PPX: The Final Countdown

why?

Why indeed?
I suppose it's so they can reset everyone's money so the rich don't get richer... still very annoying, I actually don't come here for the "game" I come here to see how the predictions are faring. Now, even when it starts again, the long range predictions won't be there.
Not a fan of this turn of events.

Edward

I guess they just fired or reallocated the person who was maintaining the PPX. Like, watching the events and deciding whether a stock goes short or long... Wasn't doing a good job anyway, some stocks that closed in February didn't pay off to day... Oh well.

Nothing quite like an unceremonious shutdown of PPX without the opportunity to take a final look at how each person did on the exchange.

Maybe they're going back to paper ?!?!

Hoooooz, I just access to here and want to check my PPX, hooooly, it disappeard....
what the....
sear 'PPX', and then know this bad news....
disappointed :-(

That ruins my Monday!! I spent a lot of time working on my PPX Portfolio.....what will I ever do with that free time now?

Todd Swank
www.shortarmguy.com

RIP PPX
I will miss thee

That was quite the notice. I guess someone has a bad case of the Mondays. I guess I gotta go play the real market now that I cut my teeth in the Science stock market. Anyone know why the sudden shut down?

Ok this officially SUCKS, was finally in the 98 percentile to, and what happened to the notice? I didn't see one.

No notice, no word, nothing. This is dumb. Fun game and now you ruin the whole site. You can keep it. I was set up to hit it big this year and now you took the game away. Well you can keep your site. I will not be back.

RD

Just got an email back from a PopSi guy. He wants me to go play Hollywood Trades. Yeah that's close. Bet on a bunch of Liberal money bags, Yeah that will happen soon.

Well, I broke the top 200 and suddenly, without notice, the game shuts down. No biggie, but I can't find any info on the new quiz game that was supposed to start on June 1rst. Has the quiz game started yet? If so, can someone post a link?

Awww man
thats a real bummer
I liked the PPX and the joy it brought
Shame it had to come to an end

Why? Don't you guys value the thousands of hits to your sit everyday from people interested in PPX. No reason for me to ever come back.....

I think i'll discontinue my Popular Science Magazine subscription now. I probobly won't ever be back on this website again...

Wow I think this was a terrible decision to discontinue the ppx. I really enjoyed it. Probably won't visit the site much at all, if ever, now.

As the article says, the PPX had a great run. So why not continue it? I probably won't be back to this website very often now.

me neither

Not cool!!!
I was actually learning about real life situations and some sort of trading, buy low, sell high.
As stated allready, in these economic times, PopSCi probobly had to lay off some people...

Gosh I was comming here today to short PPX and I guess it was the right decision a few days late.

______

i think this was a bad choice will someone from popsci tell me why it was cancelled, i invested in so many long term stocks and now poof all the value gone.

nerdherd.ucoz.com

This is what some of my friends and I call an "epic failure" they never should have discontinued PPX!!!! I have been a popsci reader for years but I decided just a few weeks ago to become an online member. I then got really into PPX and then suddenly, poof, gone. I'm really disappointed with this decision.

Like everyone else, this was a big shock. The magazine is good but the website sucks. The only reason I ever get on the website was for PPX. Like someone before me said, I hope you guys enjoy the massive drop in hits to the website.

I think this decision needs to go to fail.com

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

Bummer. Sheesh!

You can tell this wasn't planned, this is from an article that appeared on this very site in February:

"We are pleased to announce that PPX Leagues are finally here! 2009 is the year of change and we are giving the power of choice to our players. You can create and join as many leagues as you like. You make the rules, you determine the prizes. Ah, freedom. Ain't it sweet?"

Guess 2009 really IS "the year of change", eh?

Sheesh!

I've come here to check out my predictions, and what, it's just "gone"?

Whoever made this decision has some accountability to the 33,339 people who were involved. (Especially since the nature of PPX was something that implied longevity).

I'm extremely disappointed that you have shut this down. It was unique, kind of fun, and was a great source of talking points for my kids - both on science and economics.

Every Saturday morning I turn to Pop Science to check out the PPX and see what is happening, what is new. A great way to see the latest news on things that interest me (thats why I bought or shorted those items). Now, out of no where it is all gone. Don't even know how I ended up.

I'm very disappointed in Pop Science for doing this. Guess I will check out some other web sites instead of Pop Science from now on.

I agree with all of you. Now I have absolutely no incentive to ever come back to this website. RIP PPX.

this sucks the ppx was soooooooooooooo fun!!!!

I checked my PPX every couple of months so I wouldn't constantly change my stocks. I was good at PPX. And while I wasn't greatly rich, I hadn't been playing long. 95% of my stocks paid off. The other 5% dropped maybe up to $1 per share at max; but I usually only bought 50 shares of the stocks I was unsure of anyway.

I liked it. I liked finding that my choices were good or even great. I liked gambling nature of it. They should restart it someday. It won't be soon, that's for sure. But someday.

As with most of the previous posts I, too, am disappointed at the sudden drop of this delightful PPX. I didn't do great in playing, but when I did it was very gratifying and pushed positive energy into my day.

Today was a scheduled stop of this site to check my stocks and viola... gone. All the research, all the energy, time and scrunching of my brain power is lost to this tragedy. I have better places to get my scientific and technological food; mainly television, the occasional 'Omni', 'Scientific American', and the substantially fulfilling 'Discover' magazines. Then there are websites that feature some wonderfully enlightening information I crave. I liked coming here for the articles and the spectacular images, the neat gadgets and intriguing medical leaps of engineering.

Unfortunately, the one thing that would even drag me to those sections in this site was the PPX. It was the one thing that set it apart and created an actual fan base of loyalty, let alone the money it must have generated for the company itself.

I guess if making the right business decisions were easy, everybody would be doing it. It just goes to show, even if you invest a little time and energy into something, it can still fail and crash and make you recede into depression.

Good luck with your future POPSCI. See you on the flipside.
-Randle Kregh
CEO Zxypher Enterprises L.L.C.

i only had an account for 2-3 months when i logged on today i thought %^*& what happened to the ppx?
PLEASE!!!!!! MAKE IT COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RIP PPX
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popsci you suckkkkkkkkkkkkk

I was with this from the start. It was a blast. I guess all good things end. Man this sucks, I had a lot of fun trying to break my first million!

Is this a poll? I respond a blackened dot 7 of 10 good value,
9 of 10 for entertainment value
6 of 10 for my skill level
0 of 10 for the decision maker, likely some idiot senior editor that values change above all else. Are you changing magazine format as well Idiot Editor?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!THE PPX WAS THE BEST PART OF POPSCI.COM! WHY DO YOU SUDDENLY TAKE IT AWAY? ANYONE WHO AGREES WRITE I AGREE ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR COMMENT!!!!

RIP PPX

I for one vote we take our business elsewhere: check out http://www.howthemarketworks.com/
far more realistic (if you like that sort of thing) and is also free to all.

I won't be back to this site and I won't be renewing my magazine subscription. There is absolutely no reason why the results can't still be available.

I logged in today to see how my long term stocks were doing doing. guess ill never know

Oh well, things change, I was ready for a change.

Well, I can't claim to be able to say anything particularly different from the rest of most of previous posts, but it really is a shame that they let it die, especially so abruptly.

I have been using ppx for a few months now, and when i came online a week ago to check my stocks, the link was not there, and ppx.popsci.com did not exist. I thought it was a bug untill i just read this.
RIP.

I was only still receiving there magazine to keep up on the stocks and possible stocks to come. I suppose that will save me three hours a month. I’ll just read articles online after my subscription runs out.

all i can say is WOW, there goes a year and change for nothing. seriously? why cant we see results, this is redonkuluos!!

i was just in a car accident not 4 HOURS AGO and THIS MAKES MY DAY EVEN WORSE >=[

I knew those long-term stocks weren't worth it, but I wasn't expecting PPX to close so soon. It occurs to me that it hadn't quite been 2 years (a month or so short.) An email about the shutdown would have been nice.

Popsci, both the magazine and the website have really let me down.

You've taken my only reason to really visit the website. Please bring it back!!!!
PPX.

I want PPX back.

I prefer to imagine they closed the PPX because some of their environmental predictions weren't about to become true.

Well, I dropped by to check my long positions, and poof PPX is gone. I've been in it since the beginning. An email would've been nice.
The PopSci Quiz game consolation prize? Nowhere to be found, vaporware. RIP PPX. It was fun while it lasted.

I won't cancel my subscription - I really enjoy Popular Science - but this is a big disappointment. I had bought some stocks and planned on making it part of my routine once my routine stabalized a bit. I stopped by popsci.com specifically to check my ppx "stocks" and was saddened to see it's been removed. No trace of my stock picks remains and I won't even know how my longer term guesses did.

I imagine somebody at popsci is doing the data-mining on this project and gets to see how we all did (with special attention to the better players, of course). I feel a little cheated, having put in the effort and now, being denied access to the results.

very bad move. it was the only reason i visited the site.

well, this is what I get for not checking on it in 6 months

this really blows!
probably the best part of the site - and whats with the new quiz?
very angry...

This is pathetic, I don't think it has to do with them firing or not being able to pay a person because it takes one person about once every few days to update the stocks and a fairly good program. Any intern could do this. It's ridiculous and ppx should definitely be brought back.
-Grant

NOOOOO, after 8 months of basic taining and techschool i finally get back on to my popsci account only to find out that it was closed, so sad i was in the 99% i was about to rack in the points too... NOOOOOOoooooooo......

I wasn't a "High Roller", but I had loads of fun with PPX. I vote (as if I even HAD a vote) to bring it back!

God Bless.

Colonel Jimbo

well i am as dissapointed as everyone else i probably wont ever come to this site again unless checking for the rebirth of PPX

COME ON POPSCI. PPX was the best part of the website. My computer was broken and I come back a couple of months later to check on my portfolio and its GONE. A really bad move popsci, the PPX needs to be brought back.

Bad choice PopSci. Why would you guys shut the PPX down? Absolutely no reason why in the post.
MAKE IT COME Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Post if you aggree.

I want it back. I didn't do it very much but it was sure fun.

PPX was poorly conceived and completely incompetently administered. It was a joke run by bozos and a bozette. The thing that surprised me was that PopSci did such a poor job with it. I expected more from PopSci.

WHY DID YOU DO THIS???
RIP PPX

PPX WAS THE BEST PART. BRING BACK ANOTHER VERSION OF IT. DO SOMETHING. I AGREE WITH ALL WHO DENOUNCE YOU POPSCI!!!

I have had the experience of leadership
You have just had the illusion of control
-ELLIS R. JACKSON

oh screw this!!!...i leave the country on business for 3 months...come back...sit down in my office for the first time in a full budget quarter, and my ppx account is just gone!?!?!? What the HELL am i supposed to do now that I'm back in the office, Work?!?!? i don't think so!!! not even you guys with your fancy shmancy gismos and gadgets are gonna make me resort to that!

...seriously though, i am kinda pissed...i'd have at least liked to have known my final standings and stats

-Jay

I wish PPX was still on the air. I will miss it dearly.

PLEASE BRING BACK PPX!!!

If i can request something, i would like to know how my stocks were before it closed.

wow i log on to check up on things, and find it's gone

:'(

ppx was awesome. i was one of the first people to break 1M. my highest rank ever was 21. and the best part were the forums.

wow.
rip ppx

awww... just got on to see how i was doing...to find out that it was gone...boo

I am not a web site expert but seems to me most companies want lots of site visits to increase their advertising revenue, promote their brand, etc. Seems really short sited to stop something that has thousands of people visiting the site weekly or even daily.
Also, by removing PPX you really upset your best customers- the ones that want to know about and care about science and technology so much that they are able to make predictions of what will happen in the future.
Many of us spent many hours over almost 2 years building or portfolios. It is really disrespectful and adds insult to injury that you gave us no reason and no way even to look at what the ending standings were.
Would it have been that hard to do this right? If it must end send an email out to the members of PPX. Explain why it must end and give us some credit for the time and effort we put into it? We made the PPX, not you.
How about putting the final standings on the page where PPX used to be?
I think that there was a lawsuit threatened by one of the companies that was upset about how they or their product(s) were depicted on PPX and PopSci agreed to shut it down to avoid the lawsuit. I would buy 1,000 shares of it if the PPX were still in operation.
It sure was fun while it lasted.

"the top 100 traders will be immortalized on PopSci.com in a PPX Hall of Fame."

Where is this promised Hall of Fame? We have not only been disappointed by the closing of the PPX, but we have also thus far been lied to. Shame.

Thank you for the good times and the bad times. PPX, you will be sorely missed.

RIP PPX

Brutal. PPX was one of the best things going for this site.

Destined to fail from the beginning. Poor support. Awful server. Bad CMS.

PPX was the greatest thing about this site...You read the magazine and don't need the articles to find out about this site, and keep coming back for the great original idea. Now that is gone, and I think there was a great drop in activity.

Now what?

Well... that sucks. I shorted the Volt to sell 500 units in 2010. I was going to CASH IN!

Well, I can delete this link from my favorites.

Man, I missed the whole thing.
From what I hear...it was up and running months after advertised. Now, it's been shuttered abruptly.

Ain't that a B?

@ Help PopSci! As a student and ongoing subscriber please help me with this question. I understand there are reasons for closing the exchange market that I do not know. However if you could help me get an end of the market report on the performance of my long term stocks I would much appreciate the information. I'm a beginning transfer student to U.C. California Davis, Majoring in Economics. I would like to review my past performance to satisfy some curiosity. Great thanks for many years and many to come. Brian.

wait, huh? what have i been doing for the last three years, then? damnit.