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  <p>It happened. AnandTech is gone for good.</p>
  <p>It completely blows my mind that there is almost no discussion about this. Hopefully it's because it's relatively recent, but even in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGX7bzWMAd0&t=1348s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest GN Hardware News</a>, it's only briefly covered.</p>
  <figure>
    <img src="/static/media/cutting-corners.png" alt="Cutting corners: After AnandTech shut down, it was understood that the site's publisher would keep its valuable archives online indefinitely. Now, it turns out that for Future PLC, 'intefinitely' only meant a little over 11 months. Anyone concerned about preserving the site should consider backing up alternative archives as soon as possible." width="687" height="182" />
    <figcaption>Another example of "redefining the terms of the sale after the sale."</figcaption>
  </figure>
  <p>The fact that AnandTech went under and was bought out was little surprise. And the fact that their buyer <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250726001915/https://www.anandtech.com/show/21542/end-of-the-road-an-anandtech-farewell" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blatantly lied about keeping the site up</a> is no surprise either. What is, though, and is extremely disappointing is the lack of public outcry. Their site was a treasure trove of period reviews and news coverage within the space. It was practically a library of the computer world. I used it to find period coverage of the early 2000s tech space for a paper I wrote. Without it or web archives of magazines, it would be pretty difficult to find a reliable source of coverage.</p>
  <p>The fact that we are rolling over and accepting this without batting an eye is everything that's wrong with society. In the world of instant gratification, low attention spans, and single-use content nobody even cares if something disappears. This is the equivalent of burning down a library, and <a href="https://www.techspot.com/news/108967-anandtech-27-year-archive-has-vanished-but-someone.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all some schmuck can muster</a> is "I don't look at the old articles anyways." Don't worry RudyBob, I won't misquote you for long:</p>
  <figure>
    <img src="/static/media/rudybob.png" alt="I'm a little surprised at the angst felt here. How many times have you read 'aging' describing tech. Eleven months is aged. Who actually still goes there to read old stuff?? Not me. I feel no nostalgia for old tech sites except for a guy called Zanshin who got foxed. -RudyBob" width="865" height="186" />
    <figcaption>1000 IQ commenter.</figcaption>
  </figure>
  <p>Congratulations on letting the ball fly completely over your head. I bet you felt pretty good about yourself with that one. Probably had a haughty "hmph" as you hit the "Enter" key, too. It's about information preservation, not about your lack of appreciation. The same reason we have libraries. Should we toss those out, too, because you don't read every book in them?</p>
  <p>Well, don't worry. I'm sure that's up next.</p>
  <p><b>Created:</b> {{ .Date }}</p>
</article>
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