This may amuse.............. please feel free to suggest your own candidates for the list :D
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,3...9293700,00.htm
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This may amuse.............. please feel free to suggest your own candidates for the list :D
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,3...9293700,00.htm
Ahh haha the video for Barcode Battler was great and #9 and #10 are just classic.
OMG that was hilarious. I with you Oofki. 9 and 10 close out that deal rather appropriately.
I had the hockey puck Apple mouse. It was a real PITA. On top of the problems listed, the rubber ball wasn't perfectly round and collected crud faster than any lint brush I have found.
I'll probably be the only one who disagrees with a decent amount of this list.
The Barcode Battler just came up for discussion the other day around the office and a couple of us were talking about what a cool concept it was. I had one for years... I loved it... I think the problem with the comments (and the video review) is that they are wrong... The Barcode Battler wasn't meant to compete with Gameboy and Game Gear. If I remember correctly my Gameboy was well over $100 and my Barcode Battler was like $30.
It was cool for the same reason that people like RISK or D&D. It was a turn based dice game in electronic form. Something that interested a lot of people... especially people with a geek background... (since generally those are the people that turn based dice games appeal to). There was no need for fancy graphics, or anything else... you just had fun with it.
The example in the video was pretty pathetic and my bet is that he removed the instructions simple to attempt to make a humorous video. As for most barcodes not working... I saved them off everything... I would say that 95% of my collected barcodes worked in one way, shape or form... The first barcode that he had an issue with may not have been a hero barcode, it could have been a bad guy or even a special item.
Other issues:
Vista is not a terrible tech product... and it is only the uninformed and generally those lacking knowledge that feel it is. It took 6 years because there was a lot of rewriting and in that time a new initiative was introduced so a lot of code had to be revisited. As for UAC... as someone with a Vista PC, a Mac Mini and a Ubuntu Laptop... I don't get how people whine about UAC in Vista... I'm guessing most people that complain have never used Ubuntu or OS X. Does it have it's problems... sure... every new product does... It's still a massive improvement over most of what Microsoft has released in the past. Is there a campaign around saving XP.. yep... but I remember people fighting to keep Windows 98... and Windows 2000 and I remember massive hysteria about how bad XP was when it was released... The net is much more common now, everyone is using it and online media is huge... that's the only reason the Save XP compaign exists. The goal of the campaign is to have XP sales continued past (june|july)(whichever it is)... I doubt anyone on that petition plans on buying a copy of Windows XP at this point.
The sony rootkit... as marketing disaster?? Yep... a technological mistake... yep... One of the top 10 terrible "tech products" of all time??? Not even close...
This is a prime example of the media picking things that people will immediately latch onto and feel familiarity with (which previous posts in this thread have demonstrated)... They aren't items that belong on the list.. Other examples are the Atari Jaguar (it was poorly marketed... but not necessarily a bad tech product) and tamagotchi... as they mentioned it made mad money and was extremely popular... adding it to the list on the basis of being annoying... purely adding a product that they figure readers will be familiar with.
Even an MP3 player doesn't belong up there, regardless of quality... it's an appeal to the mass market... and it's a shame every time it occurs in "journalism"
If they wanted true tech flops... There were plenty to chose from:
-- TV Tuner for the Game Gear (most people don't even realize they existed)
-- "Ghetto Blasters"/Boomboxes with built in 3" BW TVs
-- R.O.B. for NES
-- The Mini Disc Walkman
-- Teddy Ruxpin (there was good and bad here... but the 2nd version Teddy was awful)
-- Logitech Harmony Remote (Any remote that costs over $100 is bad enough, but when you can get over $400 theres' a real problem)
Im surprised Newton wasn't listed.Quote:
I had the hockey puck Apple mouse. It was a real PITA. On top of the problems listed, the rubber ball wasn't perfectly round and collected crud faster than any lint brush I have found.
Well, the article was supposed to be humourous.
Actually if you look at a lot of the items the problem was market research and marketing, coupled with superior (albeit more expensive) products competing in what was perceived to the same market.
1. Sinclair C5. The battery technology wasn't there and just where in hell are you supposed to use the thing............ a 15MPH vehicle on a public highway is a road traffic hazard.............. on the sidewalk?............. illegal...........
2. Barcode Battler. That was a marketing cockup. At the time the concept of barcode driven games was all the rage in Japan, and I believe that it was very successful over there. It bombed Worldwide because it was set up as an alternative to superior technology with a much wider variety of games.
Technologically it was no worse than a plethora of other cheap handhelds that were on the market at the time.
3. Sony Rootkit. That was a major technological and corporate strategy error. I rate that very high up the list due to the damage that it did............. with a lesser organisation than Sony, it would probably have put them out of business :eek:
4. Vista. Not a particularly terrible technical product. The problems were very much how MS brought it to the marketplace.
5. Atari Jaguar. Yes, that was technologically poor because it was difficult to write stuff for (hence not many titles, and that is the kiss of death in that market) and seems rather cumbersome to operate, which would also put consumers off.
6. Tamagochi. I guess that has only been included because of the annoyance value and total uselessness of the product. Commercially it was mega............... probably along the lines of Rubik's Cube?
Incidentally, anyone want to buy a pet rock? (batteries not included) :D
7. The MP3 player is there because it is a total POS. It is a cross between a media player and an SD card reader, and, apparently, it does neither particularly well. I wouldn't have included it in the list though, because the technology isn't innovative or unique enough (there are plenty of good products on the market). Hey, just because something is cheap and nasty doesn't make it a technological disaster............ unless you happen to have bought one :lildevil:
-- "Ghetto Blasters"/Boomboxes with built in 3" BW TVs. Well I wouldn't want one myself, but I can see an application for portable entertainment centres. I feel that those older devices are pretty much obsolete now though. If you are travelling and just want to catch the game, they could be quite useful.
Over here there is the added consideration that they are battery powered, and the screens tend to be a bit larger. You don't need an additional TV licence for them........... and that's >$250 a year!
-- R.O.B. for NES. I (and the financial community) don't agree with that. It was actually a pure marketing exercise to get penetration into the US market, and was highly successful. I guess it doesn't really belong in this discussion for that reason?
-- The Mini Disc Walkman. I don't see what makes those a "worst tech product"............. overpriced perhaps?
-- Logitech Harmony Remote (Any remote that costs over $100 is bad enough, but when you can get over $400 theres' a real problem)
Only if you can't afford one.:cool: If you are going to use that criterion then you would have to include Mercedes Benz, BMW and Porsche in your list?
I don't know that it necessarily bombed here... everyone I knew had one. People I work with all had them growing up as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by nihil
It was necessarily a technological error... software that hides files.. not quite a technological error... Malicious, a marketing error and a corporate strategy error yes... a technical error... not so much.Quote:
3. Sony Rootkit. That was a major technological and corporate strategy error. I rate that very high up the list due to the damage that it did............. with a lesser organisation than Sony, it would probably have put them out of business :eek:
At least we agree on one :)Quote:
4. Vista. Not a particularly terrible technical product. The problems were very much how MS brought it to the marketplace.
You can't call something a terrible tech product simply because it annoyed people outside of it's target audience. If so then Guitar Hero should be on the list... because it annoys the hell out of myself and most other actual guitarists that I know... but it's not targeted at us... it's targeted at those who are too incompetent to play guitar and want to still feel like they are able to.Quote:
6. Tamagochi. I guess that has only been included because of the annoyance value and total uselessness of the product. Commercially it was mega............... probably along the lines of Rubik's Cube?
Incidentally, anyone want to buy a pet rock? (batteries not included) :D
Here's the problem though.. you don't catch anything... you generally got one, maybe two channels... there's very little TV to be watched if you are only picking it up with an antennae and most of them had bad reception, so getting even one channel could be a chore.Quote:
-- "Ghetto Blasters"/Boomboxes with built in 3" BW TVs. Well I wouldn't want one myself, but I can see an application for portable entertainment centres. I feel that those older devices are pretty much obsolete now though. If you are travelling and just want to catch the game, they could be quite useful.
Over here there is the added consideration that they are battery powered, and the screens tend to be a bit larger. You don't need an additional TV licence for them........... and that's >$250 a year!
Just because it sold well, doesn't get it out of this category... It did help sell a few NES. The difference between this and tamagotchi is that tamagotchi worked... R.O.B. was really just a "coolness factor", technologically it was a bomb.Quote:
-- R.O.B. for NES. I (and the financial community) don't agree with that. It was actually a pure marketing exercise to get penetration into the US market, and was highly successful. I guess it doesn't really belong in this discussion for that reason?
The mini disc in generally was a failed tech product in my mind... but the ability to go portable... even bigger.Quote:
-- The Mini Disc Walkman. I don't see what makes those a "worst tech product"............. overpriced perhaps?
Perhaps I explained this incorrectly... The remote is difficult to program, randomly stops working and has a slew of other problems... a buddy of mine has several (due to his roommate working for the Harmony division) and they refuse to use them... They are designed to appeal to the "I'm rich and need things of importance" people... but they are awful, awful products.Quote:
-- Logitech Harmony Remote (Any remote that costs over $100 is bad enough, but when you can get over $400 theres' a real problem)
Only if you can't afford one.:cool: If you are going to use that criterion then you would have to include Mercedes Benz, BMW and Porsche in your list?
Well, the site that I linked to is a UK one, so you will get a European perspective. Barcode Battler never did anything over here.
I consider the design, production, and performance of computer software to be technology considerations. This stuff was exploitable which was the error. That, combined with the fact that Sony BMG didn't test it properly........ which is a fundamental element of all the software development methodologies that I am aware of ;)Quote:
It was necessarily a technological error... software that hides files.. not quite a technological error... Malicious, a marketing error and a corporate strategy error yes... a technical error... not so much.
Actually that was my point. It performed to specification and achieved its objective, which was making money. It should not have been included in the list.Quote:
You can't call something a terrible tech product simply because it annoyed people outside of it's target audience.
Ah! I think I have worked this one out.................... the UK uses a different broadcasting system, and our transmitters are quite close together.Quote:
Here's the problem though.. you don't catch anything... you generally got one, maybe two channels... there's very little TV to be watched if you are only picking it up with an antennae and most of them had bad reception, so getting even one channel could be a chore.
It was intended to get Nintendo into the US market following the video game collapse of the early '80's. It worked because stores would stock a "robot toy" rather than a video game. As far as I am aware the actual device functioned as it was designed to, just like the Tamagotchi?Quote:
Just because it sold well, doesn't get it out of this category... It did help sell a few NES. The difference between this and tamagotchi is that tamagotchi worked... R.O.B. was really just a "coolness factor", technologically it was a bomb.
Yes, it has occurred to me that the marketing strategy bit might just be 20/20 superior hindsight on the part of Nintendo to BS their stockholders :D
Sorry, I don't understand what the technological issues are? Do the things actually work, or is it one of those "too late to market" things?Quote:
The mini disc in generally was a failed tech product in my mind... but the ability to go portable... even bigger.
That surprises me, as I have generally found Logitech stuff to be pretty functional and reliable. At the risk of sounding cynical, it would not be the first time that I have heard of companies giving or selling rubbish product that they can't retail to their staff ;)Quote:
The remote is difficult to program, randomly stops working and has a slew of other problems... a buddy of mine has several (due to his roommate working for the Harmony division)
I can't help wondering if any of them perform 100%?
My worst product would be the Commodore Plus4. After the success of the C64, Commodore released a computer with 64K of ram and a built in office suite, (spreadsheet, word processor, database and a graphics program).
I bought one at top dollar and then found out it wouldn't run any of the C64 programs. What a POS!
Not quite like tamagotchi... R.O.B. didn't exactly "work as designed"... Trust me I want a R.O.B. I've been scouring "retro toy stores" and video game shops for years now... I've found two in all that time... and neither store was willing to sell, they had them for "display purposes only". However R.O.B. doesn't work... The concept was cool but poorly designed. The response time was slow, so you essentially had to play the game and know how the game worked, so you could give R.O.B. commands before it needed to perform them.Quote:
Originally Posted by nihil
This is probably just a "too late to market" thing... The mini-disc worked... It's flaw was that compared to other media that existed it was a poorly concieved idea (at least in my mind).. It's sort of like Mini-DVD in my mind... When selecting my (cheap) video camera... I had a choice between Mini-DV tapes and Mini-DVD (whatever they care called.. but the sony cameras use them)... I chose Mini-DV... It's a reliable format and DV has stood the test of time...Quote:
Sorry, I don't understand what the technological issues are? Do the things actually work, or is it one of those "too late to market" things?
It could be that... However as far as I understood he brings them home new, in package... I've also experienced sales people in the store cursing out the display model. As for Logitech... I was a fan of them for quite some time... well over half of my peripherals are logitech (steering wheel, joy stick, game pad, web cam, speakers, etc)... However they are definitely going down hill... I think the problem is the same as it's always been... I just didn't know it before. Previously I purchased "low-end" electronics because I was a student and I needed something that was cheap and worked... logitech owns that market... However now that I have some money to spend I've got a step above logitech on most things, and the quality has improved 10x over.Quote:
That surprises me, as I have generally found Logitech stuff to be pretty functional and reliable. At the risk of sounding cynical, it would not be the first time that I have heard of companies giving or selling rubbish product that they can't retail to their staff ;)
I can't help wondering if any of them perform 100%?
Personally I thought the minidisk was a great concept and everyone I describe it to says so too, its just too bad it wasnt used.:(
How about windows ME, that one really sucked.
Mabey I should start a thread on "the best tech products that never went anywhere"
Interesting................. the R.O.B. was only around for a couple of seasons over here, and at that particular time I had no family or friends with kids in the right age group for one, so I never got any feedback.
It looks as if my suspicions of corporate BS to the stockholders might have some truth in it? :D
The mini-disk is another interesting one. Technologically it seems sound, but it doesn't appear to be particularly well suited to the general public market? Sure it replaces the traditional "walkman" in the area of portability, but severely loses out due to the incompatibility of the format with anything else.
Basically the players don't come as standard in home entertainment units or in automobiles. Another factor is that there is no pre-recorded material to speak of, so it requires additional effort on the part of the user compared to a regular CD/DVD. I also seem to recall that when it first came out it had some sort of DRM.............. an excellent idea given the lack of pre-recorded material :rolleyes:
I think that it came out too late because the regular CD/DVD had already become accepted as the standard. I wonder what Sony were thinking about? :confused: I guess the future has to lie with solid state (flash) memory, as this addresses the size issue, and vibration/shock.
Actually it didn't. The problems with that OS were mostly due to consumer ignorance and OEM greed. Basically it needed more resources than M$ originally suggested and a lot of OEMs supplied it with.Quote:
How about windows ME, that one really sucked.
A lot of the initial criticism of XP was due to the same thing. Fundamentally, both OSes are resource hungry.............. mostly in the RAM department. My experiences with ME have been as follows:
PII/266 128Mb 72pin EDO RAM....................... unstable
PII/333 384Mb SDR RAM............................... stable
PII/450 384Mb SDR RAM............................... stable
AMD Duron/1.3GHz 512Mb SDR RAM................ stable
P4/1.7GHz 768Mb RAMBUS PC800 RDRAM......... unstable (sometimes)
I would guess that the comfort zone is 256~512Mb of RAM. The CPU didn't seem to have much if any influence on stability.
At the time I fixed a lot of machines by sticking in more RAM and a video card (shared memory wasn't............it was stolen:).)
I have never built an XP box with less than 1Gb, and from ones that I have fixed, I wouldn't go for less than 512Mb, although it will handle "light computing" with less.
And the worst product ever...the Timex Sinclair 1000 circa 1980. Trust me on this. I had one.
lol
OMG! :shocked:
A Sinclair ZX81 :D you poor thing! Mind you it was relatively inexpensive in its day, and got a lot of people started. I went for a BBC Micro, but that was in a totally different price bracket........... I must dig it out some day :DQuote:
And the worst product ever...the Timex Sinclair 1000 circa 1980. Trust me on this. I had one.
LOL... great find nihil! I was in my java programming class, bored, waiting for someone to debug this simple little program. I almost had to leave the class I was laughing so hard!
I just went through the pictures and knew what and why they were considered "bad technology"; but when I got to the last one, and saw the picture of vista... I just lost it. :)
that was a great list! i agree that the worst product is the Sinclair ZX81! can't believe i even had one too.
i have to disagree about r.o.b i had one that came with my n.e.s and had allot of fun with it and it worked well into the 90sQuote:
Originally Posted by HTRegz
teddy ruxpin was bad but had alot of fun playing my misfits and samhain tapes till the mouth broke