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What will you miss least about Blockbuster? (poll)

Once upon a time it ruled the DVD-rental roost. Now Blockbuster's shutting all of its doors. Get nostalgic and tell us what you won't miss about the chain.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
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Eric Mack
2 min read

The once mighty and ubiquitous neon light of Blockbuster will soon go dark. The chain -- owned by Dish for the past couple of years -- will shut down all its remaining stores and discontinue its DVDs-by-mail service over the next few months.

Blockbuster was once a titan of home entertainment, coming to dominate the DVD rental world in the late 1990s and early 2000s before broadband and names like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu started to chip away at the convenience of a neighborhood store with the trademark blue awning.

The company went from being on top of the world to a dinosaur of the entertainment world so quickly my brain has a hard time placing it in the timeline of my life.

It was scarcely 15 years ago that my weekends were dominated by Blockbuster. Friday nights would kick off with a visit to the store, the agony of making those selections, and then waiting two more hours to actually watch the movie with friends only after they finished their shifts working at Blockbuster. Could such a treasured American ritual as this already have grown so completely extinct? Petrified, even?

Answer: Yes, of course. Nostalgia aside, the digital world is more awesome now than it was 10 minutes ago, and I can now fit all the movies I'd care to watch from a single Blockbuster store into a device I can carry around in my pocket. So, thanks for the good times Blockbuster, but next time try a little harder to keep up, maybe?

Take our poll and let us know what you'll miss least about Blockbuster. Feel free to elaborate in the comments below.