The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion identifies the 15 biggest tech disappointments of 2007, with Windows Vista ranked as the most disappointing product due to its high hardware requirements, slow performance compared to XP, and rampant incompatibilities at launch. Other notable mentions include the Microsoft Zune, Apple iPhone, and Yahoo, which users criticized for performance issues and lack of innovation. The discussion highlights a general dissatisfaction with various technologies, emphasizing the need for better execution and user experience in tech products.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of operating systems, specifically Windows Vista
  • Familiarity with consumer electronics, particularly the Apple iPhone and Microsoft Zune
  • Knowledge of broadband technologies, including WiMAX and Voice Over IP
  • Awareness of social media platforms and their impact on user experience
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the performance metrics of Windows Vista versus Windows XP
  • Explore the evolution and market reception of the Apple iPhone and its subsequent models
  • Investigate the technical limitations and market challenges of WiMAX technology
  • Examine the impact of user experience on the adoption of Voice Over IP services
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Tech enthusiasts, product managers, and software developers seeking insights into historical tech failures and their implications on user satisfaction and market trends.

Astronuc
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These much-ballyhooed products, sites, and services, it turned out, left much to be desired.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140583/article.html

#15. Box Unpopuli: Amazon Unbox
#14. Screwed up to the Max: Municipal WiMax
#13. Web 2 Woe: Social Networks
#12. Just Another Oxymoron: Internet Security
#11. Singing an Old Familiar Zune: Microsoft Zune
#10. Is Anyone Listening?: Wireless Carriers

#9. Sorry, We Already Gave: Office 2007
#8. Needs To Change Its Spots: Apple "Leopard" OS 10.5
#7. Cannot be Completed as Dialed: Voice Over IP
#6. Un-Neutral: The Broadband Industry
#5. The Great, The Bad, The Ugly: Apple iPhone
#4. In a Sorry State: Yahoo
#3. The Anti-Social Network: Facebook Beacon
#2. What Is It Good For: The High-Def Format War

#1. No Wow, No How: Windows Vista

Five years in the making and this is the best Microsoft could do?

It's not that Vista is awful. The integrated security and parental controls are nice, and the Aero interface is as whizzy as it gets. Searching and wireless networking are much faster and easier than under XP.

It's just that Vista isn't all that good. Many of the innovations the operating system was supposed to bring--like more efficient file and communications systems--got tossed overboard as Microsoft struggled to get the OS out the door, some three years after it was first promised. Despite its hefty hardware requirements, Vista is slower than XP.

When it debuted last January, incompatibilities were rampant--in part because hardware and software makers didn't feel any urgency to revamp their products to work with the new OS. The user account controls that were supposed to make users feel safer just made them feel irritated. And at $399 ($299 upgrade) for Windows Ultimate, we couldn't help feeling more than a little gouged.
Well do people agree with the list. I'm certainly leery of Vista, and so are others I know.
 
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I certainly agree with Vista being number one and the Zune player being up there. Yahoo seems to get more bloated as the years go by. It takes me forever to load yahoo.com when compared to google.com. The iphone also left a lot of things to be desired. Hopefully they do better with "iphone 2.0".

I do however disagree with WiMAX being on the list. This is a relatively new technology. The article doesn't really point out the negatives of WiMAX, only that not enough companies are investing. And yes it does seem like google has to do everything.

They should also add IE7. I hate that crap.
 
The i-phone. You take a decent cell phone then restrict it to the world's slowest, most antiquated cellular network in the world. Was Apple unaware of this, or did they not care and chose instead to sell out to the highest bidder? Since when you do buy a top of the line computer that comes with a restriction that you can only use a dial up internet provider? Disgusting. That's GOT to be the NUMBER ONE mistake of 2007! Hiss And BOO to Apple for selling out for money instead of allowing their phone to work on all of the major carriers.

WIMAX is another problem. It's slower than Rev A, and it's also more limited geographically than other highspeed wireless services. This is an idea that's already beginning to show the signs of "ooops, well that's not good". One of the forerunners in the technology has been warned over and over by industry analysts that they should bail.

Voice over IP is another technology that people do not understand. I'd be on here all night explaining that one.
 
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I think we have reached a point of time where as long as "the next microsoft operating system" is slower than the previous version, then it can be placed at the top of the list.

As for the iphone, http://stevenojobs.com/maddox-on-iphone-the-most-objective-iphone-review/

To me the best technology of 2007 was wikipedia. It seems to be getting better, fast. They are now writing wiki books. Curious of what's next for them.
 
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#6. Un-Neutral: The Broadband Industry

Again, consumer ignorance, enhanced by media ignorance.

If you know physics, think of common layman misunderstandings of the most basic principles. There you go.