21 Biggest Technology Flops

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&amp;articleId=9012345">http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&amp;articleId=9012345</a><br /><br />ComputerWorld has put together a list of the top technological flops that actually made it to market, so vaporware like Apple's Copeland or Microsoft's Cairo aren't listed. Sad to see the ebook listed, but the publishers have no one to blame but themselves. Unlike the music industry, which was widely established with easy to use digital formats easily transportable across a wide variety of platforms and mostly interchangeable formats, which despite the RIAA's best efforts still hasn't managed to totally screw up, ebooks are a fledgling technology and ebook publishers have almost accomplished what the RIAA obviously wants to do - totally kill their digital market.<br /><br />I still keep eReader on my Pocket PC and buy a few books a year on it, but my interest has waned as so many of the books I want to read are in different formats or not available electronically at all. :evil: <br /><br />So, what flop comes to your mind that may not be on that list? Sony BetaMax anyone? :wink: They problaby would have listed it but they felt guilty about already listing 2 other Sony products on that page. :lol: Have I ever told you I despise Sony? Come, sit and have a cup of coffee while I share my disdain... :twisted:

[Vincent M Ferrari]

In my mind, a lot of these things aren't flops, just products that were way ahead of their time (ie: The Newton, Lisa, Dreamcast, OS/2) and some we're using today (I for one couldn't live without the voice recognition that's built into my BlackBerry and God knows how many phone services / banks / etc., use some form of voice recog).

Ebooks are not a flop, and in fact Sony's new reader is one of the coolest tech products ever now that e-paper is a reality and flash memory is cheap. Finally, I'm definitely not convinced that WebTV itself represents any kind of failure. Think about how much convergence of WebTV has gone on? Hell, grab a PS3, Wii, or 360 and you have the same functionality in many ways.

My point? Most of these "flops" only flopped because they were so innovative that people didn't comprehend them. The original PocketPC was a gigantic flop, and we all know how that turned out. Just look at the marketshare MS has in the PDA market now.

Being ahead of your time is not failing.

Ever.

[Ed Hansberry]

being ahead of your time doesn't mean it is a bad idea. to be successful the idea has to be good,bit has to be affordable for the target audience delivering the appropriate value, there has to be a need (real or perceived), and the timing has to be right, neither too early nor too late.

miss any of those, and it is a flop.

[compboss17]

I wish more people say something about the way Sony does business, especially people who have blogs like this or engadget, who could respond to the "Cult Sony Followers" who just don't understand how to think for themselves. If only more people would read the news they'd understand how little Sony cares about the consumer. I think Sony needs to feel some financial pain from the consumers to realize their attitude is unacceptable. (For more information on that go here: http://del.icio.us/compboss17/sony )

I seem to remember Microsoft being in the same situation several years ago. Once the outrage was bad enough MS changed their tune and sure enough we ended up with quality products like the Xbox 360 and to a lesser extent the Zune.

Although I might get flamed for saying this I really think Microsoft had the right idea with the Zune it just needs a little improvement, maybe from Apple ;) Anyways, Microsoft still has a long way to go (especially with Windows) but I definitely think Sony has replaced their top ranking in the hall of shame and Samsung has replaced Sony as the high end product lines for electronics (Phones, TVs, Monitors, Storage, etc)

Sony- "Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

Sony- "Sony’s executive vice president Jamie MacDonald said in an interview with GamesIndsutry.biz that Europeans don’t mind the delay; they’ll still go out and get the console anyway."

PS3 Before and after:
http://www.chipse.cx/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/ps3liebackend2mv.jpg

More Sony Lies:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2006/id20060519_077964.htm?chan=innovation_game+room_top+stories

[farnold]

This is such a short list. I could add things forever. Artificial Intelligence jumps to my mind... And there are entire areas just not touched at all. Technologies that became so popular and formed brand names, before it all became so illegal: Napster.

And wouldn't it also be interesting to see what big things we praise today that may be flops tomorrow. Can I nominate iPhone and YouTube for this category? The later one will be the logical Napster successor.

[zetsurin]

Sony- "Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

Sony- "Sony’s executive vice president Jamie MacDonald said in an interview with GamesIndsutry.biz that Europeans don’t mind the delay; they’ll still go out and get the console anyway."

PS3 Before and after:
http://www.chipse.cx/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/ps3liebackend2mv.jpg

More Sony Lies:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2006/id20060519_077964.htm?chan=innovation_game+room_top+stories

OMG, not another internet crybaby who thinks it's fashionable to bash Sony. All corporations twist the truth and fib. At that stage the PS3 was just a prototype. I don't hear you crying that they 'lied' about the 20GB not having the HDMI port and then incorporating it.

How about how Microsoft 'lied' about the fact that the PS3 had 'uneccessary' HDMI/HD media focus, expense and then backflipped and bring you *ta da* the expensive Elite model. Lovely. Or how Microsoft downplay any competitor only to eventually copy them. Remember Palm? Remember Netscape? Remember Linux? Apple? Oh what a lovely consumer focused company Microsoft is. They gave us Vista, the OS that promised to revolutionise computing and change the world. They... you guessed it... lied to you.

Also, you complain of rootkits, well how about if your OS includes DRM and little spying threads that call home every now and then. Microsoft provide you with that from the get go. Sounds awfully like a rootkit to me. Oh they didn't tell you about this beforehand? More lies!

[x51vuser]

Not all are flops I agree with Vincent. The reason is that a lot of unqualified people got to the industry lured with office job and higher pay ... we now know some were so impatient they even did not finish school before starting to sell own OS ;-) You may call it right timing if you want but all in all you the consumer will eventually pay for re-educating space flying winners ;-)
I did not click to read the full article ... try to limit websurfing to minimum after that ANI incident... did they put OS/2 on the list ? Well .. OS/2 multithreaded browser is still faster than IE7 ;-)

[stlbud]

I wish more people say something about the way Sony does business, ...

Sony- "Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

I agree. Sony stabbed their customers, both faithful and fairweather, in the back with their Rootkit "enhanced CDs".

well how about if your OS includes DRM and little spying threads that call home every now and then.

I agree, it sounds very much like Sony's Rootkit but at least they were up front about it and didn't lie as Sony did.

[Ed Hansberry]

This is such a short list. I could add things forever. Artificial Intelligence jumps to my mind... And there are entire areas just not touched at all. Technologies that became so popular and formed brand names, before it all became so illegal: Napster.
Well, again, the list only addresses released technologies, and AI is still, and seemingly perpetually, in the theoretical stage.

Napster wasn't a flop either. Tons of products became huge successes then petered out. Napster, Netscape, VHS players, the horse and buggy. :wink:

[Stik]

In my mind, a lot of these things aren't flops, just products that were way ahead of their time

I'll place this technology in that category...

" Remember Ricochet? Metricom launched the wireless ISP way back in 1994 and unwired 21 major U.S. cities with proprietary wireless modems -- but the company went into bankruptcy in 2001, leaving a few thousand subscribers in the lurch."

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3669526

It also left Metricom investors with years off capital loss tax write-offs. :roll:

[lapchinj]

While some people mentioned Sony's rootkit that thing was never really a product but rather a virus in medicine man cloths. But if a virus could be voted on as a flop candidate then the Sony rootkit would near the top if not #1.

The list of flops is pretty solid and I'm glad the PCjunior didn't get many votes since this was my first real affordable ( :?: ) computer after upgrading my 2K sinclair 1000 to 16K. I still take it out for some ooohs and aaahs along with a laptop with Windows 286. 8) Yeah I know the ooohs and aaahs don't last long but their worth another round of beers :beer: .

Anyway, I would have voted for the Dot-coms but I think they were all just selling only hot air and vaporware. My hands down favorite was B :cry: B. I worked for a company that packaged software for the PC manufacturers in the early '90s. When we heard about B :drool: B we all tried to get hold of a copy from MS to load up on one of our test PCs. One of the QA people got hold of that priceless copy (before it hit the shelves - if it ever did) and loaded it up. This was the only product that I ever saw where everyone unanimously said "you got to be kidding - it will never fly". Anyway we fooled around with it a few days trying to find the hidden treasure which would bring in millions for Microsoft. Obviously we never found the treasure and after a few days were never able to find the machine it was loaded on or the diskette it came on with a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) that we bound to. Well the company I worked for (a dot com) and B :silly: B are not hear anymore, although the company I worked for went on to bigger and better things under a new name, so I guess I shouldn't be bound by the NDA for finally coming out of the closet with our review of B:boohoo:B. Boy, what a flop. Any way you looked at this piece of priceless ---- if was a true first class flop. It flopped up, down, sideways, anyway you looked at it of loaded it - it flopped.

B :rotfl: B

Jeff-

[unxmully]

I still keep eReader on my Pocket PC and buy a few books a year on it, but my interest has waned as so many of the books I want to read are in different formats or not available electronically at all. :evil:

Well I live in hope that DRM in general will be number 22 on that list.

[egads]

The Java language for writing applications. The few apps that were written are so slow they are next to useless.

BlueTooth. Yes it is still around and used but it is no where close to the initial marketing hype.

Desktop Linux in the home.

Microsoft SPOT watches

And I have one future flop, the Apple iPhone

[unxmully]

The Java language for writing applications. The few apps that were written are so slow they are next to useless.

BlueTooth. Yes it is still around and used but it is no where close to the initial marketing hype.

Desktop Linux in the home.

Microsoft SPOT watches

And I have one future flop, the Apple iPhone

You're being ironic, right?

[kiwi]

The Java language for writing applications. The few apps that were written are so slow they are next to useless.

BlueTooth. Yes it is still around and used but it is no where close to the initial marketing hype.

Desktop Linux in the home.

Microsoft SPOT watches

And I have one future flop, the Apple iPhone

Agree with you on the Java !! No so sure about the iPhone. I think it will be popular, but not a HUGE hit as with the iPods.

[ricksfiona]

This is a flash to the past... OS/2.. How I loved thee... OS/2 was Windows XP 10 years ago... WAY ahead of it's time. It's multitasking is STILL better than Windows XP... And the Newton.. The affair that never happened... Also ahead of it's time.. I wanted one so bad...

[KH]

I have to reply that I don't think the eBook is a flop although the dedicated eBook reader may be. I have non-techie friends with Pocket PCs who keep them for pictures of their grandchildren and reading eBooks. I was an early adopter and yes, have a few books that became unreadable, although most of the better ones became available later in other formats, and for a few dollars I didn't begrudge the authors I replaced them. Fortunately for me there are good sources of my favorite genres, sci fi and fantasy, and I have replaced almost a third of the physical books I have collected with electronic versions. I very rarely buy a physical book anymore, and although some of the books such as J K Rowlings' or Tolkien's just aren't available, most of what I am interested in is. Some publisher's just won't make a book available without protection, so at present, DRM seems to be a necessary evil and eReader is the best. I use Microsoft Reader for some unencrypted books from Fictionwise and BAEN. This week I am a very happy camper, as BAEN has just made available all of the books in the God Stalk universe by P. C. Hodgell - something I have waited for for years.

[redraiduzz]

Put Sony Clié on that list for sure!

Sony hadn't something really cool that by the time I got a USB port it was too late, as they'd junked the service.
But what it did was allow you to insert a piece of hardware and it would somehow fetch part of a tune and bring back the Info of that song: title, track info, copyright, etc.
Dratz! I wanted to use that.

There's other junk, too, like eight track tapes, betamax, 8mm cameras could also be lumped in there, as digital cameras have about made them obsolete!

Shoot! Our televisions are seeing that happen, and I worked for an interactive audio service that's becoming dinosaured, too! It's changed names a half a dozen times over the last 13 years!