We don’t look back too often, but [Chole Albanesisu] from PC Magazine wrote the tech obituary for all the tech gadgets and services that failed in the past year. Some of the entries are a bit predictable: Twitter has died, to be replaced by X, which is exactly the same, just different. Others we hardly noticed, like Netflix stopping its DVD deliveries.
Google Glass has died again, this time the Enterprise edition. Amazon waives both monetary donations through purchases and print subscriptions via Kindle.
Glass wasn’t Google’s only victim. Gmail has lost its basic HTML version and discontinued its smart whiteboard product, Jamboard. They also sold their internet domain business to focus on their core business. Other notable shutdowns from Google include the popular podcast app and Usenet support for groups. Oh, and don’t forget their experiment of offering Pixel phones as a subscription. That too is done.
As you might expect, PC Magazine’s list is somewhat consumer-oriented. What hacker-focused products and services have disappeared this year and will you miss? The Sculpteo Marketplace? XYZ pressure? Start-up companies collapsed at an alarming rate in 2023, but most of them have not been heard of yet. Was there anything you were particularly disappointed by? Let us know in the comments.