{"id":58514,"date":"2014-01-18T17:43:38","date_gmt":"2014-01-18T15:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=58514"},"modified":"2025-07-02T00:56:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:56:21","slug":"8-programs-that-disappeared-in-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/8-programs-that-disappeared-in-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of an era: 8 programs that left us in 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

They’ve gone. They’ve passed on. They are ex-programs, abandoned apps, and switched off servers. They are the famous fallen of 2013.<\/p>\n

We honor them.<\/p>\n

Software disappears<\/strong> for many reasons. Some fall victim to periodic spring cleaning, others stop development, as they’re no longer profitable, and yet more are bought only to be absorbed and stored in a drawer. When it comes to popular services, grieving users<\/strong> can number\u00a0millions.<\/p>\n

The fate <\/strong>of these applications is that they’re forgotten: unlike what happens with books and art, the software can disappear forever or become inaccessible if no one has preserved it in a digital archive. Abandonment <\/strong>is an undignified end for billions of lines of code that required years of intellectual effort.<\/p>\n

Many of the applications that perished in 2013 had been our faithful companions for years, but disappeared <\/strong>in a flash. The impression <\/strong>left, however, lingers in our memory. Some of the applications and services that we talk about below are unlikely to be forgotten.<\/p>\n

The great Winamp (almost) breathed its last\u00a0MP3<\/h3>\n

It was the first player many of us had, and although it was abandoned en masse after the disastrous version 3, Winamp<\/a> played on\u00a0in the hearts of many. Aol decided to pull the\u00a0plug on 21 November 2013. But Radionomy saved Winamp in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Winamp<\/p>\n

Google Talk was replaced by\u00a0Hangouts<\/h3>\n

Talk<\/strong>, one of the most simple and practical messaging <\/strong>applications in history, was replaced by<\/a> Hangouts<\/a>, which is much more comprehensive – and complex. Meebo<\/strong>, <\/strong>the mythical multi-protocol chat service which ran on the browser,\u00a0closed too.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

AltaVista searched for the last time<\/h3>\n

One of the legendary nineties’ search engines fell victim to\u00a0the Big Clean Up<\/strong> that Yahoo!\u00a0launched in 2013. And so it was that Marissa Mayer toppled\u00a0a first class name<\/strong> of the internet, a search engine that, until 2001, still had more traffic than Google. A real shame.<\/p>\n

\"Altavista\"<\/p>\n

Lavabit was forced to close its doors<\/h3>\n

The NSA scandal<\/a>, one of the big news items of\u00a02013, brought quite a few memorable disappearances<\/strong>. The most talked about was Lavabit secure mail, which, under pressure from\u00a0the United States’ government, decided to end its service<\/a>. Obviously now it’s super secure.<\/p>\n

\"Lavabit<\/p>\n

Symbian was abandoned by Nokia<\/h3>\n

With the purchase of the Nokia mobile business by Microsoft, Symbian\u00a0was robbed of any hope of surviving. While Nokia focuses\u00a0exclusively on Windows Phone, a strategy that is working well, Symbian languishes and dies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Symbian\"<\/p>\n

The old Yahoo!\u00a0design almost completely disappeared<\/h3>\n

Marissa Mayer, new CEO of Yahoo! in 2013, not only made acquisitions and closed\u00a0products, but also changed the classic design<\/strong> of Yahoo!, starting with its logo<\/a>. It’s been noticed most\u00a0in the Yahoo! mail:\u00a0and users haven’t been happy…<\/p>\n

\"Yahoo!<\/p>\n

Google Reader was sacrificed\u00a0to boost G+<\/h3>\n

Although in the end it wasn’t for nothing<\/a>, the disappearance of a product of such excellent workmanship like Reader did not leave anyone indifferent: it was a functional news reader without any real rivals<\/strong>. The good thing is that its death has prompted a range of very valid alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Windows Live Messenger gave way to Skype<\/h3>\n

Some programs that die when their network dies. In 2013, it was Messenger’s turn, as its network was progressively closed<\/a> by Microsoft, forcing\u00a0millions of users to migrate to Skype<\/a>, the messaging and calls application\u00a0that had been\u00a0bought by Microsoft the previous year.<\/p>\n

\"Windows<\/p>\n

But don’t\u00a0be sad, sometimes they come back to life<\/h3>\n

Sometimes programs can be raised from the dead.\u00a0For example, a petition <\/a>to have the source code<\/strong> of Winamp released <\/strong>started shortly after news of the shutdown became public.<\/p>\n

\"Winamp\"<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, in one of the strangest episodes of 2013, we saw Adobe <\/strong>release\u00a0the Adobe CS2 suite free on their website<\/a>. It turned out to be an unfortunate mistake, but it showed\u00a0that software authors, if they want, can resurrect a program.<\/p>\n

Did any of your favorite software disappear in 2013?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They’ve gone. They’ve passed on. They are ex-programs, abandoned apps, and switched off servers. They are the famous fallen of 2013. We honor them. Software disappears for many reasons. Some fall victim to periodic spring cleaning, others stop development, as they’re no longer profitable, and yet more are bought only to be absorbed and stored … Continue reading “The end of an era: 8 programs that left us in 2013”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2044,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-58514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t