Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, if you needed software, you hit up Download.com—no questions asked. Launched in 1996 by CNET, it was the go-to spot for grabbing everything from Winamp and ICQ to trial versions of Norton Antivirus. Before app stores existed, Download.com was basically the wild west of software—with user reviews, star ratings, and version updates you had to manually watch for (remember v4.03 of RealPlayer?). It was clean, simple, and gave you what you needed without the bloat. Over time, it evolved into CNET Download, layering on things like curated lists and editor picks, but by then the game had changed—bigger app ecosystems took over. Still, for anyone who lived through dial-up and desktop shortcuts, Download.com was part of the core internet experience.