(NEXSTAR) — Technology evolves at a breakneck speed. For a lot of millennials, no era felt as boundless and thrilling in terms of tech and the internet as the late ’90s to the 2000s. Although many major brands and gadgets from that period have disappeared, revisiting them is always a trip down memory lane.
Below are nine logos from tech companies/products. See how many you can recognize. To discover the answers, simply highlight the concealed text.
Millennial tech quiz
1. Hint: Despite the 1999 gaming console’s cool aesthetic, it was such a major commercial flop that the company behind it never produced a similar product again.
Answer: Sega Dreamcast.
2. Hint: This wasn’t the first peer-to-peer file sharing program, but it was a popular one with a nonsensical name you probably haven’t forgotten. If our parents are reading this, this program alone accounted for most of the family computer’s virus problems.
Answer: Kazaa.
3. This computer company was acquired by Acer in 2007, which has kept the brand name alive with a special Walmart-only product release in 2020. These models were sold in the cow print boxes that helped make the company famous in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Answer: Gateway Computers.
4. This may have very likely been your very first wireless phone service provider. Though the company purchased then-competitor AT&T Wireless in 2004, this company’s name was eventually phased out in favor of the better-known AT&T. That said, this wireless service was a major advertiser in the 2000s and you may even remember some of its “American Idol” commercials and tie-ins. And let’s also not forget the “Spider-Man 2” tie-in commercial.
Answer: Cingular Wireless.
5. Hint: In 2004, this computer company was actually acquired by the computer company that is the answer for question 3. The company’s “e” logo is a big hint for the answer.
Answer: eMachines.
6. Hint: This might be the most niche logo in this quiz, but you’ve definitely seen it before. For millennials, this company’s logo likely appeared on any of the dozens of blank CD-Rs you burned in the 2000s and 2010s.
Answer: imation.
7. Before texting was the default and before social media even existed, this was how you kept up with friends after school, on the weekends, and over holidays. Though AIM might be slightly more beloved and iconic, there’s no discounting the hours you spent typing on the family computer because of this instant messaging platform.
Answer: MSN Messenger.
8. In the wake of the groundbreaking release of the first iPod, dozens of tech companies were racing to have their very own personal mp3 players. While most competitors were simply just not as cool-looking (or as good) as an iPod, Microsoft’s attempt in the market was probably the best non-Apple model on the market. Not only did this player look cool (and different from an iPod, but in a good way), but its interface and usability were also pretty good, too. While it ultimately didn’t catch on, it’s still fun to wonder how your life might’ve diverged if you’d gone with this instead of an iPod.
Answer: Zune.
9. You probably spent dozens of hours playing this “slice of life” PC game in the 2000s. While this game still exists in new forms (and is still popular), the original forever holds a place in our nostalgic hearts. You may forget what you had for lunch sometimes but you’ll never forget this game’s “rosebud” money cheat code as long as you live.
Answer: The Sims.
Thanks for playing! If you got 9 out of 9, you’re a certified “very online” Millennial and that shouldn’t surprise you at all. Now, if you need us, we’ll be playing Neopets while updating Myspace.
