel failed as carrier spending collapsed and filed for bankruptcy on January 14, 2009. Its 6,000 patents later sold for $4.5 billion.
- Who Owns WorldCom Now? Verizon Kept the MCI NameWorldCom is gone: it filed Chapter 11 in July 2002 with $103.9 billion in assets, and Verizon has owned the MCI name since January 6, 2006.
- Flooz.com Explained: The Dot-Com Cash That VanishedFlooz.com is still defunct in 2026: the online gift currency suspended its site on August 8, 2001 and filed Chapter 7, with $35 million gone.
- Who Owns EarthLink Now? WaveDivision Capital DoesEarthLink is still in business in 2026, but Trive Capital no longer controls it: a WaveDivision Capital group closed the purchase on October 20, 2026.
- Who Owns Virgin Megastore Now? Zero US Stores LeftVirgin Megastore has had zero US stores since 2009. Virgin Group licenses the name; Azadea runs 40-plus stores in nine Middle East markets.
- Is SkyMall Still Around in 2026? Yes, Online OnlySkyMall is still around in 2026, but online only: C+A Global bought the bankrupt in-flight catalog for $1.9 million back in 2015.
- Why Montgomery Ward Failed and Who Owns It NowMontgomery Ward closed all 250 stores in 2001 after 128 years. Colony Brands bought the name for $15.5 million in 2008 and runs wards.com today.
- Is Homestar Runner Still Updating? Yes, 26 Years OnHomestar Runner is still updating in 2026, 26 years on. Mike Chapman and Matt Chapman still own it, and the Flash archive runs on Ruffle.
- Is Tower Records Still Around? Online and in JapanTower Records is still around online and as a Japanese chain owned by NTT Docomo, but all 89 US stores closed in the 2006 auction.
- Who Owns eToys.com Now? Toys R Us Bought the NameToys R Us has owned eToys.com since February 2009, part of a reported $2.15 million bankruptcy lot. No eToys store has run since 2001.
- Who Owns Broadcast.com Now? Yahoo, Idle Since 2002Yahoo still owns Broadcast.com and has run nothing on it since 2002. It paid $5.7 billion in 1999 for a site with $22.4 million in sales.
- Is Angelfire Still Online? Lycos Closed It in 2026Angelfire is not still online. Lycos shut the free web host down on April 24, 2026, two months after every hosted page had already broken.
- Is Discovery Zone Still Around? One Playground LeftDiscovery Zone closed its last centers by the end of 2001 after two bankruptcies. One unaffiliated playground still uses the name in 2026.
- How Many Rainforest Cafe Locations Are Left in 2026?Rainforest Cafe still runs 16 US restaurants in 11 states in 2026, down from 59 at its peak. Landry's owns it, and Disney Village closes this year.
- Is Kinko's Still Around in 2026? Only in JapanNo US store carries the Kinko's name: FedEx paid $2.4 billion for the chain, then took an $891 million charge in 2008 to drop the word.
- Is Toonami Still On TV in 2026? Yes, Under SkydanceToonami is still on TV in 2026: Adult Swim airs it Saturdays, midnight to 4 a.m. ET. Skydance took over its parent on October 6, 2026.
- Is Photobucket Still Around in 2026? What It CostsPhotobucket is still around in 2026 as paid storage: plans start at $5 a month, and a limited free plan returned for new sign-ups in 2026.
- How Many KB Toys Stores Are Left? Zero Since 2009How many KB Toys stores are left? Zero. The last ones closed on February 9, 2009, and the brand now survives as a license and a Comic-Con booth.
- Is FAO Schwarz Still Open? 10 US Stores in 2026FAO Schwarz is still open: one Rockefeller Center flagship plus nine Nordstrom shops since June 2026, run under license by ThreeSixty Group.
- Is Woolworth Still in Business? Only as Foot LockerWoolworth has had no US store since 1997. It renamed itself Foot Locker in 2001, and Dick's Sporting Goods bought that company in 2025.
- Is the Disney Store Still Open? 20 Left in 2026The Disney Store is still open, but only about 20 US locations are left in 2026, down from 747 in 1999. Europe lost its last in January.
- How Many Sam Goody Stores Are Left? One, in OregonOne Sam Goody store is left in 2026, at the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon. Sunrise Records owns the name, and Ohio lost its store in 2025.
- When Did Netflix Stop Mailing DVDs? The Last DiscNetflix stopped mailing DVDs on September 29, 2023, after 25 years and 5.2 billion discs. The last red envelope held a Blu-ray of True Grit.
- Who Owns Borders Now? The $13.9 Million Brand SaleBorders closed its last US stores in September 2011. Barnes & Noble owns the name now, bought for $13.9 million with 48 million customer records.
- Is Hollywood Video Still Around? Every Store ClosedHollywood Video closed in 2010 when Movie Gallery liquidated 1,900-plus stores. MGIP, LLC of New Jersey still holds the trademark in 2026.
- Is Barnes and Noble Still Open? 720+ Stores in 2026Barnes and Noble is still open: more than 720 US stores in 2026, 60 new ones planned, six closed, and Elliott is lining up a London IPO.
- Who Owns Claire's Now? The $140 Million BuyoutClaire's is owned by Ames Watson, which bought it out of bankruptcy for about $140 million in 2025. About 900 stores trade in 2026, none in the UK.
- How Many Boston Market Locations Are Left in 2026?Boston Market listed six restaurants in 2026 and only three answered the phone. The chain had about 1,200 locations in the late 1990s.
- Is Redbox Still Around? Why Kiosks Are Still ThereRedbox is gone: its parent was liquidated in July 2024 and all 24,000 kiosks went dark. One contractor has recycled more than 4,700 since.
- Who Owns Yahoo Now? Apollo and the 2026 IPO PlanYahoo is owned by Apollo Global Management, which holds about 90 percent since 2021. Verizon kept 10 percent, and a $20 billion IPO is now in play.
- Is Habbo Hotel Still Around? Yes, and Up for SaleHabbo Hotel is still online in 2026 with 300 million registered accounts, and Sulake still runs it, but owner Azerion has put it up for sale.
- Does Yahoo Answers Still Exist? It Closed in 2021Yahoo Answers does not still exist. It went read-only on April 20, 2021 and closed on May 4, 2021, after 300 million questions since 2005.
- Who Owns Napster in 2026? All Six Owners Since 2001Napster is owned by Napster Corporation, formerly Infinite Reality, which paid $207 million in 2025 and shut the music service on January 1, 2026.
- Who Voiced AOL's 'You've Got Mail'? Elwood EdwardsElwood Edwards recorded AOL's 'You've Got Mail' in his living room in 1989 for $200. He died in 2024, and AOL's new owner still plays the tape.
- Is MySpace Still Around in 2026? What Is Left of ItIs MySpace still around in 2026? Yes, myspace.com is online and owned by Viant Technology, but the 50 million songs uploaded before 2016 are gone.
- Is Kmart Still Open? The 3 Stores Left in 2026Is Kmart still open in 2026? Yes, but only three stores are left: Miami, Guam and St. Thomas. It had 2,114 the day it filed for bankruptcy.
- Who Owns Sears Now, and How Many Stores Are Left?Sears still exists in 2026, owned by Eddie Lampert's Transformco, with five full-line stores left from more than 3,400 at the 2005 Kmart merger.
- Is Toys R Us Still in Business? 160 Stores in 2026Toys R Us closed all 735 US stores on June 29, 2018. WHP Global owns the brand now, and 120 new US stores open for the 2026 holiday season.
- Is Blockbuster Still Open? The Last Store in 2026Is Blockbuster still open? Yes, one franchise store in Bend, Oregon, and it kept trading after brand owner Dish DBS filed Chapter 11 in June 2026.
- Does AOL Still Exist? Bending Spoons Owns It NowDoes AOL still exist? Yes. Bending Spoons bought it for about $1.5 billion in January 2026, cut 108 jobs, and now charges $9.99 a month.
- Are Beanie Babies Worth Anything? 2026 PricesAre Beanie Babies worth anything? Most sell for $1 to $5 in 2026, not thousands. Ty Inc. still makes them, and Princess averages $25 to $35.
- The First Banner Ad of 1994: What AT&T Really PaidThe first banner ad ran on HotWired on October 27, 1994. AT&T paid about $30,000 for 12 weeks and got a reported 44 percent click rate.
- theGlobe.com Today: The 606% IPO That Left a ShelltheGlobe.com is now an empty shell company with no employees and $15,115 in cash. Its 1998 IPO closed up 606 percent, a record that still stands.
- Does Excite Still Exist? IAC Closed It in 2026Excite does not still exist. IAC shut excite.com down in August 2026, 27 years after CEO George Bell passed on buying Google for $750,000.
- Is PointCast Still Around? AOL Bought What Was LeftPointCast is gone: the push network stopped in March 2000 and AOL bought the successor in 2003. It had refused $450 million in 1997.
- Is TechTV Still Around? The Screen Savers in 2026TechTV is gone. Comcast paid about $300 million in 2004 and dropped the name on February 15, 2005. Where the shows, hosts and archive went.
- Who Owns Wine.com Now? The 2001 Bankruptcy SaleWine.com is still in business in 2026, owned by the private company founded as eVineyard, which bought the name out of the 2001 collapse.
- Is NCSA Mosaic Still Around? The Browser in 2026NCSA Mosaic is not still around: development ended January 7, 1997. The University of Illinois owns the name, and the code is a free download.
- Is Prodigy Still Around? Only as an Email DomainProdigy, the IBM and Sears service that outgrew AOL, is gone. Only prodigy.net email survives, and the 1996 sale fetched $78.12 million.
- Is Xanga Still Around in 2026? What Is Left of ItXanga still loads as Xanga 2.0, a paid WordPress blog closed to new members since 2013. Peak: 27 million accounts and a $1 million FTC fine.
- Who Owns Tumblr Now? Automattic Paid $3 MillionTumblr is owned by Automattic, which paid about $3 million in 2019. Yahoo had paid $1.1 billion in 2013 and wrote off $482 million of it.
- Is LiveJournal Still Around in 2026? Yes, in RussiaLiveJournal is still online in 2026, owned by Russia's Rambler Group after Sber bought it outright in 2020. Most of its traffic now comes from Russia.
- Is Flickr Still Around in 2026? SmugMug Owns ItFlickr is still around in 2026. SmugMug has owned it since 2018, free accounts cap at 1,000 photos, and Flickr Pro runs $82 a year.
- Who Owns Oregon Trail Now? HarperCollins DoesOregon Trail is still sold in 2026: HarperCollins owns the brand, Gameloft's remake lists at $29.99, and the 1990 MS-DOS version plays free.
- Is IRC Still Around in 2026? Yes, 162,000 UsersIRC still exists in 2026: over 162,000 users across the top 100 networks. Libera.Chat leads at 31,500 after freenode fell from 90,000 to 5,000.
- Is SimCity Still Playable in 2026? Yes, From $4.99SimCity is still playable in 2026: SimCity 4 Deluxe lists at $19.99 and SimCity 3000 at $4.99, but EA has shipped no new game since 2013.
- Is BonziBuddy Still Around? Gone From PCs in 2004BonziBuddy is gone. Bonzi Software pulled the purple gorilla in 2004 after a $75,000 FTC fine, and Microsoft Defender still flags it as adware.
- Is Polaroid Still in Business? The Brand in 2026Yes, Polaroid still exists: the Smolokowski family owns the brand and the last instant film factory on Earth runs in Enschede with about 140 staff.
- Does Kazaa Still Exist? The P2P Network in 2026Kazaa does not still exist: the licensed service died in August 2012, six years after a $115 million settlement. Here is who owned it last.
- Is MiniDisc Still Made? Sony Ended Discs in 2025MiniDisc is discontinued: Sony sold its last players in March 2013 and ended blank disc production in February 2025. Used recorders cost $100 to $400.
- Is Clippy Still Around in 2026? Microsoft's PaperclipClippy left Microsoft Office in 2007 and never returned as a feature. In 2026 the paperclip is an emoji and a hidden Copilot avatar.
- Is Neopets Still Around in 2026? Yes, and GrowingNeopets is still online in 2026, owned by World of Neopia after a 2023 management buyout. It passed 400,000 monthly players in February 2025.
- Is Lycos Still Around in 2026? Who Owns It NowLycos is still online in 2026 as a small portal owned through Brightcom Group. Terra Networks paid $12.5 billion for it; Ybrant paid $36 million.
- Is Craigslist Still Around in 2026? Who Owns It NowCraigslist is still online in 2026 and still owned by Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, but revenue fell from $1.034 billion to $302 million.
- Who Owns CompuServe Now? Yahoo Runs the PortalCompuServe survives as a news portal owned by Yahoo. The dial-up service ended in 2009 and the forums closed on December 15, 2017.
- Who Owns Boo.com Now? Hostelworld Holds the NameBoo.com burned about $135 million in 18 months and died on 18 May 2000. Hostelworld owns the name now, bought in a $375,000 fire sale.
- Is Excite@Home Still Around? AT&T Took the NetworkExcite@Home is gone. It filed for Chapter 11 in September 2001 and AT&T took the network for $307 million, about one percent of its $35 billion peak.
- Is AOL Time Warner Still a Company? What Is LeftAOL Time Warner stopped existing in 2009. AOL is being sold to Bending Spoons for $1.5 billion; Warner Bros. Discovery holds the rest.
- Is Kozmo.com Still Around? The Brand's Fate in 2026Kozmo.com died in April 2001 after a $280 million loss. Los Angeles grocer Yummy Foods owns the name now, and the site has been dark since 2023.
- Did Amazon Almost Go Bankrupt in the Dot-Com Crash?Amazon never went bankrupt, but it came close: a Lehman analyst gave it four quarters of cash. A $672 million bond bought the time it needed.
- Is Webvan Still Around? The $830 Million CollapseWebvan shut down in July 2001 after burning about $830 million. Amazon owns the name now, and its founder is back with a robot warehouse.
- Is eBay Still Around in 2026? 135 Million BuyerseBay is still around in 2026: a public Nasdaq company with 135 million buyers and $79.6 billion sold in 2025. It started with a broken laser pointer.
- Is Friendster Still Around? It Came Back in 2026Friendster deleted every profile in 2011 and shut down in 2015, but the name relaunched in April 2026 as an app with no ads and no algorithm.
- Does AltaVista Still Exist? Yahoo Closed It in 2013AltaVista no longer exists: Yahoo closed the search engine on July 8, 2013. Apollo-owned Yahoo still holds the domain that sold for $140 million in 2003.
- Who Owns MTV Now, and Does It Still Play Music?MTV is still on the air in 2026 and owned by Paramount Skydance, but its last five music-only channels went dark on December 31, 2025.
- How MySpace Lost to Facebook and Sold for $35MMySpace lost to Facebook after News Corporation tied the site to a $900 million Google ad deal. It sold for $35 million in June 2011.
- Is Google Glass Still Around? Discontinued in 2023Google Glass is discontinued: sales ended March 15, 2023 and support that September. What the $1,500 headset was, and what Google sells now.
- Is the Microsoft Zune Still Around? Why It FailedMicrosoft Zune hardware died in 2011 and its services in 2015. Here is why it lost to the iPod, and what a used Zune HD costs in 2026.
- Who Owns Pets.com Now? PetSmart and the Sock PuppetPetSmart has owned Pets.com since December 2000 and redirects it to its own store. The sock puppet outlived the company and sits in a museum.
- Why Google+ Failed and When Google Shut It DownGoogle+ shut down on April 2, 2019 and Google Currents followed in 2023. Here is why a $585 million social network sat empty.
- Does Hotmail Still Exist? Outlook.com Runs It NowHotmail still exists. Microsoft retired the name in May 2013 and moved 300 million accounts to Outlook.com, where old addresses still work.
- Does GeoCities Still Exist? Where the Pages WentGeoCities does not still exist. Yahoo deleted it on October 26, 2009, taking about 38 million pages. Archive Team saved 641 GB of them.
- Was Apple Really 90 Days From Bankruptcy in 1997?Apple lost $1.04 billion in fiscal 1997 and Steve Jobs called it 90 days from insolvent. Microsoft's $150 million check landed on August 6, 1997.
- Y2K Explained: What Really Broke on January 1, 2000The Y2K bug was real and the US spent over $100 billion killing it. Here is what still broke on January 1, 2000, and why 2038 is next.
- Did Napster Kill the Music Industry? The 2026 MathNapster did not kill the music industry. US revenue fell from $14.6 billion in 1999 to $7.69 billion in 2009, then set a record in 2025.
- 90s Websites Still Online in 2026: 5 That SurvivedYes, 90s websites are still online in 2026: the 1996 Space Jam site lives at spacejam.com/1996 and info.cern.ch has run since 1991.
- Dial-Up Speed vs 2026 Internet: How Slow Was 56k?Dial-up speed peaked at 53.3 kbit/s, about 1,876 times slower than the 100 Mbps broadband floor. Only 127,000 US homes still dial in.
- What Was the First Thing Sold Online? PizzaNet vs a CDThe first thing sold online was not a pizza. PizzaNet took orders in August 1994, eleven days after a Sting CD sold for $12.48.
- Did Blockbuster Turn Down Netflix for $50 Million?Blockbuster did turn down Netflix for $50 million in 2000. Netflix booked $45.2 billion of revenue in 2025; EchoStar owns the Blockbuster name now.
- Did Yahoo Turn Down Google for $1 Million in 1998?Yahoo never bought Google and Google never bought Yahoo. The $1 million story is thinly sourced, and the real offer in 2002 was $3 billion.
- Did Microsoft Try to Buy Nintendo? The 1999 LetterMicrosoft tried to buy Nintendo in 1999 and Nintendo refused. The October 20 letter survives, and Nintendo is still independent in 2026.