Technology
Mind-blowing internet ‘time machine’ reveals how AWFUL Facebook, Google and more used to look years ago
INTERNET users are taking a trip down memory lane seeing what their favourite websites looked like years ago.
The Wayback Machine allows people to step back as far as the ’90s, glimpsing at the basic and awful designs once graced by the likes of Facebook, Google, Amazon and so many more.
How apple.com looked in 2000
With 654billion pages saved, nostalgic users can enter the name of just about any web address and see whether it’s available.
A calendar view will allow you to virtually turn back time, clicking through some the early days of some sites.
Here are some of the best to look at:
Snapped from 2007
Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t first to own the facebook.com address.
A company in the US owned it before.
It was only when the social network rebranded from TheFacebook to simply Facebook, that they reached a deal to buy the web address we know today.
Anyone who was a teen around 2007 will remember this basic look.
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Snapped from 1999
Google’s main search engine hasn’t changed a great deal from its early days.
Of course, the logo has been revamped several times since being founded in 1998.
And it is so much more than a search engine now.
Most people don’t even bother visiting the main google.com or google.co.uk address now, they just perform searches at the top of their web browser.
Amazon
Snapped from 2006
Amazon looks completely different in the early noughties.
We’re sure the prices were a lot different then compared to now as well…
YouTube
Snapped from 2006
The world’s most popular video sharing website was founded in 2005.
Realising its potential, Google snapped it up a year later.
Snapped from 2008
Twitter looked a lot more basic in the noughties too.
It was created in 2006 and didn’t have anywhere near as many features as it does today.
Not least of all, tweets were limited to 140 characters until 2017.
Apple
Snapped from 2000
Before the iPhone even existed, this is what you would have found on apple.com in 2000.
Oddly, the tech giant has stuck with the top menu bar look, though it has evolved drastically.
Netflix
Snapped from 2008
Before Netflix even existed in the UK, and before streaming was a thing, Netflix did postal movie and TV rentals.
It still provides this service in the US, but for the most part the firm is known the world over for being a streaming platform today.
eBay
Snapped from 1999
eBay made waves when it launched in the 90s, allowing people to buy and sell their old stuff.
The site was a lot more simple back then.
Hotmail
Snapped from 1999
Hotmail is still going strong today but didn’t have a great deal to it in the early days.
Though it’s still owned by Microsoft, Hotmail came under the MSN banner back then.
In other news, the naughtiest emoji combinations have been revealed.
Tinder has revived the classic ‘blind date’ experience with a virtual twist.
And TikTok has announced new rules, banning users who deadname or misgender others.
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