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68 posts filed under Hardware.
- Who Owns Packard Bell Now? Acer Revived the BrandPackard Bell is owned by Acer, which relaunched the dead 1990s PC brand in September 2026 with a 499 euro laptop sold everywhere but the US.
- How Many Payphones Are Left? The FCC Stopped CountingHow many payphones are left? The FCC's last count found under 100,000 in 2016, then it quit counting in 2018. New York held one in five of them.
- Are LaserDiscs Worth Anything? The 2026 Collector MarketMost LaserDiscs are worth under $5, but scarce pressings run into the hundreds. Tokyo Raiders, the last title ever released, has fetched $5,700.
- Who Owns Sharper Image Now? No Stores Since 2008Sharper Image is owned by ThreeSixty Group, which paid $100 million for the name in December 2016. No stores have existed since the 2008 collapse.
- Where to Buy a Game Boy in 2026 and What to PayBuying a Game Boy in 2026 costs about $70 for a tested original, over $300 boxed. Check the LCD lines and battery terminals before you pay.
- Scan Old Photos and Negatives: DIY vs Mail-In CostScan old photos at home or mail them out: a prepaid box of about 1,800 prints runs $145 in 2026, and 400 ppi is the resolution to use.
- Does Nokia Still Make Phones? Who Makes Them NowDoes Nokia still make phones? No. Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft in 2013, and the last Nokia smartphones were pulled in January 2025.
- Is an Anbernic Handheld Worth It for Game Boy?An Anbernic handheld is worth it for Game Boy games if you bring your own files. Prices start under $60, but US shipping stopped in April 2025.
- Does Chuck E. Cheese Still Have Animatronics?Chuck E. Cheese still has animatronics, but only in five US stores. Every other stage came out by the end of 2024, and the robots went to Kansas.
- Sega Genesis Games in 2026: The Best Way to PlayThe best way to play Sega Genesis games in 2026 is a used console and a flash cart, about $65 for the console, or $49.99 a year with no hardware.
- Betamax vs VHS: Why Sony Lost the First Format WarBetamax vs VHS came down to tape length, price and factories, not picture quality. Sony sold 18 million decks and made tapes until 2016.
- How to Digitize VHS Tapes in 2026: DIY vs LegacyboxHow to digitize VHS tapes in 2026: about $30 to $80 in capture gear at home, or $15 to $30 a tape by mail. Your tapes are past 25 years old.
- Is CompUSA Still Around? What Happened to the ChainIs CompUSA still around? No. The chain sold its last 103 stores in December 2007, and the brand was written off for $35.3 million in 2012.
- Is Palm Still a Company? From Pilot to a $349 PhoneIs Palm still a company? No. HP bought it for $1.2 billion in 2010, sold webOS to LG, and TCL has owned the dormant Palm brand since 2014.
- How Compaq Lost the PC Business It Helped InventCompaq went from a pie-shop sketch in 1982 to the world's biggest PC maker, then sold itself to HP for $25 billion. Here is what broke first.
- Why Iridium Failed: The $5 Billion Satellite PhoneIridium put 66 satellites in orbit for about $5 billion, opened for business in 1998, and filed for bankruptcy nine months later. It sold for $25 million.
- Why the NSA Banned Furby: The 1998 Toy Craze ExplainedFurby sold 1.8 million units in its first holiday season, hit $100 on the resale market, and got banned from NSA headquarters in January 1999. Here is why.
- Sega Channel Explained, the 1994 Cable Game ServiceSega Channel piped Genesis games down cable lines from 1994 to 1998, peaked at 250,000 subscribers, and its lost ROMs were recovered in 2025.
- Why the Sega 32X Failed: The $159.99 Add-On FlopThe Sega 32X launched November 21, 1994 at $159.99, sold about 665,000 units, shipped 40 games, and was cleared out at $19.95 before dying in 1996.
- The Game Genie Beat Nintendo. Who Owns It Now?The Game Genie is long discontinued, but it beat Nintendo in court in 1992 and collected a $15 million bond. A loose NES unit runs about $22 in 2026.
- What Happened to Geocaching, the GPS Treasure Hunt That Started With a Bucket and a Can of BeansWhen the US military stopped degrading civilian GPS signals on May 1, 2000, a hobbyist in Oregon hid a bucket in the woods the next day. That bucket became geocaching, a 3-million-cache, 191-country platform with a 25-year run.
- Why the Power Glove Failed but Never Really DiedMattel's Power Glove reached US stores in October 1989 at about $100, was gone within a year, and sells loose for roughly $100 in 2026.
- What Happened to the Atari Lynx, the Color Handheld That Lost to Game BoyIn 1989, the Atari Lynx had a backlit color screen, hardware sprite scaling, and 8-player networking. It got crushed by a $90 gray brick called the Game Boy. Here is exactly why.
- Why the TurboGrafx-16 Won Japan and Lost AmericaNEC's TurboGrafx-16 ruled Japan as the PC Engine but sold just 750,000 US units by 1991. Konami owns the library now, and a Mini shipped in 2020.
- How the Nintendo NES Saved Video Games After the 1983 CrashIn 1985, American retailers had given up on video games. Then a Japanese toy company shipped a gray plastic box with a robot, called it an entertainment system, and resurrected an entire industry. This is the full story of how the NES pulled gaming back from the dead.
- What Happened to Standalone GPS Devices: TomTom and the Smartphone KillerIn 2008, the world bought 42 million standalone GPS devices. By 2014, the category was effectively dead. The story of how a free Android feature, a Cold War satellite system, and an $11 billion map data war ended an entire consumer electronics market.
- What Happened to TechTV and The Screen Savers ChannelZDTV launched in 1998. Comcast killed it in less than a year after the 2004 G4 merger. Here is how a cable channel built for nerds disappeared, and where its hosts went.
- What Happened to the Nokia 3310, the Phone That Refused to DieNokia's 3310 sold 126 million units, became an internet meme for being indestructible, and got resurrected from the grave in 2017. Here is the full story of how a small Finnish company built a phone so good it accidentally turned into a cultural symbol.
- What Happened to the Sega CD, the Add-On That Promised Gaming's FutureSega bolted a CD-ROM drive onto the Genesis, charged $299, and promised the future of video games. Here is the messy, fascinating story of how it all went sideways.
- What Happened to the 3DO, the $700 Console That BombedIn 1993, a console hit shelves at $699.99 and promised to be the VHS of gaming. Instead, the 3DO became one of the most spectacular flops in video game history. Here is the full story.
- What Happened to the Sony Discman, the CD Player That Changed MusicThe Sony Discman made music portable on compact disc for the first time. Here is the full story of how it changed everything, then quietly disappeared.
- What Happened to Kodak, the Company That Invented the Digital Camera Then Chose to Ignore ItKodak controlled 90% of the American film market, employed over 145,000 people, and invented the digital camera in 1975. Then it spent three decades pretending digital photography wasn't coming.
- What Happened to the Virtual Boy, Nintendo's Most Embarrassing FailureNintendo's legendary engineer Gunpei Yokoi created the Game Boy. Then he created the Virtual Boy, which sold 770,000 units and gave everyone a headache.
- What Happened to the Segway, the Invention That Was Supposed to Change the WorldInvestors predicted a billion dollars in first-year sales. The Segway sold roughly 140,000 units across its entire twenty-year lifetime.
- What Happened to the Game Boy, Nintendo's Unbreakable HandheldHow a monochrome brick with an 8-bit processor outlasted every competitor with color screens and better specs, sold 118 million units, and accidentally created the template for portable gaming.
- How the iMac G3 Saved Apple and Killed the Beige Box ForeverIn 1997, Apple was losing $878 million a year and Michael Dell said they should shut it down. Then a translucent blue computer changed the entire industry.
- What Happened to WebTV, the Box That Promised Internet for EveryoneIn 1996, three former Apple engineers built a $325 box that let people browse the web on their televisions. Microsoft paid $425 million for it. By 2013, it was gone.
- What Happened to 3dfx? The Graphics Card That Ruled the '90sIt dominated the late 1990s with an iron fist, commanded 80% of the 3D graphics market, and fundamentally changed what PC gaming could be. Then in just a few years, it was gone.
- What Happened to the Sega Game Gear, the Handheld That Deserved BetterThe Sega Game Gear had superior hardware, full color graphics, and backlit brilliance. So why did it lose to the Game Boy? Discover the tragic tale of ambitious hardware sabotaged by battery life and Sega's own chaos.
- What Happened to Polaroid, the Camera That Died and Came BackPolaroid peaked at $3 billion in revenue, went bankrupt twice, and was rescued by a group of enthusiasts who bought the last factory on Earth for $3.1 million.
- What Happened to Iomega Zip Drives and the Click of DeathThe Zip drive made 100MB feel infinite, turned Iomega into a $7 billion company, and then a manufacturing defect brought it all crashing down.
- What Happened to MiniDisc, Sony's Forgotten Music FormatSony spent billions building the perfect portable music format. It conquered Japan, flopped everywhere else, and now Gen Z is collecting them on TikTok.
- What Happened to Commodore, the Company That Won and LostCommodore sold more home computers than anyone in history. Then its own executives drove it into the ground. Here is how it all fell apart.
- Why the Atari Jaguar Failed and What It Costs NowThe Atari Jaguar sold about 125,000 units before Atari quit hardware in 1996. Sealed consoles have since gone for $1,199.99.
- Who Owns Sound Blaster Now? Creative Labs in 2026Sound Blaster still belongs to Creative Technology, which trades as Creative Labs and sold $67.4 million in 2025, down from a $1.6 billion peak.
- Is HD DVD Still Around? Why It Lost to Blu-rayHD DVD is dead: Toshiba quit on February 19, 2008, after Warner Bros. went Blu-ray exclusive. The retreat cost the company about $1.1 billion.
- Was the iPod the First MP3 Player? Not Even CloseNo: the iPod was not the first MP3 player. Korea's MPMan beat it by three years, in March 1998. Apple still won, and here is what did it.
- Does the Nintendo Wii Still Work Online in 2026?The Nintendo Wii still plays every disc in 2026, but Nintendo killed online play in 2014 and closed the Wii Shop in 2019. Used consoles run $40 to $75.
- Do They Still Make Netbooks? Why the Eee PC DiedNo. Netbooks peaked at 38.8 million units in 2010 and died in 2012. Chromebooks under $200 and cheap Windows laptops replaced them.
- Is the PS2 Still the Best-Selling Console in 2026?Yes. The PS2 still leads at 160 million units sold, but the Nintendo Switch reached 155.92 million by mid-2026 and sits 4 million behind.
- Who Owns Gateway Computers Now? Acer Still DoesGateway computers still exist as a brand: Acer bought the company in 2007 for $710 million and now sells Gateway laptops only through Walmart.
- Motorola Razr V3: 130 Million Sold, No Signal LeftThe Motorola Razr V3 sold 130 million units, and since August 3, 2026 it cannot make a call in the US. What one costs second-hand now.
- Is the Nokia N-Gage Still Around? Who Owns It NowThe Nokia N-Gage is gone: Nokia stopped the hardware in November 2005 and closed the N-Gage service in 2010, after 3 million of a 6 million target.
- Why the Sega Saturn Failed and What It Costs NowThe Sega Saturn failed after a $399 surprise launch in May 1995 and sold 9.26 million units. A working console costs $180 to $280 in 2026.
- Why the Apple Newton Failed and What It Costs NowApple sold about 50,000 Newton MessagePads in three months, then killed the line in 1998. Why it failed, and what a MessagePad sells for now.
- Is the Original Xbox Still Supported in 2026?The original Xbox lost support in 2006 and Microsoft closed its Xbox Live service in 2010. Fans rebuilt the servers, and 39 games still run.
- Are LAN Parties Still Around? QuakeCon Sold OutLAN parties are still around in 2026: QuakeCon's BYOC hall sold out in August, but DreamHack ended its own after 32 years.
- Is Circuit City Still in Business? Zero Stores LeftCircuit City closed its last 567 stores on March 8, 2009. The name survives online under an owner who bought it in 2016. Zero stores left.
- Is the PSP Still Supported? Sony's Handheld in 2026The PSP is not supported in 2026. Sony sold more than 76.4 million, closed the PSP store in 2021, and PS3 and Vita sales end in July 2027.
- Why the Nintendo GameCube Lost the Console WarThe Nintendo GameCube sold 21.74 million units to the PlayStation 2's 155 million and died in 2007. Its games returned on Switch 2 in June 2025.
- Is RadioShack Still in Business? 2026 Store CountIs RadioShack still in business? Yes, as a brand. The US chain died in the 2017 bankruptcy, and an El Salvador group has owned the name since 2023.
- Is Fry's Electronics Still Around? All 31 Stores ClosedFry's Electronics is gone. All 31 remaining stores closed on February 24, 2021, with no bankruptcy filing and no farewell sale. Here is what is left.
- Is TiVo Still Around in 2026? Yes, but Not the DVRTiVo still exists in 2026 as smart TV software owned by Xperi, but it stopped selling DVR hardware on October 1, 2025, after 26 years.
- Is BlackBerry Still in Business? Yes, but No PhonesBlackBerry still exists, but it has not made a phone since 2016. It earned $549.1 million in fiscal 2026 from car software and secure messaging.
- 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.
- Palm Pilot Explained: The PDA That Phones ReplacedThe Palm Pilot sold a million units in 18 months, then lost to the smartphone. Palm shipped its last handhelds in October 2005.
- 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.