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Don't Believe the Hype: The 21 Biggest Technology Flops
ComputerWorld ^ | 04 April 2007 | David Haskin

Posted on 04/04/2007 10:40:49 AM PDT by ShadowAce

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To: cliniclinical

Hey, we had rewind solved 40 years ago. It was called 8-track! Endless loop. Simple. :-)


81 posted on 04/04/2007 12:25:20 PM PDT by ltc8k6
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To: Tinian
the paperless office will remain a fantasy.

Yep. While doing my dissertation work and looking at other elements of info transfer, I found out that the people in my study were BIG users of paper, even tho there had been paper reduction initiatives and info tech was easily available. They apologized for having paper, but said they needed it.

The primary reason? Average age of 50 and an increasing inability to read large amounts of info on the computer monitor. Secondarily, there were the affordances of paper - such as being able to edit, write notes to self or someone else, stick in the briefcase to read on the commute home, etc.

I actually ended up spending a good deal of dissertation space talking about paper use in the the so-called 'paperless' office.

82 posted on 04/04/2007 12:35:15 PM PDT by radiohead (They call me DOCTOR radiohead.)
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To: longtermmemmory

You can buy them on the web for less than 200$. :-)

Add the Icuiti VR920 and an OQO computer and you are set!


83 posted on 04/04/2007 12:39:24 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior and Founding Member of Darwin Central)
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To: radiohead

I try to stay paperless. :-) You should see my office! Screens all over the place, no paper. LOL!


84 posted on 04/04/2007 12:40:46 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior and Founding Member of Darwin Central)
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To: Tinian

Just a small cafe you can order coffee and rolls with free internet service to anyone with a WiFi device.


85 posted on 04/04/2007 12:42:49 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior and Founding Member of Darwin Central)
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To: Jalapeno
"I believe the Sony PS3 will be added to this lit when it is all said and done."

All my console geek-type friends say PS3 stands for:
"PIECE of SH!T CUBED"

Apparently they are not impressed.

86 posted on 04/04/2007 12:54:56 PM PDT by Mad Dawgg ("`Eddies,' said Ford, `in the space-time continuum.' `Ah,' nodded Arthur, `is he? Is he?'")
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To: ShadowAce

Speak for yourself — I like my Dreamcast! (and no, I don’t still play it)


87 posted on 04/04/2007 12:56:30 PM PDT by mhking (I make my livin' on the evening news....)
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To: longtermmemmory
Many if not all federal court clerk of courts REQUIRE paperless filing of documents.

That might be the case. There are far more state and county courts, however, (Which handle far more cases) that require paper. And special binding, etc. My brother works in a print shop, BTW.

I work for a small (less than 50 employees) engineering firm and we have, literally, TONS of records. For liability reasons, some have to be kept forever. They will never be digitally archived because there isn't the time or money to do it. Are you telling me my company afford to scan every invoice it has received over the last 30 years and throw away the paper copy? Are you telling me my company has the time and money to scan every new invoice and toss out the paper copy? Are you telling me our company can trust that the current digital formats will be viable 30 years from now? How in hell is my company supposed to archive as-built notes hand-written on 24"x36" drawings? Have you ever tried to get a 24"x36" scanned?

The paperless office is a geek fantasy.

88 posted on 04/04/2007 1:05:36 PM PDT by Tinian
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To: Mad Dawgg

I have a PS3, an Xbox-360, and the Wii. All three have their own unique games.

The PS3 Gran Turismo HD on my HD plasma is a killer app. No other console comes close to that capability. The Cell processor along with the 7K series NVidia graphics blows both of the other consoles out of the water.


89 posted on 04/04/2007 1:06:25 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior and Founding Member of Darwin Central)
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To: Jalapeno

It’s sold over 3 million to date. Blu-ray has solidified itself as the dominant HD format.

The PS3 is here to stay.


90 posted on 04/04/2007 1:12:58 PM PDT by Bogey78O (Don't call them jihadis. Call them irhabis. Tick them off, don't entertain their delusion.)
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To: longtermmemmory

Actually Sony learned well.

They have several vendors and wide studio support. HD DVD has 2 major studios exclusive with about half of the total major studios supporting. Their only licensed vendor is Toshiba, the patent holder.

Sony learned brom Betamax... Toshiba and MS didn’t.


91 posted on 04/04/2007 1:15:08 PM PDT by Bogey78O (Don't call them jihadis. Call them irhabis. Tick them off, don't entertain their delusion.)
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To: ShadowAce

“Push technology

...This is about companies like the PointCast Network, which launched its software with a hype storm in 1996. The hype focused on how this technology could “push” news and other information to computer desktops with no user intervention.

However, most users never became excited about push.”

Complete and utter BS. Pointcast was in fact so successful at first that it was blocked by network admins. The problem was that as Pointcast ‘pushed’ some bit of news it was received by every Pointcast user simultaneously with horrific effects on the networks of corporations whose Internet gateways weren’t ready for streaming anything (this is 1996).

Of course, once it was impossible for people to get ‘push’ news at work (nearly nobody had broadband at home and it was a big strain for a dialup connection) Pointcast went from instant success to dust very rapidly.

Apparently ComputerWorld writers don’t know how to research their own back articles.


92 posted on 04/04/2007 1:16:57 PM PDT by No.6 (www.fourthfightergroup.com)
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To: martin_fierro

I think I just vom’d in my mouth...


93 posted on 04/04/2007 1:21:21 PM PDT by Andonius_99 (There are two sides to every issue. One is right, the other is wrong; but the middle is always evil.)
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To: ShadowAce

Smart appliances aren’t dead yet. There’s a new push there in the form of the super oven, it’s supposed to be able to store fairly complicated cooking instructions with a long delay timer and even keep the food cold until cooking starts, including an internet hookup so if you get delayed at work you can push the start time. Don’t know if they’ll take off, but they sure look nifty.

I actually did Pointcast for about a week, Push was definitely overrated. Most everything else in the list I avoided.


94 posted on 04/04/2007 1:24:57 PM PDT by discostu (The fat lady laughs, gentlemen, start your trucks)
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To: Tokra
One thing people forget when they talk about the video quality of VHS vs Beta is that VHS was still better than most people got on their antenna most of the time (unless you had a really good antenna and were watching a channel with a solid signal). For most consumers “better than what I got” is good enough.
95 posted on 04/04/2007 1:38:16 PM PDT by discostu (The fat lady laughs, gentlemen, start your trucks)
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To: discostu

The real VHS video quality secret was running the video output directly to the tv video input (if you had a new enough player & tv)Running the VCR into the tv antenna input degrades the video quality


96 posted on 04/04/2007 1:44:08 PM PDT by Minutemen ("It's a Religion of Peace")
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To: ShadowAce
Hey you forgot Viceo capture devices! Did you already forget "SNAPPY"?
97 posted on 04/04/2007 1:56:02 PM PDT by Minutemen ("It's a Religion of Peace")
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To: ShadowAce

Aw, you guys just don't know what's cool...

98 posted on 04/04/2007 1:58:00 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: No.6; radiohead
All of the technologies mentioned are not flops. Their implementation or products might have been unsuccessful, but the technology ideas will enjoy other implementations in the future: PDA convergance, web-based video & TV, real-time information updates, speech recognition, virtual reality, etc.
99 posted on 04/04/2007 2:08:41 PM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: Billthedrill

It took me about 30 seconds for recall, but that’s a most excellent flash from the past!


100 posted on 04/04/2007 2:23:49 PM PDT by Tinian
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