Launched in 2004 and discontinued in 2005, the Apple iPod+HP was a line of Hewlett-Packard–branded iPods, distributed through HP. As part of the deal, Apple was to have its iPod manufactured for HP and iTunes would be pre-installed on all HP computers. As these were officially HP products rather than Apple products, Apple Store Genius Bars were not authorized to repair Apple iPod+HP iPods, and they had to be sent to an HP Authorized Service Center for repair, despite identical designs.
Hooters, a chicken wing chain of 300 location and who is famous for putting female employees in revealing uniforms, filed for bankruptcy in 2025.
Hooters and similar restaurants are getting hit by three factors concurrently. The higher prices on food supplies equate to higher meal costs. Consequently, more expensive dishes means fewer consumers are dining out. The third factor many don’t consider are rising rents on many restaurant locations, which also add to pricing pressures. It’s the perfect storm of negative news to make some restaurant chains consider filing for bankruptcy and using the financial opportunity to restructure into a leaner and more cost-effective company
Launched in 2004, Ted was a brand of United Airlines that targeted vacation locations primarily served by the low cost airline market. “Ted” comes from the last three letters in the United brand name. United marketed Ted anthropomorphically and attempted to personify Ted; it used phrases such as Meet Ted or I’ve Met Ted. Due to the airline crisis caused by spiking fuel prices, on June 4, 2008, United announced that the Ted brand and services would be discontinued.
Launched in 2019 and discontinued in 2022, Google Stadia was a cloud-based video game streaming service. The service was designed to stream games to your desktop, laptop, or mobile device, but had a small library and latency issues.
One of the biggest problems with Stadia was the fact that the service only worked with games specifically designed for Stadia. You had to own the Stadia version of the game, which meant developers also had to make special Stadia versions of their games in the first place. Google spent much of Stadia’s short lifespan trying to convince users to join an ecosystem that few people ever really believed would last for long.
The craft beer market is much newer in Europe and Stone Brewing in Berlin was exceptionally ambitious in its size and distance from the city center. Meanwhile in the US, Stone remains the largest employer in the craft brewing industry.
Heinz has released several cookbooks over the years, and this one is from 2008, that focus on cooking with their iconic ketchup. However, Heinz has failed to get the market traction they wanted to move from condiment to ingredient.
Launched in 2012 and discontinued in 2015, the Nike FuelBand failed due to competition, the challenge of focusing on new areas like software, and the lack of clear understanding of consumer motivations to embrace wearable tech.
The FuelBand, being Nike’s first attempt at connected hardware, did have some problems. Although the tracker was pretty good for walking and running, it had difficulties monitoring lower body and weight-resistance activities, such as cycling, yoga, or weightlifting.
Nike could not keep up with the pace of being a technology-driven company. Nike’s FuelBand app at first was only available for iPhone users. Nike may have made the assumption that Android users were not the target audience and did not feel that providing a compatible app was necessary at the time of launch. It took two and a half years to finally make the Nike+ FuelBand app compatible with Android. By this time, other fitness trackers were entering the increasingly saturated market.
Launched in 2012 and discontinued in 2016 after venture capital interest in wearables declined, the Narrative Clip was one of the pioneers of the idea of lifelogging. It was a small wearable camera that could automatically take a picture every 30 seconds whilst being worn throughout the day. At the end of the day the Clip uploads the photos and videos it made into the vendor’s cloud service, where they are processed and organized into collections called Moments, available to the user through a web client or mobile apps. The Moments or individual photos and videos can be shared through other apps or through the company’s own social network.
Progresso Soup Drops, launched in 2025, combines the flavors of chicken noodle soup in a candy form. They come in a can that resembles the iconic Progresso soup can and include 20 individually wrapped candies, along with a can of actual Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup. These drops are designed to provide comforting soup flavors in a portable format, making them ideal for cold and flu season.
FoxTrax, also referred to as the glowing puck, was the first augmented reality system used in sports. The system used modified hockey pucks containing shock sensors and infrared emitters, which were then read by sensors and computer systems to generate on-screen graphics. It was used in Fox Sports’ telecasts of the NHL from 1996 to 1998 at a time when hockey was a low rated sport. However, viewers thought it distracted them from the game.
It was a special effect that tracked every movement of the puck, then superimposed a bluish glow around it for television viewers – all in real-time. When the puck was obscured by a player or by the near boards, the blue glow would highlight where it was. When the puck was passed, a blue comet tail followed it. Most noticeably, when the puck was shot hard, it was followed by a bright red streak, and viewers could easily see the path of the puck if it was deflected or redirected.
