NationSquid

Just as the internet was finally planting its roots within computers all across the world in the early 2000s, people began to take advantage of it in ways which before weren’t possible. The World Wide Web was continuing to evolve, and so were the people using it. File sizes got bigger, but for many, internet speeds and bandwidth remained the same, which meant that downloading was going to become more difficult: What do we do? The answer to that question was found in a program which dominated computers of hardcore internet users throughout the duration of the decade: uTorrent. This software took advantage of a revolutionary technology that was introduced only a couple of years prior. The technology in question is in the name: “torrenting,” and uTorrent was about to become the program that would popularize its use for the masses. Websites could now provide downloads the size of video game files at virtually no cost on the host’s end. The internet was about to change forever.

Given all the things that went wrong with Windows 8, it would have been safe to assume that Microsoft would have just discontinued working on it right away, but the story doesn’t end there. There is a lot to unpack with Windows 8, because unlike other versions of Windows, Windows 8 arguably has the most moving parts to it, so much so that I decided to divide it into two separate videos. Not only does it tell the tale of an extremely misguided corporation, but also one that was actually able to somewhat correct its course. In 2013, Microsoft came out with Windows 8.1, the OS that acted as a form of retribution for Microsoft. “We’re sorry for making Windows 8. Here is something better.” and it…actually worked.

Does anyone remember the Pirate Bay? It seems like a bit of a silly question. I mean, it only remained as one of the top file-sharing websites in the world for the duration of an entire decade, dominating the 2000s as the go-to BitTorrent search engine. But one Tuesday morning would change everything. People would wake up to find the most popular and controversial online index for entertainment seized by the Swedish government, completely wiped off the face of the earth, left with absolutely nothing but a bleak outlook on the website’s future. With the website’s founders now in jail, people didn’t know if the Pirate Bay was ever coming back or if it’s only remnants would be unreliable, dangerous site clones. Was this the end of mainstream online piracy? The answer to this question would be answered just a month later, when the website would just go back up, featuring a countdown, with operations immediately resuming as normal immediately after.

Congratulations! You Won! Throughout the late 90s and 2000s, millions of people around the world found themselves presented with these ads, telling them that they were the 1,000,000th visitor to a website and that they won a grand prize. However, there was never a prize, and people continued falling for this scam and still fall for it today. How? What is the story behind the Millionth Visitor?

On January 24, 1984, hundreds of people attending an Apple shareholders conference saw the personal computer—speak. After an hour of boring numbers and graphs, a clean-cut, confident Steve Jobs had the floor, where he had taken this new device out of a canvas bag and boldly announced “Today, for the first time ever, I’d like to let Macintosh speak for itself.”

In the summer of 2010, thousands of users across YouTube received a very strange private message in their inbox, telling them to visit earnsubscribers(dot)com, a website that guaranteed overnight success for aspiring YouTubers. Of course, the site ended up being a total sham, but at the expense of many gullible users that ended up losing a lot along the way.

On March 9, 1999, U.S. Vice President Al Gore, made a statement during a campaign interview that, unbeknownst to him, would soon become the subject of somewhat humorous controversy. What followed were a bunch of newspaper articles, comic strips, and “memes” mocking the vice president, starting a new wave of political humor for his candidacy in the 2000 Presidential Election.

In March of 1999, hundreds of thousands of people around the world received a strange email in their inbox that, unbeknownst to them, would shut down all their online communication for several hours. This new email worm, called "Melissa," would become the worst computer virus in history at that time. Melissa may have been such a strange event in online history, but it was also a lesson for how we should behave on the internet.

The world’s most popular search engine experienced a worldwide outage on June 25, 2009 when two generation-defining figures, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, died under tragic and unexpected circumstances.

On February 13, 2006, word was getting around (literally) that a supposed screenshot of Apple's upcoming Mac OS X Leopard had leaked through the instant messaging program iChat. However, those who opened the attached "latestpics.jpg" were not met with images. They were met with trouble. What initially seemed like your typical, somewhat interesting Mac rumor, ended up becoming a story that hit the news. The Apple Mac had just experienced what was considered its first ever computer virus, a worm nicknamed Leap.A (Oompa Loompa), and now this "safe" PC community was at a crossroads.

You may be noticing something a bit off going on around YouTube right now, a problem that is only getting bigger every day and getting more sophisticated, more difficult to stop, the longer it remains unresolved. Yes, I am talking about the current epidemic of spam flooding the YouTube comment section. If you’ve read the comments of any popular video that has been recently uploaded, then you’ve definitely come across these in some way, shape, or form. “Finally it’s here!” “Thanks for your support!” “I have a surprise for you!” really any form of enticing language accompanied by strange text and a shortened URL. The account typically impersonates a well-known YouTube channel, boasting the same name and profile picture.

On August 9, 1969, the Haunted Mansion opened its creaky doors to visitors at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. The cold, forbidding, estate had remained untouched for nearly six years, causing nothing but intrigue for passersby, even leading to some strange and unsettling rumors about its presence within the park.