We've come quite a long way in technology and general computing, and yet, relatively, we've only just begun.
Throughout the years, many companies have come and gone. Some companies died out completely, while others retreated to overseas business. Some companies still exist, but have exited the market that they were once famous for. An example of a company that is still very much around, but no longer does business in what we all recognize it for is Matrox. I remember when I wrote some of the first reviews of its products and was very much connected with Matrox on an engineering level. Now, the company is focused on business and enterprise products exclusively.
Another favorite company of mine was Aureal. It made the infamous Aureal 3D chip, which was on several cards, including the Diamond Monster Sound. At the time, when the concept of surround sound was just making its way onto the PC, and most people were confined to two desktop speakers, Aureal made a huge impact. Aureal's A3D API was very impressive in creating realistic surround sound from just two speakers. Aureal's intellectual property was eventually bought by Creative.
During those years, innovation was very rapid and great products appeared all the time. And who could forget 3dfx? I don't even have to explain what it did for the gaming community. For those who don't know, 3dfx was the company that brought high-performance true 3D graphics to the mainstream. I owned the very first Diamond Monster 3D--and every 3dfx product that was released thereafter. 3dfx's assets and intellectual property were eventually bought out by Nvidia and helped to create the Nvidia we know today. SLI anyone?
The question of the day is: Which dead companies, or which companies that exited, do you miss?
It can be any company, from hardware to software.
