The 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the perceived shortcomings of various technology products and services released in 2007. Participants evaluate a list of tech disappointments, sharing their opinions on specific items and the broader implications of these technologies.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants agree that Windows Vista is a significant disappointment due to its performance issues and incompatibilities at launch.
  • There is a consensus among some that the Microsoft Zune and the iPhone also rank highly on the list of disappointments.
  • One participant expresses skepticism about WiMAX being included, arguing that it is a new technology that has not yet been fully developed or adopted.
  • Another participant criticizes the iPhone for being restricted to a slow cellular network, questioning Apple's decisions regarding carrier partnerships.
  • Concerns are raised about the broadband industry being unresponsive to consumer needs, with some attributing this to a lack of understanding among consumers and media.
  • Voice over IP is mentioned as a misunderstood technology, with a participant indicating they could elaborate on its complexities.
  • One participant suggests that the list should also include Internet Explorer 7 due to their dissatisfaction with it.
  • Another participant highlights Wikipedia as a positive technological development in 2007, contrasting it with the disappointments discussed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

While there is agreement on several items being disappointing, such as Windows Vista and the Zune, there are also notable disagreements, particularly regarding WiMAX and the iPhone's network limitations. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of dissatisfaction with the performance and reception of technologies, indicating that their opinions are influenced by personal experiences and broader industry trends. Some claims about technologies are based on subjective interpretations rather than empirical evidence.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to technology enthusiasts, industry analysts, and consumers looking to understand the reception of tech products released in 2007.

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.